dragon breath

I've had a hacking cough for something like four weeks. It drained me of energy. It made me irritable. I wanted it to end. One of my colleagues at work gave me a concoction to eat to "help with the cough." Everyone at work probably was tired of hearing it and worried it was contagious.

It was onions, garlic, lemon juice and some sugar. Wow, it was potent! I was supposed to take a bite every 30 minutes or so. It did clear up the cough, which was interesting to me. But, it had a side effect that I titled "dragon breath." I didn't want to speak with anyone as I was sure the odor coming out of my mouth was something horrific.

Home remedies, what are yours?

NOTE: the next day I also had a strange odor coming out of my skin. I guess it can act as a cough remedy and repellent - a two for one!

Portuguese + Spanish (Espanol) = Portanol

We have started language lessons. We are currently in the basic greeting stage of learning.

Hello. How are you? Where are you from? or what is your nationality? What is your profession? I speak English. I am from America. I am the Deputy Country Director. I am a student of Portuguese. I am well, thank you.

These are the things we can now say and understand in Portuguese. I am finding this Spanish connection more difficult than expected. Spanish words come out when I don't mean them to. My teacher said there are people who end up speaking Portanol - a combination of Portuguese and Spanish (Espanol). I am coming to believe that I will be one of those people.

In New Mexico, most speak a combination of Spanish and English - known as Spanglish.

I wonder if I can put these hybrid languages on a resume? I am not really fluent in anything, just a hodge-podge of a few languages.

What languages do you speak?

Obituary: Ernestina Roybal Rodriguez

The funeral for my great grandma came and went...and I couldn't be there. That doesn't mean I am not grieving. Here is a link to her obituary if you want to read it. Below is an excerpt:

Ernestina recently had a grand celebration on her 100th birthday with 250 in attendance, which provided everyone a chance to greet her personally. Her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren number 158. Ernestina was a beautiful, hard-working, generous, loving lady that devoted her life to her husband, family, and faith.

I am part of her legacy. Now, if only I could learn to make home-made tortillas like she did! My tia Anita (featured in the picture below) has given me all the tools and instructions I need to accomplish this. I tried twice. They were good, but the work didn't seem worth it at the time when there were decent store-bought varieties. I keep contemplating trying it again now that I am living in a place with a serious lack of tortillas. I must go to South Africa and make a special order in advance if I want some. Deep sigh!

On my last visit we took this photo. It isn't fantastic. I think it was taken with a cell phone. It features me, my mom, my tia Anita and my tia Carmen. Grandma is in the middle. I was hoping to see her again on our upcoming visit and get a picture with this small, but incredibly strong woman. Our plane leaves in seven days to the US. New Mexico is our first stop. I am so sad a stop at Grandma's house to spend some time with her will not be possible.

In case you haven't figured it out already, it is the people who matter most in life...not the abundance of your possessions.

This is Africa (TIA): forest of palms

There is a saying that is often said when speaking of our new home - T.I.A. What does that mean? It stands for This is Africa. From time to time I will post things under this title that summarize our experiences in living in Africa.

Until I started working for my current employer, I had only been to one place in Africa. I visited Morrocco in 2002. I have now visited at least eight counrties on the continent of Africa. All of them are distinctly different.

Before coming to Africa I had visions of the Sahara Desert and animals like giraffees and lions roaming the Serengity. Those things do exist, but it is only one part of a VERY diverse landscape. This photo is from southern Mozambique.

Sahara Desert? I think not! Notice the forest of palm trees. Is this what you expect when you think "Africa?"

Adventures in Africa: Swaziland

It isn't often I get to go to a new country. One of the down sides of all the travel I've done in recent years is that for most destinations; I've been there, done that. But, I had never been to Swazi. It is within driving distance of our current home and we had to renew our visas to stay in the country. What does that mean? Road trip to Swazi with the Whitlocks. Hooray!

Swaziland is a small kingdom in southern Africa. Unfortunately, it is best known for having the highest HIV rates in the world. Currently, there is something like 40% of the population living with HIV at present. They are trying like mad to make treatment widely available in order to preserve life (and the stability of their nation). It is a ongoing struggle and a VERY expensive endeavor, especially for a developing kingdom.

We ate breakfast in the area behind the market, then took a gander at the handicrafts. What I can tell you that isn't apparent in the photo - it is cold, cold, cold. Winter has arrived in the southern hemisphere and we do NOT enough warm clothes. When we left America we were moving to the tropics where warm clothes weren't needed. We will be bringing back sweaters and jackets, yes, these are needed in Africa.

On our way out of the country after a fun day trip we decided to stop at the Royal game park for a potty break, then made a spontaneous decision to take a self guided tour. Immediately spotted an elephant. About a week later I touched an elephant in Kenya. In case you haven't touched an elephant before, I want to share with you that they have long, prickly hairs on their thick wrinkly skin. Rather disgusting to the touch, really.

Wart hog. Every time I see a wart hog I think of that song hakunamatata from the Lion King. This sighting was no exception. As we road along dirt roads, I thought hakuna-matata, hakuna-matata. Sets a certain atmosphere when on safari. Smile!

Due to my lack of camera battery I was not able to capture the most memorable part of our self-guided safari tour in the 13-passenger mini-van. While on the road we saw a baby elephant. We inched up closer. Where there is a baby, there is a momma. The momma emerged from the bush...and she wasn't happy. We backed up until she backed off. They quickly moved off the road, we decided to forge ahead in the direction we were previously going, knowing the elephants weren't far from the path. The momma renewed her disapproval by letting out a very loud, very scary trumpet sound. Now that we survived the experience it is fun to talk about.

The next morning, Kenyon did a youtube search of elephant attacks. There were many in vans like ours. He kept saying, "that could have been us!" I am so glad it wasn't. Over all, it was a great visit to a new destination.