Photo by Micheal Ip

If anything was to give me culture shock it would be flying from the remote village of Humjibre, Ghana to New York, NY. I wont lie, a secret part of me was anticipating the possibility of experiencing something I'd always heard people reminisce about, but that I could never entirely share in their misery. Sure I'd been frustrated with cultural differences, one part of living in a foreign country is being subjected to ALL their traditions, ideas, and laws whether good or bad. But I'd never had full blown culture shock before.  *rubs hands in anticipation*

So I hopped off the plane only to wait in a loooooong immigration line where the non-passport holder line looked more white than us. Cool! People are so much more interesting to watch when they aren't all white n' nerdy. I was finally let out through the gates into a bustling city where honking taxis horns tapped out the time of the traffic and skyscrapers blocked out the blue blue sky; where one meal costs more than what I could live on for 3 weeks in Ghana (Let's not even talk about rent). There were washing machines and toilet paper (insert happy toilet paper dance!), and good coffee in a to-go cup, and foods from every part of the world! There were stores shoved full of electronics, clothes, supplies, things I haven't been able to buy easily for YEARS. I found myself having to relearn random words that were lost from my vocabulary over the years, like "mimosa" and feeling absolutely no connection with conversations about real estate, the newspaper world, celebrities or current television shows. Like a foreigner in my own country, I wandered through the cityscape marveling at the luxury and trying to find where my experiences, ideas of living and frugality and a trying to find where my global perspective of the world would fit after three years of living overseas.
Meeting old friends and college buddies is like coming face to face with an old version of myself, or other people's concept of me from 3 years ago. That person no longer exists and sometimes all you can do is just nod and smile. Nod and smile.

I feel like one foot is still in Ghana and one is in the US and my brain is in limbo somewhere between the two. And the best way to be re-introduced to Americaland?! You know it, road trip! An old college buddy, Ip (check out is work!) and I took off in a rental car from NYC, had a short stop over in the fakest feeling city I've ever seen, D.C. then made it all the way to Columbus OH where we crashed at a brother of a friends house who I had never met. Well really he's the brother of a guy I hiked to Everest Base Camp with and he met us at the door with a bottle of Champagne. I can't think of a better welcome.

The kindness of people absolutely floored me. People would smile and wave "good morning" and women would stop me in bathrooms to compliment my shirt or ask where I got my bag. Even the NYC homeless people asking for money seemed ridiculously respectful (and well dressed hmmm).

As the sun rose on our second day of roadtripping it, I got antsy to see my sister for the first time in ages and hug her babies and got off early to cruise across OH in the early morning light. She made us delicious homemade pancakes with blackberry syrup and I got baby kisses and monkey hugs from the cutest kids in the world! 

Americaland, I've missed you.

Stay tuned for more road tripping updates from New Orleans + New Mexico coming soon!

This past weekend we were invited to Serano, a small town 15minutes away, where we learned to pound fou fou (the most popular food in Ghana), kill a green mamba snake, pick cocoa and drink Apatashi, a VERY strong home brewed liquor that tastes decidedly like ethanol. When I wasn't busy doing these very important things, I was running around with the children , camera in hand and answering multiple: "What's your name?"
Enjoy the photos!

Khmer Christmas

Earlier this week the children at the ODA orphanage (Orphaned & Disabled Arts organization) were each given $5 for Christmas and asked if they would like to use the money to buy themselves something special or to throw a big Christmas party for everyone. They choose a party and we were invited guests! When we were dropped off we were greeted by many smiling faces and a wreath of balloons and a scrawny Christmas tree that they had gone into the jungle to cut. The children were cutting pictures of Santa Clause and snowmen out of old wrapping paper to hang on the tree for decorations. This little girl, Sunshine, inspects the small pile of gifts under the tree. She was born with AIDS however her smile is bright enough to warm anyone's heart. She dressed up as a beautiful princess and we held hands while learning to dance Cambodian disco style in a circle following the steps of the older children in front.

This may have been an unconventional Christmas, however it is experiences like these that keep me traveling and dreaming of a better world.

Happy holidays everyone! xx

Photogrpahy Workshop

Last week we gave the neighborhood Burmese refugee and hill tribes children cameras and sent them home with the assignment to tell the story of their life in photographs. A big project for little tykes, yes? Some of them came back with cameras full of unused film and others fully used and reluctant to give back their new toy. After developing the roles of film, the REAL fun began! As I opened each folder I got to peek into their lives, to see the faces of their mother, father, sisters and brothers. I got to see little girls playing dress up in princess clothes and where they sleep on the floor at night. Below is the pieced together story of 11 children's lives. 11 children whose families came to Chiang Mai to escape poverty, cruelty and abuse and who started a new life in this city. These series of photographs give us a rare peek into their personal lives from the perspective of a child. Enjoy!

On Friday, we visited a home for children with disabilities in Chiang Mai. Our volunteers decided to do a music workshop that consisted of decorating small instruments made out of paper cups and plates. Then we sat in a circle and sang songs rocking the children back and forth and using our new instruments to accompany our singing. The children were beautiful and the staff incredibly loving. This is quickly becoming one of my favorite ARI workshops.

