So then I went to Ghana

I spent two weeks in Ghana this past January. Before going I had been told that the program is a "life changing" experience. Honesty first: no, my life has not been drastically changed because I went to Ghana. However, it was an absolutely amazing experience.

First thing's first, a map of Ghana:

We flew into the capitol, Accra. Then we made our way west along the Cape Coast to Takoradi and Sekondi.

We were there to teach entrepreneurship to high school students. We also managed to do some work with the local community. The people we met were very welcoming and excited to have us around. The schools we taught in were scattered through out the Cape Coast and Takoradi regions. I taught in two which both happened to be in Takoradi. We were hosted by Reverend Andoh and his church community.

There were around 50 of us travelling from Babson (the largest cohort yet). We spent the first few days acclimating to Ghanaian culture and doing some touristy sight seeing. After that we had a week of teaching followed by the rocket pitch competition.

First stop: Ashesi University

Located just outside Accra is a small university that Babson has a really good relationship with. There are fewer than 600 students, so it's even smaller than high school. (Check out their website here). We started with a campus tour that took us around the courtyard, through the library, and into a couple classrooms. We were accompanied by student tour guides and a group from Harvard as well.

After the tours we sat through a lecture about the history and economy of Ghana. It was interesting to see the things the Ghanaians made a point of compared to what we had learned in our lectures with Dean Hanno and Professors Deets and Schlesinger before hand.

Next up was lunch. I was silly and didn't take pictures of the food while I was in Ghana, but it was fairly simple. We had a lot of rice and chicken, and some local fruits & veggies.

Then we got to sit back for a cultural lesson in traditional dance and music.

This made for a fairly easy first day to acclimate ourselves to the weather and time change.

The courtyard at Ashesi.

Ashesi's library

The cafeteria. It is essentially a covered patio with a kitchen.

Learning traditional dance & music

Second Stop: Sekondi

The next day was a travel day. We made our way from Accra to what would be our home for the rest of the time we were in Ghana: Reverend Andoh's church.

It took us pretty much all day to get from Accra to Sekondi. I naturally stayed awake the entire time watching out the window. The scenery reminded me of a cross between Malaysia and South Africa. Overall it was poor, much like the townships of South Africa. Yet the communities seemed to be better kept than the townships, much like the rural areas around Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Along the way we stopped for lunch at a beach resort. It was a good chance to stretch our legs and take in the ocean breeze. Each of our travel days we stopped for lunch. Vacationing at these resorts would make it very easy to forget how poor the region is.

Then it was back on the road to Sekondi. Apparently every year Dean Hanno brings a group to Ghana the church has been renovated. This is probably very necessary as it was full quite a bit in the short time we were there. The compound was set up with two larger rooms downstairs and four small rooms upstairs. There was long hallway across the entire width of the building upstairs. We lined the hallway with tables and chairs and that was where we ate most of our meals. If the group was any bigger we would not have fit all at once.

Just a lizard chilling on some coconuts. No big deal.

A local Ghanaian community. People just going about their daily business

Naturally there are vendors at the resorts. They reminded me of the
vendors in South Africa with their crafts.

Third Stop: Tourist Attractions

No matter how much you try to immerse yourself fully into a culture, some tourist attractions are a must. They help understand part of the culture. In our case we did a canopy walk in the jungle and went to Elmina slave castle.

The canopy walk was very much what it sounds like: we went up into the jungle (not like deep into the jungle but to a touristy part of the jungle). Then we hiked along to an area that had ropes ladders set up to walk across something like 100m above the forest floor. It was fun, not really all that much to say about it, though.

The other adventure of the day was Elmina slave castle. We had all learned about the slave trade in elementary school, but we learned about it from a Western perspective. This was the rest of the story.

