Africa to Alaska

2010 is here!

2010-01-01T01:49:00.000-08:00

our first Christmas in Uzbekistan

2009-12-26T11:08:00.001-08:00

Christmas eve... getting ready for bed

Santa did show up... I want this, this, this and can I have this too?

Mama getting kisses! I love baby kisses!

Jim curving the turkey

I wonder what Jim and Aaron are talking about... if we go by their hand gestures! hmmmmmm!

Wedding Uzbek style. Umid weds Nozima

2009-12-16T09:43:00.001-08:00

With the proud father of the groom Mr. Jurabbaev

Hands on chest is a sign of respect to the person giving a speech! Here Umid's Boss is giving a toast to the newly weds

Waladi Turns 10 years Old

2009-12-05T04:22:00.000-08:00

Zaria goes hiking

2009-11-24T02:56:00.001-08:00

She actaully did walk most of the way but needed help after wards. Then God sent them donkeys LOL

Marine Ball - Tashkent Intercontinental

2009-11-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Samarkand - Land of fairy Tales

2009-11-08T05:52:00.000-08:00

With Jim off to Portual on a 10 day TDY, I used the fact that the kids studying about Timur and Ulug Beg in their Uzbek studies course as an excuse to take them on a tour of Samarkand for the weekend.

In the words of Alexander the Great 329 BC, "Everything I have heard about Marakanda is true. Except that it's more beautiful than I ever imagined."

Samarkand is one of the most ancient cities of the world with its history dating back 2,500 years. After several invasions that destroyed Samarkand, it was rebuilt on the site of one of its former suburbs. The narrow passage beyond the mausoleum is lined on either side with the mausoleums of the Timur period. They form a fantastic spectacle of majolica revetment and tile mosaics. Among many other mausoleums, the mausoleum of Shadi-Mulk-aka (1372) and her mother Tour-kan-aka, Timur's sister, are better preserved than others.
Towards the end of the fourteenth century, Samarkand became the capital of the huge Empire of Timur. The Bibi-khanum mosque was built with its walls faced with polished brick, which serve as a backdrop for the blue enameled bricks used for a large geometrical decorative pattern. Such monumental ornamentation is characteristic of the buildings constructed for Timur.
In the fifteenth century, during the time of Ulug Beg, structures were less grandiose but were distinguished by nobility of form and a great harmony of colored enameled revetment: Ulug Beg's observatory outside Samarkand was a unique structure. After Ulug Beg was murdered it was abandoned and by the sixteenth century it was in ruins.
After the seventeenth century, the situation in the country changed. Never did architecture in Samarkand reach such heights again. But the ancient city continued to exist, and now it is once more a thriving, developing city, one of the industrial and cultural centers of Uzbekistan.

The Gold Mosque

Turkish bath that is over 800 years old

Learning the art of hand making silk carpets

Lots of silk carpets

Halloween!

2009-10-30T09:12:00.001-07:00

Foxy Cleopatra

Austin Powers Gold Member

Austin and Foxy

Harry Porter, Lola from Hanna Montana, Jim and I

Lola and Harry Porter

Z and her pumpkin

Wadi and the pumpkin he curved. He got the 4th place

Bridal Greeting Ceremony

2009-09-21T07:47:00.001-07:00

The Eid celebrations in Uzbekistan are centered around “Kelin Saloum”, Greetings of the bride where all newly wed brides and the newly ‘joined’ families who had their weddings between the two holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) get to celebrate the union. During these 3 days the bride as to bow 3 times to every guest, and serve them, continuously with tea in between her hourly outfit changes. Today, I was honored to be invited to one of the Uzbek homes for a bridal greeting ceremony and the experience as one of a kind. The beauty of weddings is that the bride and her out fits plus the great food tend to take attention off of the only black person in the room, for most of the part. We also got to enjoy the dancing of an Uzbek super star dancer, Roza Abdulkhairova who seems to be well known internationally even in the U.S.
The Spread

The Bride

Bride

Bride

The guests with the family of the Groom plus the Bride

Bride

Roza the dancer

Bride serves tea as Roza dances in the back

Bride after I think the 5th change of outfits

Using fruits to express art!