King of my Heart

Today I went in search for the littlest of our Young Lion kiddos, (Young Lions is an a art workshop we hold in our front yard for the local Burmese refugee kids) and back a short, trash strewn soi I found dozens of families crammed into a tiny, broken down house. Once you understand the life these children lead you also start to realize how small projects like the one we hold in our front yard, can mean so much to them. This little guy held my hand on the way back to the office and we skipped and jumped and chased our shadows all the way home. He stole my heart with his beautiful long lashes and stunning smile.

Today, I escaped the office for an afternoon and hopped into the volunteer van on its way to our partnering organization: Hope Home. Hope Home is refuge for Thai children with disabilities. Social taboos and and an overall lack of knowledge about disabilities here in Thailand, has added to the misunderstanding and mistreatment of these wonderful children.
It's only my second workshop with them, using art to help with their motor skills and to give them a chance to be creative little kids. As we walk into the room their excitement is palpable. Smiles spread across faces, legs begin to shake in excitement and anticipation. My little partner's name is Pancake. She's my little pigtailed explorer. She is partially blind, but explores the world through sound and has the most rebelliously adventurous spirit I've ever known. Some days she gets a wee bit sour and refuses any help at all, even if it means running into tables and chairs, she'll do the opposite of what you ask. She wants so terribly bad to be her own person and to do her own thing and anything less will make her scream bloody murder. But today I can tell that she is having a good day the moment I hop out of the van. Her little face is like a beam of sunshine and she wears a devilish smile. She seems to remember me and wanders my way so I can scoop her up and we weave across the floor dancing to the music and singing silly songs to ourselves. Today she even joined in with her own rendition of the 123s, which completely stole my heart. Phil has mad skills painting with his feet. In the beginning of the workshop, he is like a mad artist attacking the canvas. All flailing limbs and happy concentration etched on his face and in his big brown eyes. Tiny Joy watches the world, inspecting everything and everyone. At the end of the workshop we always have a race; each one of us manning a wheel chair and someone else standing at the end of the lane to mark the finish line. Smiles break over faces and the excitement builds. "Ready, set, go!" Squealing tires (compliments of my sound making abilities) and the patter of bare feet on stone. Joy and I win our second race and I raise her hands in celebration and she gives me my first smile!
Not every day goes smoothly, and not everyone is in a stellar mood, but the outcome, whether it be winning a wheeled race, painting a beautiful picture, or summonsing a tiny smile, is always rewarding enough!

Land of a Thousand Smiles

Hello from sunny Chiang Mai, Thailand!
The chicken has official flown the coup! The Korean coup that is. So I made it. After flying all night and weedling evil luggage weight Nazis, and slipping them a few bills under the table (rolls eyes), me and all my respectable luggage have touch down in the Land of Smiles. And it's true! These people actually DO smile back at you! It was actually an almost uncomfortable sensation at first to have someone return my goofy smile. I think I even tripped in surprise at the toothless little Thai lady who seemed to find me tromping down the Chiang Mai backstreets as exciting and smile worthy as me! I haven't had much of a chance to do anything except make up for lost Zzz's slobbering on my new Apt veranda and getting lost a couple times down random back streets (which is the best way to explore a new city if you asked me!). For my first Thai food experience I channeled my inner Inge and scored a grilled fish popsicle from a friendly street vendor. It may not sound like heave but trust me, I got weak kneed at how delicious that wee stuck fishy was! I have made close buds with the fruit lady (pineapple for under a buck?!) and espresso lady on my Soi (alley). And yes, all you who had sneaky suspicions about my travels always follow the trail of delicious coffee, Thailand DOES grow its own delicious bean and YES I'm drinking massive amounts. It's so good I haven't even gone to Starbucks once! *gasp*
Yesterday, our ARI volunteers did their weekly Young Lions Art Program workshop with the local Burmese refugee children and I was able to sneak out of the office to spend some time and take some pictures of these beautiful children. Chiang Mai is home to approximately 120,000 Burmese refugees and migrants in search of freedom from fear and oppression. What they find here in Thailand is far different from what they expect. The family members are utilized for cheap construction labor and not given rights or residency by the Thai government. As a result, they have no choice but to live in construction camp slums and their children are not allowed to attend school. Instead, you will find them wandering the streets trying to put food on the table. Yesterday morning, three beautiful Burmese girls came up to me with strings of sweet smelling jasmine flowers clasped in their grubby hands and hopeful eyes. I smiled and told them that I was not buying and to my amazement the oldest one, who had bruises circling her neck, gave me the most incredible smile and told me how beautiful I was with thumbs up. As they walked away she kept looking over her shoulder reluctantly and called out the few English words she knew. I was so touched by these children. The Young Lions Art Program is an art workshop Zoe Lambe, the managing director of Cultural Canvas Thailand, put together to reach out to these children, to give them a chance to just be kids as well as to express themselves creatively. It has been a smashing success! We are trying to raise funds to reach out to the larger community of refugee children here in Chiang Mai. Take a peak at our project and lend your support! Young Lions Art Project
If you can't tell, I am a happy girl here in Thailand! I think I was made for tropical weather, fruit galore, delicious Thai food and working with this beautiful organization: Cultural Canvas Thailand