word of the day

Today's word of the day: Patience

We finally made it to Addis Ababa, after a short refueling stop in Khartoum, Sudan.
There were two, small, adorable children kicking the back of Lauren and I's seats much of the way. I finally turned around and gave them each a small beanie baby stuffed animal (which I always have in my backpack for moments like this). Unfortunately, I think they started fighting over who wanted the the purple lizard, and both immediately began to cry. Oh well. I tried.

When we got to the airport, the security officers demanded that I leave my video cameras in their storage area until morning, when I could bring them back a letter from the Ethiopian consulate approving the filming permit. I tried every trick in the book in asking if I could take equipment with me. We spend nearly an hour arguing over options. (At least I thought we were arguing over options. In reality, the ONLY option was for me to leave my equipment there). I even told them I would bake my famous chocolate chip cookies and bring them in the morning. Didn't work.

Tomorrow will be another long day.

on the road again

Hi everyone!

Welcome back to lisa's world piece. Obviously, I'm not great at updating my blog, but I do my best to bring it back to life when I'm traveling. It's February 3rd (February 2nd for my West Coast friends), and I'm sitting in the Amsterdam airport waiting for my flight to Ethiopia. I'm shooting a story for World Vision, documenting their water projects in south western Ethiopia. I've been to Ethiopia before, and am anxious to catch up with my friends living there, but more exciting for me is that my niece, Lauren, is traveling with me. I can't wait to see Africa through her eyes! We'll be in Ethiopia for 8 days, and then will be heading to Kenya for a short safari in the Masai Mara before returning home.

This is Lauren....

She is an amazing young lady, and a really awesome photographer. I'm looking forward to seeing where her eye takes her on this trip.



The flight to Amsterdam was uneventful. We sat in the front row, so we had lots of leg room.






















And our stewardess, Sherry, was very entertaining. She told us where to buy stylish boots in Amsterdam, where not to eat in Shanghai, and how to stay away from Zombies in Ethiopia. Apparently, she just read the oral history of the Zombie War. I'll be sure to stay away from anyone grayish in color with really big teeth.


After arriving in Amsterdam, we headed up to the KLM lounge for internet and cappuccino's. After plugging in all my mac gadgets, I looked up to see a guy in a green kilt sitting at a desk across from me.

Be glad that this photo was taken after the fact. The first time I looked up, his legs were open. Let me just say that he wasn't wearing boxers.

Day 4 - Tai's Excellent California Adventure

Welcome to Los Angeles! (Hey, where's the sun?)




Hoorah for Hollywood!








Tai was very excited to have his picture taken with Lassie's star on the Walk of Fame.



We even stopped by a dog park in L.A. I forgot how little grass there is around here.

The Contact Point Trial ended with a swim in the river...









and a long nap...



Night, night, Tai.

Day 3 - Tai's Excellent California Adventure

Here is Tai's jumpers run from Sunday. He did an aweome job, but dropped one bar. ):

Day 2 - Tai's Excellent California Adventure

Day two of Tai's amazing adventure proved to be quite extraordinary. He qualified and placed in 5 of his 6 runs, and was able to get an illusive Grand Prix Q! Yay! Here is his Grand Prix run from today:



My friend, Becky was very kind to let Tai share crate space with her dog, Freddie:

The Contact Point trial site is backed up between a river, and an orange grove. It's really beautiful.

Here is Tai's Gamblers run. He came in 3rd place...





It's been a long day....must go to sleep now. I'll try to post more photos and video tomorrow!

Tai's Excellent California Adventure

Work has been a little slow, the lawn is mowed, and am becoming blinded by my astonishingly white legs. So I decided a couple weeks ago, that it's time to take a vacation. This morning, my Border Collie, Tai, and I set out on a California Adventure. After a few last throws of the tennis ball...


We carefully packed our bags...


and made our way to the airport...

Tai wasn't so sure of Mia, the TSA agent. He was especially unhappy when she made him go back in his crate after screening it.

During the flight, I sat next to Kimberly, an amazing woman from Burbank. We talked during the entire flight, and even made each other cry. It's quite extraordinary the people you sit next to on planes. Everyone has a story. I think Kimberly and I will become great friends.

Tai and I finally reached our hotel around 8:30. After taking a few moments to jump up and down on the bed, we ran out to grab a burger and fries. I can't think of a better way for a Border Collie to start a vacation - dinner in bed, remote in hand, and a bully stick for dessert. Does he know how lucky he is?

Remembering Annie

Hi everyone...

Since I last posted to my blog, so much has happened in my life. Last December, my very dear friend, Annie Boulet, passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm. We were college roommates, and life long friends. Life long. Until we're old and gray. So far down the road that we can't even see it from here. I never imagined I would lose a life long friend so quickly, so unnecessarily. I remember a quote that hung from Annie's rearview mirror. It said, "May you live every day of your life." I am trying to, Annie. I'm trying so hard to live. But every day seems harder without your voice on the other end of the phone, without your smile, your challenging words, your hugs, and your kind encouragement. Tomorrow I will try harder. Missing you, Annie.