Before future slaves made the voyage to wherever they were "needed" they were brought to Elmina or another port. They were put in what really felt like an old prison, except for the fact that there was a church in the middle. The architecture was a weird mix of dungeon and old European. The other difference between Elmina and a prison was the fact that the people kept there had not committed a crime. It was really chilling to think about the fact that this was their last connection to their homeland. They didn't all survive the time they were held at Elmina, either. Yet it was clear that the Europeans who lived there led comfortable lives.

View from one side of Elmina. The slaves were held in dungeons and then
forced out straight onto the ships through "the door of no return"

Another view of Elmina: the top overlooking the neighboring community.

Fourth Stop: Reverend Andoh's Church

Since the next day was Sunday and we were hosted by a church, we all got up and went to one of the services. I always find it interesting to see how other communities worship. I think it says a lot about the culture. This wasn't a flashy service, but people came out in their Sunday best and filled the church. The churches in Ghana certainly were a major part of the community.

That afternoon was spent preparing for our week of teaching. That was partially lesson planning, partially organizing materials. We also had a break to read to the community children (which I particularly enjoyed, of course). 

This was really our final day to get acclimated, if there was any more need for it. The rest of the time we would be in school mode.

Hilary with some of the children. They came around quite a lot throughout
the week. I think they rather enjoyed having some extra playmates.

Teaching

As far as the teaching component of my time in Ghana went, I was fortunate.

I was able to teach every day, although the first day there was a moment it seemed we wouldn't teach. Our students were far too motivated to have us leave, though. Some of them had participated in the program during previous years.They even still had some materials that had been left behind. 

It was definitely a learning experience for me, though. I reaffirmed the fact that I do not want to be a teacher.

During the teaching week I would start each morning getting breakfast with the whole Ghana 2013 group. Then a small group would go by bus to Cape Coast while the rest of us finished getting ready and took taxis to our schools. Mine was about half an hour away. Some days Professor Deets and I would share the taxi with another group, others it was just us. Then it would be my job to teach the lesson of the day. The idea was that this was my only experience in Ghana so I needed to get the most out of it. One day we had a visit from Dean Hanno, who then took Professor Deets on an excursion when he left.

It was very much like a condensed FME, and very much like the Girl Scouts Camp CEO program I helped coordinate a few years back. The students came up with some creative ideas, some which could work and some which clearly would not work. Some students were better presenters than others which made their pitch overall work better.

But anyways. After that we would taxi back right around lunch time. After two days they needed someone to go to another school so my new friend Carly and I went. At this point it was Wednesday and so we had a really condensed teaching week with no planning. But it worked out fine. I only worked with that group for two days, then I missed the final day because I was still at my morning school.

My classroom: the library. We had electricity and snacks each day. We were
doing really well. 

Last day of school: class picture!

The Big Day

After a week of teaching each school was able to send a team of student representatives to the rocket pitch competition. Just as the program as a whole had grown to more Babson students than ever before, there were also far more schools & teams presenting than ever before. This meant that the presentations had to be split between two churches. Because of this there were also two rounds of presentations. The top teams from each church in the first round presented again in Rv. Andoh's church for the second round. Both of my teams started in the other church.

As both of my teams arrived I went back and forth between them to help them prepare for the presentation. I wanted, ultimately, to see the best work that they had done so far that week. While neither of my teams ultimately moved onto the second round I was impressed with how far they had come, especially the school that only had three days.

Then for the second round I was a judge. I sat along nine other judges listening to what were deemed the six best teams present that day, then scoring based on a few different categories such as creativity and feasibility. One of my bigger takeaways was to let the students dream big. Throughout the week I had certainly heard some ideas that simply weren't feasible, but focusing first on feasibility limits idea generation. While I questioned the feasibility of the team that took first place, their idea was certainly one of the more innovative ideas (they managed to make a light that was sensitive to the darkness and only turned on when there wasn't sufficient light outside).

One of my teams presenting bags made from yogurt wrappers.

Heading Home

The following day was our final day in Ghana. We were up early for church services, then made the journey back to Accra to catch our flight for London.

