August 2011
4 posts
NEWS! NEWS! NEWS!
Plans have changed- (which might throw Brooke into a tizzy of a crashing storm looking for a rock to hold onto, however a certain storm already came this summer and helped me remember the better rocks to hold onto. I like the invisible rocks that are wiser than I in all ways and provide for me always. Therefore my tizzy is mild and my hopes are big as always.)
After working with our kiddos...
Feed Brains with Books! Art Feeds Ghana Wish... →
Remember those days of old where we still felt the chill of winter through our spring dresses and light sweaters? In those fine days, I began collecting children’s books galore for this fall in Ghana. It’s amazing what you can find at thrift stores and garage sales- real treasures for growing brains.
Sadly, my children’s book pile blew away with the rest of my belongings....
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do...”
– Helen Keller
July 2011
4 posts
MONEY UPDATE!
As of July 27, I have $2470 left to raise. (Which I feel is totally do-able… as long as I have helpers!) Here are a few ways you can help!
1. You can send me moneys. :) My mailing address is PO Box 1060 Neosho, MO 64850. If you haven’t received a support letter, but would like to, email me at brooke@artfeeds.org with your mailing address and I’ll get one out to you!
2....
The Funds... (dun-dun-duuun)
I AM SO BLESSED. Holy Smokes! Through outrageous gifts of generosity, my faith is encouraged that I will meet my goal before I leave for my trip. So thanks to all of you who are giving to me via money, encouragement and prayer, bear hugs, meals, house-sitting gigs, donated clothes, knock-knock jokes.
In a few weeks (I’ll post a date later), I’ll be having another garage sale to...
I bought my tickets!!!
The plane tickets are purchased, the curriculum is building, my heart is beating faster. Some of you may receive support letters in the mail requesting prayers and updating you on my journey. So many thanks go to my friend Ashley Eriksen for designing those- she’s awesome (and headed to Sweden soon for a photography internship. Prayers to her as well!)
I hope all is well with you...
June 2011
3 posts
Fundraising is coming along!
Holy Smokes- I can’t describe how I have been provided for. Checks and shampoo have been flying at me to help me take a next step (with lots of notes that say “wherever your next step will be”.) I’m overwhelmed by my community’s kindness. As of this morning, I’ve raised a little over half of the funds that I will need for this journey! I did a half-way...
WatchHello All!
As most of you know, I’m a Joplin girl. And a good portion of Joplin got wiped out a few weeks ago by an F-5 tornado. I’ve posted this video of the destruction in my neighborhood just as a reference for you- but if you want to see more, check out any news source in the country. (or maybe the world?)
My roommate and best friend Meg and I are a-okay. Neither of us were...
May 2011
6 posts
“I will keep you in my hat.”
– Note painted on a wall in Kete Krachi. Made my hat beat a little more steady.
Wander Log Resurrection
So it’s time for an update- The Wander Log has been A Lonely Log for far too long. Since our last post in September, I have finished my McCaleb supplement, graduated from the International Studies Department at MSSU, and journeyed to Ghana and back. It’s been a busy time and I have taken it as a chance to really live in the moment with the people around me (which means my social...
September 2010
4 posts
A snippet from Brooke's journal:
We watched as our monstrosity of a Volvo bus pull into Times Square of McLeod Gang, turn around and head back to the bus station down the hill. We followed, chalked our seat numbers on our bags, and loaded. Within 3 minutes of movement, I downed some Dramamine and prayed to not lose my Momos on the gentlemen in front of me. This bus had hydraulics much like the hot rods on my Main Street home. ...
21 Steps to Ranikhet
Manage to delay your flight to Delhi for 4 hours and arrive at 2am.
Get the “reputable” prepaid taxi from the airport
Make sure your cab driver doesn’t know exactly where your hotel is and have him stop at a “government approved” tourism office
Find out that the road to your hotel has been “closed” due to the Commonwealth Games and book 2 rooms at...
Updates to come
There were a few incidents during the trip that we weren’t eager to publish until we were in the same hemisphere as our mother. The stories were written, but left in drafts. You can check out the next couple posts to see a not-so-pretty side of this journey.
August 2010
22 posts
“Yes you will come back to Hyderabad. You can be a missionary and teach ballet. ...”
“You’re a very poor eater. How long have you been in India?”
– an Auntie at dinner- perplexed at Brooke’s plate
Hyderabad
Our posts have dwindled for the past week. It wasn’t because we’ve been lacking in the excitement area, but it gets harder to put things into words as we close up this trip. I’m on my way to catching you up. This last week has been a roller coaster.
We spent the weekend with a family on their farm outside Hyderabad. It was Beautiful with a capital B. We spent India’s...
Please vote every day to build a community art... →
Ahoy from Orissa!
We spent the last few days in Varanasi. Then flew to Delhi. Then to Calcutta. Then to Bhubaneshwar, where we are now huddled in front of an air conditioner watching Bollywood movies and resting our travelling heads.
Varanasi was fascinating. Tiny alleys twisted and wrenched their ways to the Ganges River where they emptied into holy waters, the embodiment of Shiva. Hindu worshippers bathe...
No dreams of Sugar Plums
Brooke: I just had a dream about the most wonderful lunchmeat sandwich.
Ryan: That makes sense. You were saying, "Mmm." in your sleep.
Brooke: Don't wake me next time. I love sandwiches.
“Well, at least it’s not as hot in here.”
– Ryan at breakfast, dripping with sweat
“I am Tibetan and I want to be free!”
– Says the panda (as seen in Tibetan literature in McLeod Ganj)
No Floods Here!
There has been some flooding and mudslides from a cloudburst in Ladakh, but we have been safely tucked away in Dharamsala and far from the destruction. We’re headed further south tonight and then to Varanasi.
Cultural Sticky Rice
I’ve been writing my fingers off. Some of it is the form of thoughtful notes on cultural norms- some in mismatched poems interrupted by drawings of beetles and bicycles. Being here so far has totally changed my perspective on Indian culture. I’m realizing that when I thought I was emotionally invested in this project before, I was only scratching the surface. India is upside-down...
From Ranikhet to the mountains
From Ranikhet we headed North toward the high Himalaya. We rode 6 hours on very curvy roads avoiding types of obstructions (goats, sleeping dogs, sleeping cows, 5-feet-deep holes in the road, crowds of kids on the way to school, bicycles, scooters, water buffalo, etc). We started hiking at noon with the man who runs the guesthouse where we would be staying- Hiat. We got to know him well and we...
July 2010
17 posts
Amazing food...
Adas': Has the food caused any "amazing" gastrointestinal reactions yet?
Ryan: So far we've had rock solid gastrointestinal constitution!
Update: I spoke too soon... All is better now. :)
“I love you but not your speed.”
– Handpainted road sign on mountain road
Headed to the Mountains!
We’re going hiking in the mountains, so we’ll be out of reach for a few days. Don’t panic. It’s like summer camp. with snow leopards.
Love,
B,R,T
“Wilderness is poor man’s overcoat.”
– Ranikhet street sign
view of the mountains
This morning we got our first really nice view of the high Himalaya. Since we’ve been here it has been cloudy but not raining! We’ve met a nice man, Ramesh, who always does yoga and then takes a morning walk. He has invited us to join him and we’ve been accepting. This morning we saw a pair of fox along the road (not to mention the neighborhood cows, dogs, goats and monkeys). ...
“Don’t fall out of the back of the truck, or else mom will never let us...”