I began printing images from our trip to frame around our new home, something I have never done.  Although I do occasionally capture images of my personal life, it is true that as a photographer I hardly ever enjoy them beyond the glowing computer screen.  I know I am not alone in the photography world, neglecting the moments of our own life, while we capture memories for others.  I can now truly appreciate what a gift these images are to us. I find myself staring at them remembering those precious moments that I did not fully appreciate at the time.  My heart longing to be back in that very spot where I captured the photograph, to once again enjoy the sights, sounds and feeling of the environment.

My freed up time has also allowed me to move forward on a long time project I have been working on for nearly 6 months, my new I See Beauty website!  You may have noticed some subtle changes while I sync my blog to match the color and feeling of this website.  I hope to be finished with it in August, so stay tuned.

Because I cannot post without a picture, here are a couple of the images I have framed in my house from our travels.

Fishermen at Down Beach in Limbe, Cameroon.  These hand carved boats are so heavy that they have to  use logs and the muscle of several men to roll them onto the beach.

This image is from one of the Baha’i Holy Places in Israel, the Mansion of Bahjí.  The young lady in the image is a fellow Pilgrim from Namibia.  Our group was comprised of individuals representing nearly all the continents of the world.  I have not shared much about our time in Israel, even with close friends and family, because it was such a personal experience.  I have yet to formulate words that would to do it justice.

To make a long story short, the doctors in the ER confirmed that it is not shingles. They also did an ultrasound on my leg to be sure it was not a blood clot.  To tell the truth, the doctors had no idea what the real problem was/is.  They presumed that some kind of bacteria entered my foot while I was overseas, and  they sent me home with a slew of antibiotics.  I have been taking the medication for almost a week now and the swelling has gone down dramatically.  Saturday afternoon I  happily progressed to walking with crutches rather than a wheelchair. And today I was able to walk without assistance; well, more like limp around because it still pains me.

I am happy to say that I will slowly begin doing photo sessions again, as I can handle them, but my dear husband still has to act as my chauffeur. In the meantime, I must thank all of you for your patience and happy thoughts.  I mentioned my sickness as a side note to my last posting because I did not want to make it a big deal. Nevertheless, I received countless emails from all my friends and fans wishing me well. Thank you so much for your concern and support.

Because I cannot post something without a photo, I thought I would share with you some images from village life in the  rain forest.

A village woman about to go to the farm. They are smart and carry heavy things on their head keeping their center of gravity.  I tried it and terribly failed. It’s a learned art.

They also carry babies on their back.  It is just a simple strip of cloth supporting the child, and the baby is so content there. It leaves mom’s hands free to continue work. If you look closely you will notice the baby is sweating, it gives you an idea of how hot and humid it was.  That was the most difficult thing for me to deal with while in Cameroon.

Houses are constructed with local materials, another valuable thing we can learn from them. This is the inside of a thatch house.  The walls are made of bamboo and mud while the roof is palm leaves. The temperature inside of this house was a good 10-15 degrees cooler than outside, I loved being in here!

This is the back of my in-laws house.  You can see they have a tin roof and mud brick walls.  This type of construction allows for larger buildings, although it is much warmer inside.  You can see the single light bulb hanging from the roof, it is powered by a generator, there is no other kind of electricity here.

This is a kitchen. All cooking is done away from the primary dwelling outdoors because they cook on a wood fire. To prevent burning down or smoking out their house, they build a small kitchen specifically for food preparation and storage. There is no plumbing of course, so their bathroom is a hole with sticks far far away from the house. I am glad I never got the urge while there… We slept in the village guest house which actually had a toilet, although it did not flush.

This is our sister Martha cleaning up the recently butchered pig.  We have video of the entire process from killing it to carving it up in front of the village elders.  Every part of the animal was used and I admired the care and traditions of the ritual. Although I must say that watching it confirmed my vegetarian ways…

Before I forget to mention it, each of the images from my trip was taken on a small $200 point-and-shoot camera. I did not feel good about bringing my large digital SLR camera with me.  I must say it did rather well  in good daylight (but there is no helping it in low light situations). It goes to show that if your light is right and composition strong, a simple camera can still capture great images. Those of you that are curious, it is a Panasonic TZ5 with a nice Lumix lens.

