GHANA

I was skeptical about this trip at first but, I'm so happy that I took a chance and gained the best occupational therapy experience thus far.  I figure I won't be able to see everyone and fully explain my experience and I figure I should be documenting my travel experiences before I forget. Sorry some of the pictures are out of order.

Here we go!

 sleeping quarters...this is VIP status in Ghana

 

goats...they were so cute

 outside of our sleeping quarters

 the children's school

happy that we are here!!

 our personal alarm clock

 plantain donut, and the BEST PINEAPPLE IVE EVER EATEN

 our first time meeting EBE and VERONICA :)

 the cutest ghanaian boy in the world!

 dinner time

a town scene

 canopy forest!!

 the suspension bridges were sooo much fun!

 me and tivo!

 ahhh I'm going

this is how I really felt

 the beach

 the slave castle...bonnie was right, everyone should visit one of these in their life time

 homemade plantain chips...they were soo yummy, it tasted like lays

 awww poor ebe

 veronica with her shaker

 playing games before dinner...she was so sweet here

hi franklina

this picture always makes me laugh....paul's foot

 parachute time...the kids loved this activity

 hanging out on my shoulder, he was tired

 bonnie doing work

i loved how they carried their children

 hi solo!

 irene and ebe marching

 they both had a crush on ebe...these are the community based rehabilitation therapists in training from ghana

 more students

 ebe, paul and the kids getting their groove on

 side shot

 were trying to be cool with our sunglasses

 they win for the cutest but most inappropriate couple :)

 don't worry I got you

 the kids marching in the ghana independence parade...so proud of them

 here they are in front of the leader of the town

 beach day :) sooo stoked

 most heavenly drink on earth, well it seemed like that in ghana

 ot all day everyday...exhausting but worth every moment

 what I ate after getting sick

 back to the beach pictures

 yeaaah!

 he had to do his beach dance before getting in the water

 best fresh banana chocolate bread

 what the wind can do to a palm tree

 down time with tivo

 these guys are too cool for school

 hi ebe's mom, so sweet and nice

 veronica's sister

 sooo good. thank you ebe's mom

 football time

 most of the time me and ebe would sing, play games, sometimes scream, or talk about harry potter and high school musical

 tano!

this is a picture of rice, cabbage, a boiled egg and red sauce oh and I can't forget the chocolate cake

 me and tivo at paster joe's grandfathers village

 in our ghanaian dresses

our usual daily hug

hallo 

our lovely host and instructor

 at church with the kids singing and dancing their hearts out

limbo time! I convinced him to do it 

he didnt want to talk on the last day

 my favorite rapper

 he has the biggest smile

 aww zufah

my favorite duo

 ebe saying bye :(......

i hope you keep that smile on forever

I learned so much from being in Ghana. I love their culture, people and energy. I'm so glad i chose USC and OT or else I wouldn't have gotten this opportunity and inspiration. I'll post istanbul pictures next!

Being more environmentally aware

Lately it's been bugging me about how much waste America has.  It's so easy to just throw away things and not take a trip to the recycling center or call a charity to pick up old clothes, furniture and etc...  I've been trying to do research on the internet about what can be recycled and where to take it or who to call and I FINALLY found a perfect website for this, it's called Earth911.com.  You should check it out! It's perfect for people like me who likes to hoard items in hopes of a future function.  I can now put my items towards a good cause so it's not a complete loss. 

http://earth911.com/

Also, I was hoping that the plastic bag ban legislation would be approved, but it failed. Read more.

I encourage people to STOP USING PLASTIC BAGS.  I am sometimes guilty of this because I forget to bring my recycled bags.  To prevent this I bought these bags called Chicobags and they come attached to a key chain so you can never forget.  They are also made out of recycled materials.

Trying to change someone's lifestyle to have less impact on the environment is hard.  It took me days to convince my dad to use an aluminum bottle to drink out of instead of the plastic bottles.  Slowly things are changing. 

2010 is AWESOME!

knock on wood. 

Sorry I don't post often but, this year has been awesome which is a complete opposite from last year which now seems like HELL. 

Here are some of my highlights of 2010 in no particular order

Working at Borders which saddens me that I'm going to quit soon. SEX AND THE CITY 2
England, Ireland, Spain and France trip with Miss Samantha Kao
Health Care Bill passed, which means I will be covered until I'm 26 with my parents health insurance.
Got to work at a chocolate shop, GODIVA
OT Masters Program, Class of 2012


ill update more later. gosh i never have time to complete my posts

Escondido Canyon Park

If you're looking for a nice peaceful hiking trail this is the best place to go away from the LA city but not too far. During the rainy season there's a beautiful waterfall at the end of the trail. There were some steep climbs but overall an easy walking trail. This is located in Malibu and on the way to the real trail you get a glimpse of mansions and vast grasslands. I really enjoyed the greenness with the ocean in the background. Here are some pictures that me and my partner took on the trail.
I really needed to get away from being cramped up at home and this was the perfect idea.

The cons:
-horse shit everywhere, rich people are too lazy and take their horses to the waterfall so on the way to the trail you are constantly dodging the horse shit.
- without a map you can get easily lost. me and daigo ended up on private property because we forgot the map
- there is little parking, and be careful when your walking to the canyon because rich people might run you over with their mercedes and range rovers.

Here's the pdf of the map:
http://www.lamountains.com/maps/escondido.pdf

These pictures don't do the trail justice but, here are some of the sights that I experienced.

This is what I come home to :)

Empire State of Mind

LISTEN...version without Jay-Z



I miss New York! I really like the atmosphere and I bet it's awesome during Christmas time.

Here are some photos from the last time that I went to go visit. One year I'm going to spend Christmas and New Years in New York. It seems so magical.


click on the image


this waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge is actually an art exhibit by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson


natural lights from New York



I would probably go here for my entertainment. I'm known for my jungle fever.



NYC LIGHTS


my favorite painting at the MET


In New York
Concrete jungle where dreams are made of,
There's nothing you can’t do,
Now you're in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new,
the lights will inspire you,
Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York


Seems like just a dream.