My visit in Sudan with John Bul Dau

Today I am staying with John Bul Dau, my friend. Tomorrow I have to go back home, but I hope I can make the most out of today. John lives in Duk County in Southern Sudan. This morning, I woke up to laughter and shouts of "Sabah al ghair", which means good morning. Even though John's hut was a little bit small, I enjoyed it because it felt very cozy. I went over and gave John a big hug. He asked me how I had slept and I said, "Great!"John told me that we were going to visit his medical clinic. I told John that my dad is a doctor and he would probably have a lot to talk about with him. Maybe the next time I visit Sudan, I will bring my dad to meet John. John introduced me to all of the people that came into his clinic. They were all so thankful for John's hard work. I could tell that John was very proud, but still acting very humble. Later John took me to his hut and I lay down on the bed for a while. I thought about my day and all the people I met and then made friends with. I can't wait to come to Duk County again. As a goodbye gift, John asked his village people to perform a goodbye dance for me. It was amazing and very thoughtful of all of them. They were very colorful and I will never forget that wonderful image. Goodbye, Sudan! 

My visit with John Bul Dau

I visited Southern Sudan with John Bul Dau. His home village is Duk County in Southern Sudan. Here is a map of his village.

John Bul Dau's lost boy clinic

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Ghana~Emmanuel's home

Emmanuel lives in Accra.

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Santa Barbara~home

This is where I live.

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Emmanuel's Visit Day 6

Today is Emmanuel's last day here in Santa Barbara.
 We woke up to a faint drizzle of rain outside our windows. I hoped that Emmanuel would still be able to go on the flight. Before we drove Emmanuel to the Santa Barbara Airport, I wanted to show him an amazing view of Santa Barbara. Even though it was raining, we drove up to Santa Barbara Middle School, located on the Jefferson campus on APS street. By the time we got there, the rain was was starting to stop, the sun was peeking through the clouds.

We looked out over Santa Barbara, admiring the wonderful view in awe. Then slowly it appeared, stretching across the town, a brilliant rainbow with vibrant colors. Mother Nature's farewell gift to Emmanuel. I looked over at Emmanuel as I wondered how he was feeling. I was overjoyed that Emmanuel got to see this amazing sight, but at the same time I was very sad that he was going home.


Later that day we drove Emmanuel to the Santa Barbara Airport. I knew Emmanuel would bring back many stories, memories and souvenirs  from Santa Barbara. Along with that, we gave him a camera filled with photos and videos from his time here. I gave him a big goodbye hug, promising to write to him. "Someday", I told him, "I will come visit you in your home in Ghana."As Emmanuel got called  to board his flight, we waved goodbye. "See you in Ghana", he called out. We watched his plane take off, soaring high above our home town, into the clouds. '' Goodbye Emmanuel."    

Emmanuel's Visit Day 5

Today was Emmanuel's fifth day being in Santa Barbara. I wanted to show him one of favorite textures which is sculpting clay. We went to Michael's, the craft store, to buy clay since I didn't have any at home. I picked out the colors blue, orange, yellow and brown and Emmanuel picked out red, green, purple and white. I made a butterfly sitting on a flower and Emmanuel made a small, colorful tea pot. It was really cool! We also made beads for a necklace.
 Before Emmanuel leaves Santa Barbara, I want him to see a colorful Santa Barbara sunset. We sat outside on our deck, in our old wooden rocking chairs, waiting for that magical time when the whole sky lights up.   

Todays sunset was a great one! 
I took this picture while we were sitting there on the patio. Tomorrow Emmanuel is going to fly halfway around the world to his home in Ghana, but before we take him to the airport I want to do one last thing.


           

Emmanuel's Visit Day 4

    Today Emmanuel and I rode our bikes to Goleta Beach on the bike path. It was a really fun ride. After we got off our bikes we went on a beach walk. Emmanuel was looking for a treasure hat he could bring back to show his friends in Ghana. We walked for a few hours and we found 6 washed up shoes, a rock with mussels still attached, a gardener snake slithering on an overhanging tree branch, a childs lunch box and much more. We found so much stuff, but nothing that we could keep. Then finally, Emanuel saw something dark blueish hiding in the sand. It was a piece of indigo sea glass! It was so pretty, especially when you held it up to the sun. Emmanuel said that he was going to bring this back to Ghana to show all of his friends a tiny treasure from visiting Santa Barbara. 
   As we slowly rode home on our bikes we talked, laughed and shared stories. We talked all about the treasures we had found before. 
    I was so glad that Emmanuel got to find that souvenir. I know that he will treasure it forever.
                                          

Emmanuel's Visit Day 3

It was Emmanuel's third day here in Santa Barbara today. We woke up around 5:30 p.m so we could hear one of my favorite sounds; the first birdsong at dawn. Have you ever been camping and woken up just early enough to catch the first birdsong of the day? Whenever I hear it, it makes me feel so happy, even though I am still pretty tired.
As Emmanuel and I listened, sitting outside in our pj's, sipping hot cocoa, we softly exchanged gratitude. Emmanuel told me that he was thankful for getting to be here in Santa Barbara, with all of it's friendly people, amazing views and great adventures all around.
I said that I was thankful that I get to spend this time with Emmanuel and show him all of my favorite places to explore, people to meet, adventures to go on and lastly, food to enjoy!

Emmanuel's Visit Day 2

Today was the second day that Emmanuel was here. We woke up and made banana pancakes from the Williams Sonoma cookbook. They were really yummy! It is kind of a  family ritual to sit down and eat banana pancakes on a Sunday morning together. So, that's what we did! I introduced Emmanuel to my parents and we had a great time laughing together.
If you want our banana pancake recipe, here it is......

Its okay if your pancakes don't turn out looking like this. All that matters is how they taste!

                                                        Pancake Recipe

                   

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 small, very ripe banana, peeled
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Maple syrup for serving
• Sliced bananas for serving

Directions:

Cut the butter into 3 equal pieces. Put 2 of the butter pieces in a small saucepan and set the remaining piece aside. Set the pan over medium heat and stir with a wooden spoon until melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Using a pot holder, remove the pan from the heat and set it aside to cool.

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix with a fork until well blended.

Put the banana in a small bowl. Mash with a fork until almost smooth. Add the milk, eggs and vanilla and stir with the fork until well blended. Pour the banana mixture and the melted butter into the flour mixture. Mix gently with a rubber spatula until the batter is just blended. The batter should still be a little bit lumpy.

Put a griddle over medium heat until hot. To test if the griddle is hot enough, flick a drop of water onto it. It is ready if the drop dances quickly and evaporates. Put half of the remaining butter onto the griddle and spread it with a metal spatula. Drop the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle, spacing them about 3 inches apart.

Cook until a few holes form on top of each pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully slide the metal spatula under each pancake and turn it over. Cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is puffed, 1 to 2 minutes more. Using the spatula, transfer the pancakes to a serving plate.

Repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the pancakes while still hot with maple syrup and sliced bananas. Makes twelve 4-inch pancakes.

Emmanuel's Visit Day 1

Today Emmanuel came to Santa Barbara, I took him to the Santa Cruz Island caves. As we kayaked through the caves, I thought to myself how lucky we are to be able to have this experience,all of our worries just seemed to float away. Emmanuel was very good at kayaking, much faster than me, but still taking his time and enjoying each present moment.
Because of the waters reflection, there was one cave that was green inside. It's walls glistened like someone had sprinkled tiny, little emeralds all over.  On the way back from the Channel islands, we saw a J-pod of dolphins (a giant group of dolphins). There were so many surrounding the boat. It was an amazing sight.

Below is a video some people took of kayaking through one of the caves.