Hiking Black Rock Forest (and other weekend activities)

The hubby and I had another packed weekend

Friday – Dinner with hubby’s medical school friends
Saturday – A fundraising event for TETEA http://www.tetea.org/ (Tanzanian Empowerment Through Education Association) turned into a lovely Peace Corps reunion. We even cooked some delicious chipsi mayai
Sunday – Brunch Devotional with some Brooklyn Baha’i friends
Monday – We took our doggy with us to visit my parents and hike Black Rock Forest. Busu loved running around the trails with us for 3.5 hours. We loved the views and fresh air. I adore the feeling of being surrounded by nature (we only saw 10 other hikers and 4 dogs the entire time). To find trails in the NY/NJ/CT area check out this great resource http://www.nynjtc.org/

African Men. Hollywood Stereotypes.

Great ~3 min video featuring Kenyan men poking fun at the way African men are portrayed in Hollywood films. There are so many stereotypes that continue to be reinforced in popular movies. Yes, there are a few Hollywood movies featuring Africans that are based on a true story. However, we only see the negative truths and often through the eyes of a Western. As one of my favorite author once said:

"The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete."
~ Chimamanda Adichie (from TED talk The Danger of a Single Story)

This is for all the students I taught while at Tukuyu Secondary in Tanzania who will be our future doctors and lawyers :)

12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer

Whenever I think back on the 26 months I spent living in Tanzania, I smile. Although that piece of my heart I left in Tukuyu aches. Luckily a bigger piece of my heart, my husband (a fellow Peace Corps volunteer I met and fell in love with while I was serving) is always nearby :)

Still looking for that special someone or just want to read a Peace Corps related piece? Then check out this post "12 Reasons to Date a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer"

My husband and I often whisper sweet nothings to each other in Swahili, appreciate hot water, live low maintenance and refer to our 2nd/3rd "mama"....Need someone to demonstrate safe sex condom techniques? We can help, we even know how to carve a phallus out of sugar cane :)

Condom race to help students overcome angst

A student demonstrating condom application on the sugar cane phallus

Davis, joy and hope

Just returned from my 9 day trip to Tanzania......the place I lived from Sept 2006-Nov 2008, the place where I met my husband, the place that will always have a piece of my heart, the place where nature's beauty moves me, the place where at one moment I can witness something so heartbreaking that I don't know what to do and the next moment witness something so inspiring that I then figure it out.

Above is a picture of Davis (the one on the back of the bike). When Davis was first taken into the Olive Branch for Children's care he was almost 2 years old but could not walk, crawl or speak. Davis was extremely malnourished and near death. My friend Deb, who runs the Olive Branch for Children, took him in and months later he was walking/talking. Later we realized he had a learning disability. In Tanzania there are not many options for people living with a disability....and few schools able to help. Visiting doctors from the West think he's autistic.

3 years later Davis is developing well. The whole time I was there I never saw him not smiling. He would follow me around bringing a smile to my face each time. He is no longer shy and can carry on simple conversation....he still has his moments (like toilet accidents and walking around with no underwear)....but he's making great progress and bringing joy to everyone he meets.

3 days until Steamtown Marathon, ~$900 raised

In this picture: Montessori teacher, Eliza and Children at the Gomoshelo Montessori Kindergarten

My first marathon is this Sunday. I've dedicated my run to all the lovely children and people I met during my 2.25 years living in Tanzania. So I'm raising money for  The Olive Branch for the Children. I have raised ~$900 so far and I am attempting a last minute dash to reach $1000.

The Olive Branch for Children was started by one of my best friends Deborah McCracken-Nangereke in 2005. Because of her amazing work she received the Rolex Awards for Enterprise’s Young Laureates Program and various PEPFAR grants (US President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief). She lives in Mbeya with her husband Putiyei Kimala Nangereke and her 9 adopted Tanzanian children (one of whom is Davis, my Godson :)

The Olive Branch for Children:

• Provides home-based care for more than 500 people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Runs kindergartens in 22 communities
• Manages Agricultural Projects for the community: providing the residents with small business grants, irrigation setup and basic supplies for farming including simple shovels and pails.
• Provides education scholarships for children to pursue University/College education via The Olive Branch’s Education Fund
• Operates a permanent medical clinic and hosts monthly medical clinics in remote villages
  

SPONSOR MY RUN:

If you chose to donate, please post a comment and I'll email you the details. 

