Going where life takes me.

Yes, I've started a Peace Corps/travel blog, and no, it's not on Tumblr.  You can now follow my travel adventures on http://soulsofmyfeet.wordpress.com/.  It will have updates about Mongolia, any traveling I get to do, and (once PC is over), my continued foray into international development.

I finally have some time to update!

I've been so busy with my fundraising campaign, I haven't had too much time to make the cards, which has impinged on my ability to send them out everyday, but I've still sent out all these babies into the world!

I reblogged Minh's post about receiving his card (he was the first!), and here's a few more messages I got after people received theirs:

Diana: I just got your card, just made my week! (:

Jessie: Genni! I got your card today. THANK YOU! ♥  You're so sweet. It made my day. Wait for my card back :)

Mama Bear Grace: GENNI!!! i got your card! thanks soooo much genni cubbie! i love it! you are such a blessing :) to me and everyone else. thank you for brightening my day with your snail mail! ♥ youuu!

I'm now on the 3rd day of my second week of my eating on $1.50/day Challenge to raise money for my friends in Tanzania.  Their vision to help create a better future for street children by providing them with practical education and skills (carpentry, mechanics, computers, sewing, etc.) is both inspiring and somewhat daunting.

An update on my challenge: Most of the first week was spent eating oatmeal and an egg for breakfast/lunch (since I tend to stay up late, I try to eat my first meal between 2pm and 4pm) and for dinner some pasta interspersed with 1.5 oz of salmon, carefully weighed and calculated for half of my daily meal allocation.

By the end of the week, I'd lost 6 lbs.  In our thin = beauty society that may not sound too bad, but to put it into perspective, my doctor tells me that healthy weight loss should be 1-2 lbs. per week.  Calorie restriction and fasting to cleanse out your system may be all well and good, but this "diet" is not meant to be sustained for a month, let alone an entire lifetime.

My body does adjust, though.  If I time my meals correctly, I don't get hungry as often or as severely as I did when I first started.  My mother joined me for three days in support, and she found that she could go on one carefully portioned meal in the latter part of the day, with maybe a fruit to sate the hunger before going to sleep (unlike me, she sleeps pretty early).  Water is now my best friend.

And really, it's all worth it.  To-date, I've raised almost $1300 from my friends and family.  The middle of the month is approaching in 5 days, which will also mark the beginning of week 3 for me.  Every donation is matched, so I only need to raise $1200 more to make my $5000 goal!  What's more, if you choose "No Perk" in the donation section, the donation is tax-deductible, courtesy of Tanzanian Fundi.

Donate Now! And THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart.

We hosted a fundraising dinner last night for some family to talk with Johnson, my friend visiting from Tanzania, and founder of Foot2Afrika.  Their dinner: pork ragu in a deliciously buttery sauce; basil, mozzarella and tomato appetizer; pear salad; and homemade ice cream and potato chip cookies for dessert.

3/2/12 and 3/3/12

For those who don't know, yesterday I started a campaign to raise $5,000 to help my friends in Tanzania buy land needed to build a youth trade center in their community of Moshi.   Most of the time, when older kids age out of the centers (like the boys in the picture will in a couple years!), if they don't have educational support they go back into the streets and are forced to beg or steal. Foot2Afrika is planning to build a trade center in Moshi, Tanzania, where street children can learn skills that can help them become independent, contributing members of society. These skills include carpentry, farming, computers, sewing, and jewelry-making. Currently, these kids have NO WHERE to go, and the youth village will give them an alternative to a terrible lifestyle.

Until I reach my $5,000 goal (or April 1, whichever comes first) I'll be living below the international poverty line of $1.50/day on food.  That doesn't just mean I'm giving up coffee or snacks or soda.  It means I'm also giving up most meats, vegetables, fruit and healthy portion sizes.  I bought my food for an entire week yesterday, and was able to get oatmeal, a couple eggs, some pasta, a can of tuna, 2 apples, and a can of beans.  It's the end of my second day, and all I've had to eat is oatmeal and an egg.  I may complain, but for so many people, and for a lot of those kids in Tanzania, this is their life.  They don't get to go back to full bellies and 3 meals a day after a month.  But if they had useful skills, they may be able to have some of that.

3/1/12

March=Mail for Friends

Happy March!

2/29/12

And on this, the last day of February that comes but once every four years, I give you five cranes!

The first crane (Be healthy! Take care!) I put in the elevator in the hospital as I was picking up a form for my Peace Corps application.  I got a nice surprise when I went back down 20 minutes later: I got the same elevator I had going up, and the crane was gone! :)

The second crane (You're a star! Just be you!) was put on a chair in the waiting room of the hospital.

The third crane (For luck... because you never know when you'll need it.) was put on the windshield of a car parked a few down from mine when I went to tutoring.

The fourth crane (Don't worry! Be happy!) was left in McDonald's when I went in to get my dad some french fries.

I debated about leaving the fifth crane somewhere because of the message (The sun is shining, and so are you!).  The sun was not, in fact, shining, because I had written that crane a few days ago when it was nice and sunny outside, but forgot to leave it somewhere.  By the time I had gotten back to my car, though, the sun was out a bit, so I put the crane on the house I was parked in front of.

2/21/12 and 2/22/12

I went to the post office on 2/21, and left my crane on one of the tables they have for people to sort out the mail they pick up from their PO boxes.  The crane said, "Someone thinks you're amazing!" and "Be happy :)."  On 2/22 I took the bus home from tutoring and left my crane on the bus seat.  We've had some amazing weather lately, so the crane just said, "Enjoy the beautiful day! :D"

2/20/12

2/15/12

2/14/12

2/13/12

2/11/12

2/8/12