World AIDS Day

Every fourteen seconds, a child is orphaned by AIDS somewhere in the world.

Every fourteen seconds.

On this World AIDS Day, I’d like to add a face to this statistic.

I’ve traveled all around the world, documenting the AIDS crisis. I have shot stories about how AIDS has torn the fabric of communities, shattered families, and left millions of children without parents. Every interview is difficult. Every story is heartbreaking.

But this week in Cambodia, I listened to a story that reached straight into my heart, and pulled with all its might. Maybe it was the sadness in Tot Pok’s his eyes as he remembered time spent with his mother, or maybe it was the determination in his voice when he talked about how he’s getting back on his feet, with the help of World Vision donors. I’m not sure. But I do know that the next time I hear this statistic - every 14 seconds a child is orphaned by AIDS, I will see the face of Tot.

Before posting on Cambodia, I thought I would put up this video from Ecuador that never made it to the blog...

Photos from Ecuador

This is Coto Paxi, the world's highest active volcano

The children

The Andes - 11,000 feet up

We visited a small community high in the Andes. They were given Alapaca's through World Vision's Gift Catalog. The Alpacas help to protect the environment and water tables. It's making a tremendous difference in their crop production.

We stopped briefly at a small school in the village

The mountains are simply gorgeous

And so are the people...

I loved this image of a girl standing on the mountaintop with her dog. The picture isn't as amazing as the one that's imprinted in my mind.

This is Virgen de Quito, sitting high upon a hill overlooking Ecuador.

I took this picture at the Fiesta de Quito celebration

Just had to end with one of the cutest kids I met. He loved the camera! I think I have about 30 pictures of him.

Ecuador has always held a special place in my heart. My infatuation with this amazing country goes back many years, to a Sunday evening church service. I don’t recall how old I was, my grade in school, or what I thought to be important at the time, but there is one thing I do remember - the faces. Two missionaries were giving a slideshow presentation about their work in Ecuador. Most Sunday evenings, I would have rather been watching the Wonderful World of Disney on television. I loved that show! And I begged my parents every Sunday night to please let me stay home and watch it. This night, however, they appeased me by saying, “We promise, you will really love the service tonight! It will be much better than the Wonderful World of Disney.” They were right. Torrey and Rose Wickman’s presentation on Ecuador planted a seed that would slowly and patiently ignite my soul, and guide my career path.

I’m sure Torrey and Rose talked about the ways they had been helping communities in Ecuador, the plans they had for the future, and money that still needed to be raised. But what I remember most, are the faces of children. They are etched in my mind. As a young girl, who had never been out of the United States, I couldn’t understand how children in some parts of the world didn’t have access to clean water, or food, or hospitals. They couldn’t watch the Wonderful World of Disney, or ride their bikes down the street to buy a candy bar. Many of the children didn’t even have families. It just didn’t seem fair. So my simple, little girl brain decided right then and there that someday, I would travel to Ecuador, and help these children.

I didn’t know exactly what that meant, of course, but a seed had been planted. And now, 35 years later, I am standing on a mountaintop in Ecuador, shooting a story about how World Vision is helping children and families in a small village in the Andes. And I’m trying to encourage others, during this busy holiday season, to step outside their world too. And step into the eyes of these children. It’s amazing how God can take a church service, a slideshow, or even a moment, and slowly mold it into His greatest masterpiece, which is our lives.

That’s what I think about when I look at these pictures. These are for you, Torrey and Rose! Thank you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I miss you all so much! For a special Thanksgiving dinner tonight, the World Vision staff took us to Mama Clinda's, where we dined on Cui (Guinea Pig), and the most amazing cheesy mashed potatoes I've ever had. It was delicious!

We had a great day today up in the mountains doing a story on alpacas! Although it was a bit, shall we say, messy. Check it out:

Last night, we watched a gorgeous sunset during our flight to Ecuador.

 

Today we visited Mitad del Mundo - The middle of the world.

Also known as the belly button of the world.  I like that name better.

I balanced on the Equator

Photos of Quito...

There was this amazing church that seemed to rise up out of the city...

While taking these pictures, a pack of 3 dogs came running over the hill toward me.  They were barking, and giving me a really good look at their teeth.  It's so ironic that often when I travel, dogs seem to really dislike me.  Don't they know that I love their species??  Anyways, this is the one that I thought was going to bite me...

 
And then this lady ran up behind them, and started yelling at me in Spanish. 

I later realized that she was trying to tell me that the dogs wouldn't hurt me.  Could have fooled me...they looked pretty vicious, and their teeth came frighteningly close to my leg.


This wonderful man is Patricio Ricardo Izquierdo Salvador.  We call him Pato.  He is the Internal Communications Officer at World Vision, Ecuador.

Pato has this amazing goutee!  I just had to take a picture of it.

These are a couple of murals that were near the Mitad del Mundo. 

 

We have a really early rise tomorrow, and it's currently 12:46 am.  Nite. Nite!