Along with this idea of being a wife to the village, comes an initiation into the role. So before going to Africa, my husband warned me about a tradition in the village to “splash” the new wife with water.  I was expecting a fair sprinkling of water just to go with a small ritual.  I quickly found out  that I was sorely mistaken. On our first morning in Tinto, the women of the village gathered around me and DUMPED buckets and buckets of water over my head.  I kinda felt like I won a football game, several times over!

The first woman to  pour water over my head was the village woman’s Chief, once she started it, all the other women enthusiastically followed. Just imagine while looking at these images, the women around me singing and yelling in excitement as I get “cleansed”, each woman taking their turn pouring water over my head.  The cleansing went on for a little while until my Auntie (the one in the black and gold dress) finally told them “Enough!”.  Actually I was enjoying the whole experience. After all, it was hot and humid there, and the water cooled me down.

After the water was finished being poured (notice the once dry ground turned into mud) they preceded to teach me how to use a hoe and machete, the key tools in farming for women.  Then the ladies preceded to dance and sing around me in a circle.  They were clapping, smiling, laughing and hugging me during their dances.  The whole time I sat in the middle, soaking wet and watched all the celebrations. Although I had NO idea what they were singing, their dance actions graphically demonstrated the words to their songs.  Put it this way, it was apparent that many of the songs were about fertility…

When everything was said and done, I was lead into my in-law’s house and my Mother-in-law presented me with the gift of a new kaaba (the colorful dresses we are all wearing) to change into.  I was now officially a “Wife of the village.” The celebrations from this event continued throughout the day.  They even slaughtered a pig for the gathering. Later on in the day my mother was involved with her own traditions and presented with a goat.  But that is another story…

On a side note:  I have been very sick for the past week battling what we think may be malaria.  I took all the necessary precautions while in Cameroon, taking my daily medication and constantly applying bug spray.  Unfortunately, many of the malaria parasites are resistant to the anti-malarial medications, and one of these must have been lucky enough to find me.  I have now completed my malaria treatment, and am out of bed feeling much better. Yet, I continue to be in pain due to a rash on my left foot that has now made it’s way up a nerve in my leg. The doctor thinks  it is shingles, but there are no blisters and lots of swelling?   The pain is so severe that I have not been able to walk on it for 3 days now.  The swelling has forced me to keep my leg elevated, making it uncomfortable to sit at my computer for any period of time.  This blog posting has taken me hours because of this fact. I am not so sure of the shingles diagnosis, so we will be getting a second opinion soon. Please send good thoughts my way, so I can get back to doing what I love, photographing babies!

In the meantime, I have so many stories from my travels, but all I can think about at the moment is missing my family in Cameroon. They each touched my heart and I already long to go back to be with them.  My husband is the eldest of 9 children, and in addition to his parents and siblings, there are countless cousins, grandchildren, a very special Auntie and several Uncles. Not to mention the “adopted” family that are always present. Before sharing some of the stories, I would like to introduce you to his wonderful family, most of which live in a remote village called Tinto, in the tropical rainforest of Cameroon.

Here is Cellas’ parents. His father is a fun-loving man whom everyone enjoys to be around. The villagers call him “the man of the people” and I could clearly see why.  His mother was very quiet while I was around, although I was able to get a sense of her tender, nurturing, and regal qualities. She does not seem to age and has passed on her beautiful smile to her children.  His parents grew up next door to each other and were married young. Together, they have created a beautiful family.  They continue to work very hard to feed and provide for their family as farmers.

Here is the eldest of the bunch,  my husband Cellas of nearly 3 years. Before this trip he had not been home in over 4 years.  I can now see why he longed to go back. Life is simple in Cameroon, no pressures to pay credit card bills and high living expenses.  One just buys their land and builds their home using the local materials. The average person does not have the modern convinces that we find in America, but this makes for a very creative and hard working population of people. If one wants a bunch of bananas or a toothbrush, they do not rush to the grocery store.  Rather, they walk along the street until they find someone selling it in front of their house.  It seems everyone has a business here, Cameroon is a country of entrepreneurs. It was laundry day the morning that this image was taken.  We spent most of our days in the city, living in the pink house behind Cellas.

