Summer tour schedule:
June 15 -- Grapevine CoC (Dallas, TX)
June 19 -- First Freewill Baptist Church (Russellville, AR)
June 20-25 -- IMPACT at Lipscomb University (Nashville, TN)
June 22 -- Harpeth Hills CoC (Nashville, TN)
June 26 -- Otter Creek CoC (Nashville, TN)
June 28 -- Nashville Sounds Purity Charity of the Night (Nashville, TN)
June 29 -- College Hills CoC (Lebanon, TN)
July 3 -- First United Methodist Church (Marion, IN)
July 6 -- KidsFest at North Central CoC (Indianapolis, IN)
July 7 -- North Central CoC (Indianapolis, IN)
July 10 -- Southwinds CoC (Fort Wayne, IN)
July 10 -- Southeastern CoC (Indianapolis, IN)
July 13 -- Central CoC (Johnson City, TN)
July 17 -- Highland CoC (Memphis, TN)
July 17 -- Downtown CoC (Searcy, AR)
July 19 -- Cornerstone at Westside CoC (Russellville, AR)
July 20 -- Glenwood CoC (Tyler, TX)
July 24 -- West Houston CoC (Houston, TX)
July 25 -- Aggies for Christ (College Station, TX)
July 27 -- First Protestant Church (New Braunfels, TX)
July 29 -- Highridge Church (Fort Worth, TX)
July 30 -- Decatur CoC (Decatur, TX)
July 31 -- Singing Oaks CoC (Denton, TX)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
June 11, 2011 -- Village life
We've made quite a leap the past 48 hours or so. From sleeping in the village 3 nights ago to Lome to Accra and now still in Accra but at the beach. It's major culture shift. But I can't say I mind it. I didn't realize how developed Accra and, it seems, Ghana in general is until we left and came back after being in Togo. It's a really big difference between anything we saw in Togo, even Lome, and here. It's much more of an undeveloped, village feel in Togo. We stayed in the literal village the other night. That was interesting. When it got dark they used a kind of box flashlight to see, they listened to the radio really loudly, and for dinner we had fufu (mashed up starchy root vegetables that look and taste like snot) with sauce made from bayobab leaves (that tasted like dirt). We decided it would be less impolite to stop eating than to throw up all over the place. We slept at Kumea's house on mats and our sleeping bags and some of her hard pillows on the floor. Maybe one of the worst nights of sleep I've ever had. Communicating with Kumea and her family was really difficult since none of us spoke the same languages. But even with all the discomfort, their hospitality completely blew me away. They gave us their food and were so welcoming to us. Kumea even slept on her pallet outside our doorway as our self-proclaimed "guardienne." She really was wonderful to us and tried to communicate with us even through the language barrier.
Speaking of which, I think the language barrier did get more taxing as time went on. The more time we all spent together and spending the night there, it just would have been so nice to be able to talk to the women and everyone. We joked that night about being blind and mute because it was dark and we couldn't see or speak to each other. It was definitely a challenge.
Speaking of which, I think the language barrier did get more taxing as time went on. The more time we all spent together and spending the night there, it just would have been so nice to be able to talk to the women and everyone. We joked that night about being blind and mute because it was dark and we couldn't see or speak to each other. It was definitely a challenge.
June 6, 2011 -- Mountains and Motos
Wow, we only have 2 dyas left here in Togo. And they're pretty busy so they'll just fly by, I'm sure. Yesterday we climbed a mountain that we pass every day on our way to the village. We've been talking about doing it since we got here and I didn't expect it to actually happen, but yesterday was the women's day to run the whole process completely on their own so we didn't go out to the village and climbed the mountain instead. It was pretty cool! There was a big path about halfway up that was cut out by trucks from the rock quarry at the base and the rest of the way up was flat rocks and grass. No snakes to contend with, either! Five boys from some houses we passed on our way in came with us too. They were all barefoot and just scaled the mountain like champs! It was fun to have climbing buddies who you knew were enjoying each other's company but with limited communication.
This afternoon the plan is to head to the market to support the women selling bread, and then we're spending the night in Lassa Tchou! Who knows how that will go. I'm guessing they go to sleep really early and wake up really early, but I guess we'll find out soon enough!
Another thought: taxi motos. What a concept! I think they're brilliant. I want a motorcycle so badly now. It's just such a thrill! We've been watching "Long Way Around" and "Long Way Down" where Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman go around the world and down Africa, respectively, on motorcycles, so that's also been inspiring me. Haha and all of us, really. Cam and Dylan are seriously talking about buying bikes and making a trip happen. It would be such a blast. I've only ridden a moto like 3 or 4 times but I love it! The wind and the bike and everything, it's exhilarating. Maybe part of the thrill is riding on terrible roads at the mercy of a stranger controlling where you're gonig and how you get there, all the while not wearing a helmet (sorry, Dad!).
This afternoon the plan is to head to the market to support the women selling bread, and then we're spending the night in Lassa Tchou! Who knows how that will go. I'm guessing they go to sleep really early and wake up really early, but I guess we'll find out soon enough!
Another thought: taxi motos. What a concept! I think they're brilliant. I want a motorcycle so badly now. It's just such a thrill! We've been watching "Long Way Around" and "Long Way Down" where Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman go around the world and down Africa, respectively, on motorcycles, so that's also been inspiring me. Haha and all of us, really. Cam and Dylan are seriously talking about buying bikes and making a trip happen. It would be such a blast. I've only ridden a moto like 3 or 4 times but I love it! The wind and the bike and everything, it's exhilarating. Maybe part of the thrill is riding on terrible roads at the mercy of a stranger controlling where you're gonig and how you get there, all the while not wearing a helmet (sorry, Dad!).
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