Once again we stopped at a beach resort along the Cape Coast for lunch on the way. It was a good chance to get one last moment of peace in Ghana.

Meanwhile, Dean Hanno was busy coordinating with someone who had accidentally taken the bags of one of the members of our group at the airport two weeks earlier (she was a trooper and managed to last the full two weeks without her checked bag). When we finally got to the airport she received her bag. It was kind of the happy ending to the trip...

except for the fact that our plane was still in London.

See, it was now nearly the end of January and, as it does in London, it was snowing and grounding flights. This meant that with just a few hours to go before we were supposed to take off our plane was not just in a different country, but an entirely different continent. We took to playing cards and games while waiting to hear what we were to do next and when we would make it home. Keep in mind that if our flight is canceled it's not easy to fit an entire airplane full of people onto the next flight, and it's not like there are frequent flights to London.

A few hours after arriving at the airport we are told to go through security (though from my memory we still weren't quite sure if that actually meant we would be leaving).

We get to the other side and still had to wait for a while (our plane still wasn't in Ghana). We waited, napped, and watched for our plane to land. It must have been nearly 2am when finally our plane landed and we were able to board.

Knowing Professor Deets would prefer not to sit in the middle of a row I switched seats with him (after taking Dramamine figuring I would just sleep the whole flight). Shortly after take off (I had gotten maybe an hour of sleep at this point) the guy on the inside (window seat in a row of three) got up so I let him out. He went back and forth for a while before it was determined that he wasn't experiencing air sickness, he was actually sick and running a fever.

Delightful.

But I stuck it out without complaining (and with a good amount of hand-sanitizer).

The leg from London was fairly uneventful. We were mostly fortunate enough to have enough time between our flight from Ghana and our flight to Boston that the delay really only shortened the layover. Professor Deets, however, was forced to miss his flight so we then all had to wait on word of if he was making it home that day. Then we just had to make it back to Babson and prepare (for a good number of us) for our 8am Advance Accounting class the next morning. We were kindly greeted by Dean Hanno first thing in the morning, too!

And thus ended my second adventure in Africa and first in Ghana.

Until next time :)

How to Study Abroad Part 6: Getting There

(note, this was written in December 2012)

I could totally write this from the "I've been abroad so many times I have this whole thing down" perspective and it would be really helpful. Instead, I'm writing this from the "Oh my goodness I leave for GHANA in just over a month!!!" perspective.

Ummm what?

Ghana.

Africa.

Back to my favorite continent!

Dean Hanno runs a program every January in Ghana through which we will spend two weeks teaching entrepreneurship, learning about the culture, and hosting a business plan competition.

With that, and the many other people I've spoken to recently who are about to set off on their own global adventures, I figure I should talk about actually getting to the destination.

At this point, tickets have been booked, visas arranged (I got mine back today!), program fees paid, and classes taken. I am (you are) ready to set off on an amazing adventure!

1. Don't leave packing to the absolute last minute; you will end up forgetting something important, like your passport. That being said, I typically pack the day before. But I make a list ~3 days before so I won't forget anything. This puts me in the travel mindset.
2. Have someone bring you to the airport, and make sure they know your flight itinerary. It will give you that one last chance to say goodbye before jetting off for however long, and they can calm you down if you get emotional or whatever. They can also be more level headed and remind you to grab your passport as you rush out the door.
3. Arrive earlier than recommended to the airport. Unless yours is the first flight out in the morning there will be a line of people. I have seen this at 6am and 7pm. It's unavoidable. Make sure to pack entertainment in your carry on for while you are on the airplane and waiting around in the airport. Or you can just wander around the airport for 7 hours on your layover, either way (I know from experience the latter is not optimal.
4. Check in to your flight as soon as possible after arriving at the airport. Sometimes there are issues, delays, long lines, so getting this out of the way is good. Then if you have any extra time, find a strategic place to hang out. By strategic I mean centrally located, near food/entertainment/bathrooms, comfortable, and where you can monitor the security line from. That way if security starts to get long you can hop right in line.
5. Give yourself plenty of time to get through security. There's almost always someone in line who causes some kind of problem even though they are completely innocent. Prepare for this. Especially because it could be you (I've been pulled aside during almost every single flight itinerary. Never for anything major, but it still makes the process longer).
6. Find your gate and figure out when you'll be boarding. Then you can just hang out until it's time to board. There will be something near the terminal to entertain yourself with so just relax, make a new friend (don't be creepy about it), grab a bite to eat (it'll probably be more expensive, but if you're really that hungry go for it), peruse the magazine stands, people watch, etc.
7. NEVER leave your baggage unattended. You're just inviting people to steal it if you do.
8. If you can charge your devices that would also be a good idea. That way they work for as long as possible on the flight.