This is Agbor, and two of his three children.  I admire this man more than he realizes. Tradition demands that the eldest child stay close to their parents, caring for them as they grow old.  Cellas, being the eldest, was committed to this position until Agbor volunteered to do so.  He currently lives with his wife and 3 children in a well organized room in his parents home.   He recently purchased a plot of land down the street from his parents and has dreams of building a house on it someday soon.  It is because of Agbor that Cellas was able to leave the country and eventually meet me.  I thank Agbor for his continued sacrifice and giving Cellas the opportunity to be who he is today.  I am touched by his commitment to the family and the hard physical labor he must endure on a daily basis.  I was not able to say goodbye to him as he had to go to the farm the morning we were leaving the village.  I look forward to spending more time with him in the future.

This is Deba, his woman and 2 children. They live in a city about 4 hours away from the village.  I have so many wonderful images of his eldest, Alice, as she was incredibly photogenic, and not shy of the “large white woman” or her camera.   Most of the children in the village were very shy of me the first day. They do not see many people of my type in their area.  Once in a while I would hear shouts of “white man” in the distance.  The countless stares at me were uncomfortable at first, but I quickly realized that is was a fact of life when traveling to such places. I was not able to make a true connection with Deba until just hours before we left the country.   I am grateful to finally get to connect with him and I realized that we have much to talk about.

This is Loveline (pronounced “love lean”), the first born girl.  She is holding her niece whom she helps care for. She lives in Limbe, the city which we spent most of our time in, about 8 hours from the village.  Loveline has achieved the highest education amongst her siblings (with the exception of my husband). She has aspirations of becoming a nurse, and we hope to be able to raise the funds so she can achieve her dream soon.  Cellas and I have made the commitment to gift his siblings with a good education.  Along with tuition, we send money to Cameroon for their books, uniforms, room and board (if needed) as well as covering medical expenses and other miscellaneous projects we are supporting . Loveline is the eldest of 6 in school at the moment.

Meet Effi, the brother I affectionately call my “angel”. Of all the siblings, he spent the most time with us. He was Cellas’ right hand man while we were in Cameroon helping us with every small and large task that was asked of him. At one point in our trip we were stranded with a flat tire when we went to visit the 1999 lava flow from nearby Mount Cameroon. Unfortunately, our spare tire was worse off than the original flat.   With only villages around us, Effi quickly volunteered to take the tire down to Limbe to get it fixed.  He rode back up to our rescue holding the newly fixed tire on a two wheeled taxi (aka: motorcycle) with no helmet or eye protection.   This is one example of countless angelic things he did for us. He has also proven to be a fantastic student who holds himself to high standards.  Effi has held the record of top student in his class of over 100. He is studying in a technical school eventually to become an architect/contractor.  I was very fortunate to spend some good times with him and create lasting memories. Because of the mutual connection we formed, we are both missing each other very much right now. Thank you Effi for your never ending service to us. Words cannot describe how honored I am to have you as a brother.

This is Tabi, he is in secondary school and living in the village with his parents. I was told he would like to be a lawyer in the future. Every time I saw him, he had a smile on his face.  One day he wore a t-shirt that read “Big Brother Africa” that has stuck in my head when I think of him.  I have big hopes for him and his future. We did not get to spend much time together, but he still left a lasting impression on me.

This is young Martha and her 7 month old daughter Elizabeth. Martha was in secondary school when she got pregnant, and we have hopes that she will soon go back when the baby is old enough.  She was working hard during my entire time spent in the village. I admire her perseverance and hope the best for her future. We only spent 2 nights and 3 days in the village.  Because of this short, and very busy time, I was not able to learn as much about these younger siblings.

