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pdx>niamey

We left the condo at 5:15 am yesterday and got home around 9:30 am today, Portland time, 5:30 pm Niamey time. Wow, is that a long trip. Next time we stay over in Paris, just to stretch our legs and not have to spend more than 24 hours of solid travel time.

Pierre and Zoure were here to greet us, Zoure all dressed up with gold earrings and everything. A lot of big trees have been trimmed in the yard making the house brighter than ever. It's so clean, Zoure came a few days early to clean and it's bigger than I remembered. Peter's nurse brought over a dinner she left in the fridge.

We wandered around the house and then ran to our favorite corners. Camille is watching "That's so Raven" I'm on the computer and Stefan is playing with cars. Peter had to run to meet a regional medical officer who is taking our same plane back to France tonight at midnight.

the view from portland

I visited my friend Elizabeth at her office at Hanna Andersson today and we were both wearing the same outfit, it was so funny. Jeans, blue and white striped shirts with ruffles, a black sweater tossed over. I saw Raemi, who I use to see everyday at work, it was so wonderful to see her face. "Have you been having fun at Anthropolgie?" she asked. "No! Goodwill!" I said. Oh, it's so soothing to see our friends.

The Willamette Weekly has the funniest article kvetching about Portland. It's really a love letter, everything he complains about I L-O-V-E: the tall bikes, the overly-polite drivers, the bumper stickers, all the pretty people at New Seasons, the edemame. The article is so funny, beware of reading it in a public place, like the most Portland thing I've ever heard of, the vegan bar at the Pirate Tavern.

Back track

We had a fabulous time at Lake Margaret with cousins, Serge and family, and all the kids. I really didn't want to leave Davis. We took a trip to San Francisco and stopped to visit Tori and John as well as Luanne and Evan. One of the greatest pleasures in life are our family and friends.

After a stop in Paradise to visit Mom and Dad, we came to Mt. Shasta. Milla, Sonja, and Pop are in a new home. Jeremy, Milla's boyfriend, welcomed us with open arms. The house is quite spacious but there were a lot of people. Nina came down with Peter and Clara. Dina's parents followed us up and the time went by too quickly. Papa and I talked about life. He still grieves the loss of Nina (his wife) and nothing can take the place of her.

We left for Portland and stopped in Ashland to visit our dear Fulbrights. Lunch was served outside with a fine beer and a walk downtown and the park. We arrived in Portland near midnight. Rajesh and Kshama generously provided us with their condo which is situated in the park blocks and suits us just fine. A wonderful condo.

Helen came down from Seattle to see us. Our time was short but it was so good to see her. Nina also spent a fe days with us. We went to Hawthorne Street and walked the blocks window shopping. Every thing I saw and loved I wanted to buy Dina. So I did (a necklace and a sterling silver daisy ring that doesn't squirt water). We had a fabulous lunch at Bread & Ink; a cold borshch, pork quesadia, berry bread pudding and lime mousse. We shared a glass of On the Left Pinot Gris and a fine Savinion Blanc.

Nina came with us when we went to visit Kathy and Lee. The house is beautiful. They did a fine job painting and decorating. The garden looks so beautiful. We are lucky to have such wonderful tenants and friends.

I felt self-conscious about the short amount of time I spent with Papa. He is grieving and although it was wonderful to be with so much family, it took away our private time together. Atya was planning to go down and then stop to visit us on her way back in Portland for a few days. I rearranged our dental appointments and the kids and I joined her on her way down.

We are now in Shasta and will return to Dina in Portland tonight. It's been a wonderful visit. Pop livened up. We brought lots of zakuski and spent time reflecting upon our growing up; Monterey, Carmel, Idaho, Africa, work, mom and Nina. The kids had fun with their cousins and I was impressed with how well Stefan behaved. Not that he is bad but usually he is the most challenging and this time he wasn't. Milla and Jeremy have also spent a lot of time with us and it was great to get acquainted with him. We shared conversations on medicine, soccer, and family. Atya and Milla made some terrific meals and we drank many a good bottle of wine!

Time to pack up and head back north. I miss Dina. I feel almost as though we spent separate vacations. But our visits with family are important to us and we will spend the last week together before we head back to Africa. And our friends and family ARE the most important thing in our lives.

keep portland weird

Oh my god, five days without the interwebs. I was starting to feel like I was back in Africa.

Peter is on the road with kids to visit his dad in Mt Shasta. I am bien installée at the Tea Zone. We adore our condo on the Park blocks in downtown Portland--thank you Rajesh and Kshama! It's lovely! Drizzle-y here this evening in the most atmospheric way, there is a candle burning on my table, and I've ordered a pot of Vanilla Bourbon Red African Roos tea, recommended by Peter's nephew Peter. I'll be living here at the Tea Zone with their free wee-fee, (as we say in Niger) for the next two weeks. I don't have a phone, but now you know where to find me.