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

2009-09-08T09:57:00.001-07:00

After a long 11 from Tashkent to Bukhara we checking into the hotel Lyab-i-Hauz which was once the home of a wealthy Bukhara merchant. We visited the old bazaars of Bukhara and to the Kalon ensemble, which includes the Kalon Mosque, built in 795 before being razed by Genghis Khan in 1219 and rebuilt in 1514 to serve as the city’s Friday mosque, the second largest in Central Asia. We also visited the Ark, which served as the seat of Bukhara’s Khans for centuries. There we saw the courtyard where many foreign visitors and emissaries, including the famous British officer Stoddart, met the Khan who would order their executions.

On day two, we visited Bukhara’s holiest site, the Bakhauddin Nakhshbandi ensemble, which serves as a local pilgrimage destination for Muslims around the region. Nakhshbandi, a 14th century Sufic saint, was buried here. There were large numbers of Muslims circling a Mulberry tree that is said to have been miraculously created by the man himself and doing so ensured one a long life. While we were fascinated by all these rich history, to the locals, I was the main attraction with many people that could gather the courage asking to take pictures with me. We then traveled to the Summer Palace, built by the Russians in the 19th century. This complex outside the city is surreal in its composition and worth the visit just for the novelty and oddity of the experience. Next on our agenda is the visit of Samarkand!hour train ride

Out shopping

At the hotel

Taking tea on the 11 hour train ride to bukhara

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

2009-08-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to Tashkent. We love our new home and the kids love their new school. I am still getting used to being the only black person in the country and all the attention that comes with it. So far everyone one is very nice towards me but I am not sure how long I will be patient with them trying to touch my hair. We'll see!

Aboard the Odyssey - Washington DC

2009-08-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

6 Flags America Baltimore/DC

2009-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Washington DC

2009-08-03T19:55:00.000-07:00

President in training!

Rosa sat so that Martin could walk and now Zaria is living the dream

Yawa Jak'kolego how tall are you?

Martin had his dream and I have mine :)

Happy Birthday Zaria

2009-07-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Zaria with Grandma

The kids playing 'pet store' with grandma. Here Zaria is a cat and grandma is a dog. Wadi is the pets owner

Kids do say the dandiest things don’t they? I really had not thought about how the media coverage of Michael Jackson’s Pepsi advertisement accident coverage would “affect” my kids until last night after we watching the movie “Marley and I” where the couple have 3 kids and a dog. My 8 year old turns daughter turns to me and this is our conversation, which I found hilarious;

Zaria: “Mom can we get a dog and another baby”?
Me: “Maybe some day we can get a dog but no more babies’ sweetie. You and your brother are all the babies that I ever want.”
Z: “Well let us say you wanted another baby how would the baby get in your belly?”
Me: “Well, papa would have to help me with that sweetie”
Z: “Well, can you and papa show me how you would do that?”
Me: “Baby you do not want to ever see how we would do that coz if you did you would be scarred for life, like Michael Jackson.”

A scared Zaria to her brother: “Wadi, never ask to see how papa would help mama get a baby in her tummy coz if you saw that your hair will catch on fire!”

Crow Mine Creek Hike

2009-07-15T16:32:00.001-07:00

Uncle Greg teaching Wadi how to fish

Crossing the creek in a hand tram

The Crow Mine Creek

Roasting marshmallows

2009-07-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

The Reader

2009-07-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

I finally got to watch the movie “The Reader” that was recommended by a friend. I decided not to read any reviews or synopsys so as to not have any pre-judgments about the movie before hand. Having watched “The Titanic” when I was still a newly wed and a hopeless romantic…(I still am a hopeless romantic but not a newly wed) I could not imagine any role that would be as moving as titanic was to a 23 year old me. Imagine me crying my eyes out and making out with whom I believe is/was my husband… he claims he did not watch it with me (something about him being embarrassed to be associated with the movie)… So I keep reminding him he missed out as I totally did make out with whom ever I watched the movie with… oh well back to “the reader” …
Everything in this film seems to be about Michael and how it relates to him. The sexual relationship, the cause of this with his friends, his law school, his views of the trial, his relationship with his daughter, his current state and finally having to come to terms and face Hanna again. But I was so fixated on Hanna and what I would have done differently were I in her “shoes”, a question she asks the judge but the judge does not answer. For the first time I found myself empathizing with a character as opposed to judging the character. So now here I am thinking about all the other additional stuff I will be adding to my “do not sweat the small stuff” basket. Fantastic movie… A must watch