9. Be back at your boarding gate with sufficient time to spare before you are supposed to board. Scope out the other passengers (you might just recognize someone! I've taken flights with people I know a number of times), and just be ready to go when your row is called. If you like to be on the plane early make sure to sit near the door. Otherwise, once your row is called wait for everyone else to get in line before joining.
10. Scope out the plane, then sit back, relax, and get comfortable. It's going to be a long flight (I'm assuming wherever you are studying abroad is at least a few hour plane ride. Or more.) If there are open seats around you that you want to move to ask the flight attendant nicely (they really appreciate the niceness).
11. Prepare for your new timezone. Now, this one, if you were good, you started to do a week BEFORE getting on the airplane. But in my hectic life I simply can't manage that.

12. Instead, I bring my charged ipod with me and as soon as I can turn it back on after take off I set it to my arrival timezone. This way whenever I check the time on the airplane I am adjusting to the new time zone. After all, you lose track of how many hours have passed on the airplane pretty quickly anyways so merging them to say it's a different time isn't all that hard. I also plan ahead. 
13. If I know I'm landing in the morning local time I drink coffee on the plane to help me get through the day. If I'm landing at night I wear myself out on the airplane to just before the point that I need to sleep. Then I crash when I get to where I'm going. I don't tend to sleep on planes much so this ends up working well for me.
14. Make sure that you've prepared travel arrangements for your arrival ahead of time. It will be hectic and you will be exhausted when you get there so you don't want to figure it out then...especially if there is a language barrier.

For the first few days at least you will face a combination of culture shock and jet lag. These play off each other, so it will be important to know how to mitigate each. I'll start getting into that next time though. For now, safe travels wherever you are going!

How to Study Abroad: Part 5-Packing

There are some things that may seem obvious to bring and other things you may think you need but can really go without. Then there are the things you won't think of bringing but will REALLY wish you had. So now you can benefit from my experiences as you frantically go through all or your stuff trying to figure out just how you're going to manage to get everything within the baggage weight limit (a daunting task, I know).

First, stick to the basics. You're only gone for a few months so you can live without a lot that you're used to having. Pack your standard set of clothes; if you're a girl and typically into dresses, pack about 8-10 dresses and the cardigans/accessories to go with them. If you're a guy into wearing running clothes all the time, well, try to get into jeans or something else...most other countries don't accept running gear as standard in public. You can do it, just be prepared to get some strange looks depending on where you go.

Second, creature comforts. You're going to be gone for a few months so you're going to want things to get you through you homesick moments. It'll happen. There'll be a moment when you really crave your favorite snack, or you'll miss your dog. While it shouldn't be the bulk of your packing make sure you bring enough creature comforts to get through your adventure.


Third, be culturally appropriate. Some cultures have strict dress codes you'll want to adhere to. You might also need to prepare for a weather pattern you're not used to. Know these things ahead of time so you aren't taken by surprise when you arrive to somewhere cold in the middle of winter wearing shorts and flip flops (hey, that's typical winter weather in California!)...or vice versa (no need to overheat in Africa just because it's a blizzard back home!)