I'm off to answer my email!

paradise, california

Home

Two weeks out and Africa still burns in my mind. My departure from Niamey was smooth. The connecting flight out of Paris went without a hitch and I landed in Dulles on time. What I didn't expect was to see our firends Steve and Scarlett Hughes waiting for me to take me to my hotel in Georgetown. How great is that? After checking in, I took a walk and everything seemed switched. Gotta deal with the ATM/credit card and pay sales taxes on items as marked (no haggling). The packaged fruit at Trader Joe's seems man made and the meat on the shelf has a quarter inch of fat around it. I kept saying "Bonjour" and "Merci."

The Leadership course at FSI turned out to be surprisingly good. The instructors were motivated and touched on interesting topics such as personalities, cultural differences, and management and communication skills (or more commonly, lack there of). I was glad to visit with Mama Lana. Five days went by quickly and I had the pleasure of connecting with my dear friends Rajesh and his family who were staying at our hotel and on their way to Manila. We will be staying in their condo in Portland in a week.

I flew to Sacramento and rented a car (Hurts). My sister and brother-in-law (Bob and Valerie) had a very nice reception for me. They threw a great welcoming BBQ at their house. Seeing Dina and the kids was like being lost for three weeks and finally finding someone you know. I got to visit with my in-laws, Natalie and Alison, Dave, Carol and Steve, Gary, Tiffany and their little girl. Lots of dogs and the cat! I have missed them all over the past year and often think about them so the visit, though too short, was very nice.

We arrived in Davis Saturday night. My cousin Mike and his family are my kin and being with them is being home. We made some great meals together, spent hours talking, and planned our backpacking trip into the Sierras with the kids. I also visited with Lidia and my aunt Bo. Monday we went to Petaluma to see Tyotya Irina, Rich and Liz. Reenie was there too so we had a nice lunch and caught up on our adventures. Rich let me drive his bathtub porche! On Thursday morning, Serge and Adriana came up with Anya and we all drove to the Sierras. The hike in was nice. The weather was perfect and the smell of high alpine woods and wild flowers was fabulous. We set up camp on Lake Margarite and spent 3 days swimming, hiking, and lounging around. The kids had a terrific time with their cousins and I felt myself completely relax. 

Now it's Monday and we still have two more days here in Davis before heading north. Tomorrow we will venture into the city (SF) and then visit with Tori and John and have dinner with Evan and Luanne. Dina is out running and exercising. The kids are playing with a doll house with Ana. I'm sitting here listening to them laughing and thinking back on these past two weeks. I almost forgot a few things.

native americans

Peter and the kids are camping in the Sierras. I hope they are enjoying the great outdoors. I am enjoying the great indoors: Mike and Tanya's house, boutiques, movie theaters, the Chestnut cafe.

Remember that line from one of David Sardaris' books: A woman says to David and his mother, "At my home, well, one of my homes," and then he and his mother walk around repeating the line?

Walked down Filmore Street today, and oh god am I happy in San Francisco. If you're happy and you know it, you're in San Francisco. The light, the beautiful stores, the kids sitting on the street, the muni buses, the #1 California muni bus that I once backed into in front of Peets, Peets. Cable car tracks in the street. Chatty Americans. The same homeless guy in front of Calmart on California. The Chronicle. Having my brows shaped at the Benefit store. The fog horn is the call to prayer. It's nice to be in my home town, well, in one of my hometowns.

Idenity crisis time! "Where are you from?" is a loaded question. I'm third generation Californian with a Sutter Street, San Francisco, address on my California driver's license, a house in Oregon, a Niger national ID card, my mailing address is in Virginia, but I've never seen the place. But by far the worst of all: the car we've rented while we are here has Oklahoma plates.

Playing at the Clay on Filmore:

I loved this movie. "One day it will not be, 'Speak to me in French, it will be: speak to me in the language of Moliere!' " Next I want to see La Vie en Rose. I sat down in the the Clay Theater and said to myself, "This is such nice, plush theater." This is such a nice, plush city. (This is such a nice, plush life.)

I went INSANE at Margaret O'Leary. Exquisite clothes, all the super light summer pieces 75% off. I died and went to heaven, fabulously dressed.

Sirianna says it's cleansing to live in Niger, where you can't spend any money. It's true. I feel a little bloated from shopping. One of the things that is really noticeable being home is how much there is to buy, contantly. Muffins. Magazines. Lipstick. CDs. Dresses. Mmmmm. Dresses. Yellow shoes. I shouldn't have, but I did. Because I can't wear my yellow Frye boots as much as I would like in Niger because guess what? It's too hot. So voila, the new substitute:

Peter comes home from camping tomorrow. Good thing.