Meet Julie, the youngest girl of the bunch.  She is the one wearing the Brazil t-shirt.  Unfortunately, I had no interactions with her, as she was always running around doing things while we were there.  The only pictures of her I was able to capture are candids of her working. This photo was taken during a brief rest she took in between tasks.  We arrived in the village on a Saturday evening and the word that Cellas was bringing his wife from America spread quickly.  Nearly 300 people showed up to greet us on that first night, and many never left.  They celebrated through the night, not even a sudden rain storm would chase them away.  Because of the overwhelm of people, the family worked very hard to provide food for the villagers. No one had a moment to rest, I think we are the only ones who slept the first night.

This is the youngest, Tabe.  I am told he is about 9 years old.  Many people do not know their exact ages here. They do not keep track of them the same way we do. They relate their age to the ones around them.  There is a structure of respect for elders.  As long as you know who is older than you and respect their rank, you are fine. Tabe was as shy as can be.  We never talked, but there were many times I tried to get pictures of him.  I was finally able to get this happy image of him in the middle of trying to fetch some water. He appears in the background of many of my images from the village.  He, like his sisters, was constantly working; getting water, sweeping, preparing food, watching children… I could truly see the saying, “it takes a village to raise a child” in action while here.   I hope to bring this same system of values and care for our family to be.

I will be leaving Fresno on March 8th, and back home, ready to work on April 24th.  I will not have email or phone access while overseas. Being so disconnected will probably be the most difficult part of this trip for me.  I have set up a TWITTER account, and will update it when I have a chance, so you can follow my steps as I travel abroad. Please keep me in your thoughts for a safe and successful journey this next month.   I cannot wait to share with you stories and photographs from my travels!

The above map shows red flags of where my recent blog visitors are from.  While mostly concentrated in the US, I am happy to see I have several international followers.  The blue circles indicate the countries I will be visiting this next month.

]]> http://www.iseebeauty.com/blog/travels/world-traveler/feed/ 2 http://www.iseebeauty.com/blog/news/roam-around-the-world/ http://www.iseebeauty.com/blog/news/roam-around-the-world/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 08:01:49 +0000 Jamie http://www.iseebeauty.com/blog/?p=153 Many of you know that I am in the process of planning a big family trip. Today is the FIRST day I have been really present to the odyssey we are about to embark upon.  I was shocked to realize today that it is only 3 short weeks away!?!  My heart is racing just thinking about the excitement of such a journey, it is both uplifting and overwhelming since there is so much to do before we leave.

My husband, mother Linda, and I will be focusing on 3 countries for this once in a lifetime journey. Each destination is on a different continent,  and each serves a very distinct purpose.

First we are flying into Paris, France, spending a total of 6 full days in the city of romance.  Our Paris visit is in addition to our original plans, and just for fun.  Although I have personally been to Paris 7 years ago, it will be wonderful to experience the city with my family. The only goal while we are there is to enjoy ourselves and sight see.

The second leg of our expedition will take us to Haifa, Israel.  This is the spiritual portion of our trip, as we are going on a 10 day religious Baha’i Pilgrimage.  Our entire trip is centered around this pilgrimage, as it is our original reason for the journey. I have waited 6 years for the honor to be invited to visit the Holy Land. I am looking forward to the spiritual gifts such a sacred pilgrimage offers.  Many individual’s are curious on how my husband and I met, since we are such a unique couple.   Our common bond is that we are both members of the Baha’i Faith, it is what has brought us together, and what keeps us connected regardless of cultural differences. To find out more about the Baha’i Faith, please visit:  www.bahai.org

The final and longest part of our journey is Cameroon, West Africa, where we will be spending the remainder of our month abroad.  Not only is this my chance to meet Cellas’ very large family for the first time, but for me to gain a deeper understanding of who he is, by connecting with his roots.

Prayers, well-wishes, and any travel advice for a safe and successful journey is much appreciated.

Stay tuned at the end of April for stories of these travels once we arrive home. In the meantime, I have 2 more weeks of photo sessions and blog postings.  So keep checking in, and if you have not done so in the last week, check out my website www.iseebeauty.com. I have been working hard to update the galleries, and you can now view over 200 new photos on the site.

I took this image of the Eiffel Tower in 2002 when I spent 2 months traveling all over Europe. Seeing it brings back so many memories of my past travels.  I look forward to creating new memories during this upcoming journey.