So what exactly would I pack if I were going again? Let's take Korea; it was more versatile since I got there in winter and left in summer:

Clothes:

• 3 pairs of jeans
• 3 pairs shorts
• 4 sweaters
• 2 sweatshirs
• 3 cardigans
• 2 long sleeve tops
• 8 short sleeve tops (mix of dressy, class appropriate, weekend appropriate)
• 3 skirts
• 4 dresses
• 1 nice dress
• 1 pair dress pants
• Socks etc. for 2 weeks (trust me on the 2 weeks thing)
• 2 jackets (1 winter, 1 lightweight/spring rain appropriate)
• 3 sets exercise gear
• 2 sets pjs
• Bathing suit (2 if you're going somewhere you expect to do a lot of swimming)

Accessories, Etc:

• Makeup
• Jewelry
• Toiletries for 4 months(or however long you'll be gone) (shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, soap, etc. Everything you use in your daily routine...ladies, don't forget your products. You might not be able to find what you want in a foreign country. Or it could all be in a foreign language)
• Shoes: sneakers, boots, sandals, heels (most versatile pair), flats, casual/everyday walking shoes (currently I have boat shoes, chucks or non running sneakers, or something to that effect would also work) (make sure at least one pair has traction for snow/rain)
• Hair accessories (hair ties, headbands)
• Sunglasses
• Bug spray
• Body spray/perfume
• Sunblock
• Over the counter medicine (pain killers, allergy medicine if you use it)
• Travel toiletries (I figure 1 weeks worth should do...this goes in your carry on, maybe bring an extra set in your checked luggage for on your way home)

School Supplies & Electronics:

• Laptop (& charger, internet cord, case)
• IPod (& charger, headphones)
• Camera (& charger/batteries, sufficient memory cards, cable to connect to your laptop)
• Backpack (or whatever you use to carry your school supplies)
• American cell phone & charger (so you can call/text people when you land home in the States...or where ever you're from)
• Flashlight (& batteries)
• Converter for electronics
• CDs & DVDs

Other:

• Pictures from home for yourself
• Pictures of home to show to new friends (might be the same as pics for yourself, might not. I like to use my iPod to show my new friends, and then I have a photo album of home for me)
• Wheat thins & American candy (or whatever your favorite snacks are...could mean oreos, hot sauce, ketchup, etc. These will be different/unavailable where you go, I promise. So do yourself a favor and just bring some with you for when you really miss it)
• Room decorations (posters, mementos, etc.)
• Souvenirs from home to give your new friends (like postcards that you can write a note on when you give it to them)
• Special things to make you feel at home (if you still have a blankie, stuffed animal, some little luck charm...totally not judging. If I was judging it wouldn't have made this list)
• Plane entertainment (books, magazines, diaries, sudokus, coloring books, what ever will keep you entertained)
• Gum (to chew on the airplane)
• List of important phone numbers, addresses (so you can call people in emergencies or send post cards)
• List of people who get souvenirs
• List of must see & do things
• Phrase & culture book (translator, dictionary, something to help you navigate the language)
• Towel
• Bag/pouch to carry your stuff in while you traipse around the country/city

Really Important Stuff:

• Passport
• Credit Card/Debit Card
• Insurance information
• Flight Itineraries
• Proof of departure/reason for stay/address of stay/in country contact information (some countries won't let you in without this information!)
• A sense of adventure

With that said, I also have a few things

NOT to Bring

• Pillows, bedding (takes up too much room, just get it there. Besides, this is very often provided for you. Make do for your first night)
• Laundry detergent (your stuff might not even work in the machine you have access to)
• Liquids (other than toiletries, they'll likely explode in your bag anyway)
• Breakables (...because they'll break)
• Gaming consoles (this might seem obvious, but still)
• Anything you haven't used in the past year

This might seem like a LOT of stuff...and it is. I think it's TOTALLY worth bringing the second checked bag If you'll be one place for most of your stay. And you might be wondering where you'll fit souvenirs on the way home. Well, I've built in the solution for that: don't bring home any souvenirs (jk!!!). Don't bring home toiletries. Seriously, you can get them when you return home.