From Anchorage to Seward

2009-07-04T20:21:00.001-07:00

The kids and I are taking the train to Seward while Jim and my brother Greg will drive the motor home there. We plan on staying in Seward through the 4th of July then head on to Kenai, Kasilof, Homer and Saldotna all the while this small cozy trailer will be our home. Lets just hope that I make it back sane enough to avoid being put in a 'lunny bin'

Uncle Greg was kind enough to take 2 weeks off from work and come 'baby sit'
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Our lot in Seward. This is where we parked the motor home

The motor home... Yet to be named. The kids with Uncle Greg aka baby sitter

The bedroom

Kids having breakfast in the dinning area

Oh and the kitchen waiting for th dish washing fairy to show up

The cozy living room

Climbing flat top mountain!

2009-06-24T20:02:00.000-07:00

Mama and baby moose

Made it up the top in under an hour

Time to get on all fours

Adjusting to life in Alaska for the next 6 weeks

2009-06-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

My goodness me! I never realized how spoiled rotten I was… We will be spending the next 6 weeks in the US and guess what that means; No maid to wait hand and foot on us. Unfortunately that means most of this work falls by default on me. Let’s see… wake up in the morning, make the beds, get breakfast ready, get kids ready for the day… worry about what to make for lunch then clean up… oops time to worry about dinner and cleaning up after dinner. By nighttime I have no energy, nor patience left. Did I mention laundry? These guys will not be seeing ironed clothes for as long as we are here. On the up side Jim is just a totally different person in Alaska… It is obvious that this is his ‘territory’ from the comfort and ease with which he navigates his way around, going from a guy that hardly responds to greetings to one that now only initiates greeting but also starts conversations with strangers. The kids love the attention they get form their relatives and hanging out with their cousins. This gives me my daily pleasures and ‘time off’ from ‘maid’ responsibilities but also reminds me that despite my absolute love for Africa I would not mind ‘settling’ in Alaska! This summer has been hard on all of us though, as it is the first summer with out Jim dad who passed away last winter. I miss him! We all miss him!

3 years later... Adieu le Tunisie

2009-06-17T08:50:00.000-07:00

Finally we are done packing out, if there is anything I hate about this ‘moving around’ life style, it is the packing and unpacking part of it. Now we have this empty house and in another couple of days it will be adieu Tunisia. We have had pretty good times here, despite a few incidences of racism which I know could occur anywhere and of course as it is with the state department there is always that one lunatic of an employee that has to be there at every post. Now this one will definitely not be missed. Even Jim is glad to be rid of this one. Good luck to those of you who have to deal with this one for the remainder of ‘their’ tour in Tunis. I will how ever miss all the new friends and new family that I have made here. I wonder if the kids will remember theirs. Maybe… maybe not… as they still are each others best friend, something that so far makes all this moving around so much easier. I am ready though for what other challenges Uzbekistan has in store for us. I wonder if they have a black community there… A little nervous I must admit but I know we will be OK. We always are. As long as we are in it together! Stay tunes for my upcoming ‘culture shock’ experiences!

Celebrating Zaria's 8th Birthday

2009-05-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

It is raining candy!

Hallo Kitty pinata

Me and my precious babies

Birthday girl with mom and dad

Graduation

2009-05-19T13:04:00.000-07:00

I DID IT! So did my siblings! After 3 years of what i like to call cruel and unusual punishment I finally got my master degree and so did my sister. My baby brothers both got their first degrees too. My "poor" mother, after flying for about 30 hours, had to find her way from one graduation ceremony to the next. Fortunately they were spread out with Kriss's first at 2pm and mine last at 6pm. She did not seem to mind though and would tell anyone that would care to listen how all her babies are graduates. What would we all do without the rock of our family! She is and always will be my hero; OUR HERO!

Brother Greg, Sister Liz, mom, me and brother Kriss (acting all silly)

Baby brother Greg and I

Sister act

With my nieces Michelle and Anyango

A family portrait

Mom showing off all her gradates. My brothers Greg and Chris; me and my sister Liz

My niece Kanyhia and sister in law Liz

My sister Liz and my cousin Schola

With Musanga and Liz Mbogori

Me and mom I was taller than her by the time I was 12 years old and I love to 'rub it in'

mama na mwanawe

2009-05-10T11:26:00.000-07:00