PS. On October 26 I received a post-marathon donation enabling me to reach my $1,000 goal :)

18 days until Steamtown Marathon - $521 raised

~ I've reached my fundraising goal ($500) for The Olive Branch for the Children. $521 and counting....
~ This Sunday I'm running New York Road Runner's 18-mile race.
~ 18 days until Steamtown Marathon
~ The Olive Branch runs kindergartens in 22 communities in rural Mbeya, Tanzania. In this picture is a student learning how to count. I love the use of local resources ie soda caps.

A baby saves the day

My loving, gentle and sweet Grandma has been in a hospital or rehab center for the past 6 weeks. She has cancer of the liver. She will start chemo on Tuesday. I went to visit her at the new hospital she was moved to yesterday. It was quite depressing in the beginning. Her roommate is expected to die at any moment; Forcing the doctors to talk with the roommate's son about DNR orders. And then down the hall a woman is screaming constantly. I asked the nurses why and they just said she's sick and has a disorder where she can't talk......so all she does is scream to communicate her pain. As you can image this creates quite a somber and depressing mood.

Then this adorable smiling baby walks in with his father trailing behind. The baby had just learned to walk and is so proud of himself. I think my mom or me reminded him of someone he knows because he was instantly attached to us. He kept smiling and showing off his walking skills. Then he started to dance to the silent music in a baby's heart. And everyone is the room is happy, you can feel the shift in spirits. My grandma is smiling along. (To the right is a picture of my Godson who lives in Tanzania)

Before I left, we held hands and I said the short healing prayer. My mom and grandma aren't Baha'is but they are extremely religious/spiritual. Afterwords, my mom commented on how nice the healing prayer was.

I wish I got a picture of that moment. The baby was the cutest thing ever and I have him to thank for making my grandma happy. It reminds me of the 2.25 years I spent in Tanzania. The children there always gave me so much joy. Without fail whenever I was having a bad day I would play with the neighbor's kids and all with ok. To the left is a picture of the neighbor's niece that they were raising as their own. In the picture she's in my backyard with a sunflower I had planted. That girl made her way into my heart and has never left.

Lambsquarter and sunflower greens: Farmer's Market discoveries

I love farmer's markets almost as much as I love Whole foods (and for those of you who know me that's saying a lot). Something about all the fresh vegetables, fruits and beautiful flowers makes me happy. Plus I like meeting some of the farmers and workers who had a hand in producing my future nourishment.

I have been on the lookout for another super vegetable that tastes good enough so I could lessen my kale addiction. This Saturday I found it :)
Introducing Lamb's quarter (wild spinach).

"Lambsquarters is a close cousin to spinach, but far, far more nutritious. It ranks right up there with Dandelion, Watercress and Nettles as one of nature’s nutritional powerhouses. It has a mild, green flavor like our domestic greens. In fact it is a relative of Swiss chard, beets and a few exotic garden greens like orach, all in the Chenopodium family." 281% of your daily Vitamin A requirement, 111% Vitamin C, 1112% Vitamin K, 46% Calcium and 47% Manganese the list goes on.


The taste is similar to spinach, really close to "mchicha" a wild spinach I used to eat in Tanzania. I sauteed the lamb's quarter with some garlic and olive oil -> mmm. I highly recommend you try it. I will be revisiting Union Square's Farmer's Market to restock on some (plus their Kale is $0.50 cheaper ;)


Unfortunately, another purchase of mine caused some major buyer's remorse.... Dear, Sunflower greens: You taste mediocre and cost $6 for a 1/4 lb. I overlooked your high price because you are 25% protein. Just 3.5 ounces of your sprouted seeds contain 22.78 grams of protein. However, I had to force myself to eat a handful even after adding salad dressing.

Jokingly my fiance adds "When I eat them I can sense big sunflowers standing behind me and weeping because I am eating their children."

If you don't care about the price, it's still worth a try though. Because if you like the taste they still are an amazing source of plant based protein.