Note: if you're a shopper, cut back on clothes that you pack. In Korea, Italy, a lot of other places, there is good shopping and you'll pick up extra then not have room to get it all home later.

Naturally, this list should be adapted to your own personal needs & where you'll be (and if you're a guy then a lot of this can just be taken off...). But it's good to have a list to go from anyways. Hope it helps!

^.^ KM

Barriers: Part 6

For those that have followed my blog for a while, you'll remember a few earlier posts on barriers (pts 1-5). For those that haven't followed from the beginning, it'll make more sense if you go through the other parts first, but the brief background is this: I spent a weekend in Bo Kaap, a neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa (this was actually almost exactly a year ago now). When I returned to Stellenbosch (the city I was studying in last July-November) I reflected a bit on the idea of cultural barriers and wrote down my thoughts. This is the final installment of the essay:

A child from the Pebbles Project wearing my
             sunglasses near Stellnbosch, South Africa

Moving away from houses we now come to a pocket sized barrier. Now what, you ask, could provide a barrier and fit in your pocket? Sunglasses, of course! (It is important to note here that much of what can be said of sunglasses can be applied to other articles of clothing/accessories, but it is not pertinent to dwell on many of the same thing so I am going to just use sunglasses.) My sunglasses are made of black frames with a fairly simple, yet for me slightly flashy opaque swirl design on the frames and slightly purplish fading lenses. They serve their purpose of protecting my eyes from the sun well (which in the future I will be glad of when I don’t need real glasses or go blind. The same can be said of clothes/sunblock and skin cancer). They also serve as a little fashion statement. Whether they are up or down they add a little to my outfit. I can leave them on my head when I am out of direct sunlight and they can then function as my headband (gotta love multi functional accessories!). Sunglasses go beyond fashion and functionality, however; they also serve as a barrier between me and those around me. When I put them on I can look around, roll my eyes, or make eye contact, without the other person knowing what my eyes are doing. As eyes are such a huge component of non verbal communication, this barrier between us is shutting them out of some of my communication clues. They allow me to take away some of the emotion of what I am saying, which serves as a protection for me. Or I can allow someone to come in. I can put my sunglasses up and look straight at the person. I am giving that person permission to enter my emotions and thoughts, and to better understand what I am communicating. While I am not spelling out all that different clothes and accessories do as barriers, I urge you to think about what the clothes you or others around you say. They serve as an outward, non verbal form of communication and personal expression.

As I was hinting at with sunglasses, we each have emotional barriers. These are perhaps the most powerful of all. While it is possible to break any physical barrier with the use of physical force which anyone can apply, it is not so easy to break emotional barriers. Under this term “emotional” lies the broad spectrum of cultural and personal emotions. These are barriers that cannot be seen so easily as a wall or a door, but to the trained eye are more evident and perhaps even more potent.

Cultural barriers are, technically speaking, cultural differences. They may include simple things to grasp such as language or food, but they certainly include much harder aspects that can hardly be described. As proof of this, think about the United States. Take someone from San Francisco and someone from Los Angeles. These two individuals will have virtually the same language and same accent, yet culturally, they come from very different ways of life. While they both may have the Californianess in them, the one from San Francisco will likely be more laid back, and I dare to stereotype and say more hippie. The one from Los Angeles will likely be in a rush to get somewhere and not be pleased that you have taken more than two seconds of his time without having any connections to the Hollywood industry. It is not completely impossible to overcome cultural barriers, but it is nearly impossible to fully assimilate into a culture that is not your own. This is because there is so much memory and history derived in a culture that cannot be taken away from a person trying to leave a culture. Nor can a new culture be fully understood if a person has other memories and histories that contradict the new ones. In this way, over time, all cultures are lost to changing peoples, but also new cultures are developed. In order for a person to have any hope of learning a new culture, he must immerse himself in it firsthand. Otherwise he will miss out on the many indescribable intricacies that make a culture unique.

Personal emotional barriers are yet the hardest to cross or understand. Each individual has his or her own barrier that only he or she can control. It is a barrier without doors, but with many windows. Over each of these windows we choose when to draw the curtain. Sometimes we only draw the curtain part way and sometimes there are blinds instead of a curtain. With practice you can learn to see through the windows of a person’s emotions, but you can never fully understand them. Just like culturally we each have different histories and memories, personally we each have different histories and memories. Even siblings have different experiences. We can teach others what makes us tick, and they may get what we are trying to communicate, but they can never fully understand. Some people have a barrier that is extra thick. They do not let anyone see through and this closes them off from the world. Others have barriers that are virtually all window with curtain drawn open. Some people have barriers that are shattered and have to be rebuilt. Some see their barriers start to shatter and so they fortify it, and in doing so shut out the outside world. Again, I am now going to ask you to observe and think. What can you see for barriers in the people around you? How about in yourself? What do these barriers mean? You may be surprised what you find you project and what others project when you really think about it. But then, thinking about it will also give you greater understanding and respect for not only those around you, but also for yourself.

Korea: Aquarium

Here's yet another one of my Seoul Mate adventure stories:

My final meeting with Sol was at the aquarium, which happens to be located within the Coex Mall (I'm pretty sure I mentioned that in an earlier post. It's a giant underground mall). Sammi was going to come, but had too much work to do. I took plenty of pictures, so instead of boring you with descriptions of the aquarium, I'm just going to show you what it was like! (I've even included a video, not of me eating octopus this time!)

Pretty blue fish :)

Giant turtles at feeding time

"Hand's off. It's fragile"

A fish tank. Inside a fire extinguisher. Inside a bigger fire
extinguisher. Well played, Inception, well played.

Coolest stop light ever!

(see description below)

Inside a vending machine

Poor little fishies aren't even dead yet and they're already
in the toilet :(

Ah, so this is where they go when they get flushed!

TV Aquarium: Just don't bother trying to change the channel

He's captivated and there isn't even any sound

I guess fish is for dinner?

Now with a fresh from the laundry fishy scent! Ummm no
thank you. I'll stick to flowers and summer breezes.

Nope. Not fishies. Still cool though!

Fish tank in a phone booth...with a manikin dressed like a
scuba diving dinosaur.

Me and Sol :)

Ah, the beauty of young love. Or the adorableness of little
siblings. Either way it's cute.

Plus, the light posts are really fish bowls!

Again, not fishies.

Underwater screen saver for an underwater fish tank. Inception wins again.

Spidermanz and fishies inside the mail box. So cool!

So many not fishies!

Can you tell which ones are real?

Monkeys! So much cooler than fish! ㅋㅋㅋ ^.^

Otters doing their thing.

And of course this Babson Beaver had to get a picture of the beaver!

Crocodile...swim away little fishies swim away!

Froggies in the children's section (although, isn't the whole aquarium a
children's section?)

Super Scuba Sally (my superhero name, clearly)

Round and round the mulberry bush the monkey chased
the weasel. Where it stops nobody knows til...

POP! goes the weasel.

Sharks!

and sting rays!

Doing a little dance for us

It seems they're done now.

Seals. Most of the pictures came out blurry so I had to delete a bunch. But
here are a few good ones.

Touch tank

Eh, back to the sharks now.

The big guy.

He's swimming right at us. 

So majestic!

Sol and me with the shark :)

Jelly fish!

(so many jelly fish) 

An octopus. I didn't eat him.

Penguins <3

So that's the end of the aquarium adventure. I'll try to post one or two more times before I fly out to Hong Kong on Thursday! If not, I'll be home soon and will catch up on blogging from there (since I have so many fewer notable adventures back home).

Peace out.