Updated website mockup

Original Mockup

New Mockup

Changed the background color slightly to a more grey-blue color. Also, added as a "stamp" the group's motto and heightened the focus of the brown menu text.

Cross Processing

I've been wanting to experiment with cross processing my photos for some time now. Back when I was shooting film, my camera used APS film and I couldn't find a lab that would process it as slide film. So, I'm finally using digital and I get to "cross-process" and here's my first attempt.

Another photographic technique

I've been trying to learn new photograph or photoshop techniques to improve my own shots. So, this is a shot of a country road near home that I then used photoshop to make look like it was shot with a Russian Lomo LC-A camera. Kinda neat, huh? The original is over on my Flickr site.

Stormy Monday

So, people keep asking me what the weather was like in Rwanda. Yes, we were just 10 degrees south of the Equador, but we were also between 4,000 - 5,000 feet in elevation. That combination meant perfect weather. It did rain every few days (sometimes a quick downpour; sometimes day-long drizzle), but I still categorize that as perfect weather. The daily highs were probably no higher than the upper 70 degrees and we didn't even need jackets at night.

Rwanda's perfect weather also means that almost anything grows there. When driving from Kigali to Butare (about 2 hours on paved roads), we saw tons of banana trees and fields of what looked like tea or rice. People even planted corn (maize to Rwandans) in the dirt on the side of a road.

Dreaming up a new Interior Website

So, I'm planning an update to my church's website (http://www.theinterior.org) and have finished the first draft, still-in-beta mockups of a new look. What'cha think? When looking at these prototype sites, you can ignore the text of the menus. They are purely placeholders. Feedback I'd like is whether you prefer the text version of the title (in sample #1)or the image version samples #2 & 3. Also, in samples #2 & 3, notice the slight changes in the white background. Do you prefer one over the other?

Into the Sunset

Photo taken on Lerdo Highway approximately 60 miles east of Paso Robles.

What I miss most

What I miss the most about Rwanda is this. Wouldn't you miss students
with faces like this too? By the way, notice the clouds in the
background. Everyday the sky was full of puffy clouds like this. And
that's Kigali behind us too.
Uploaded on 14th June, 2006 by bookwormadventures

Where were we again?

We were in the town of Butare, 2 hours south of the capital of Kigali.

1st day in Rwanda

This picture explains how everyone felt after traveling for two straight
days. Hours after arriving in Rwanda, we went to the Genocide Museum in
Kigali. Though it was very interesting and thought-provoking, sleep
overtook us afterwards.

Uploaded on 12th June, 2006 by bookwormadventures

Rwandan chair

Photo of a small wooden stool in Butare, Rwanda
Uploaded on 9th June, 2006 by bookwormadventures

Ultimate Frisbee in Butare

Coming Home

I think the hardest thing so far about coming home is how easy it is to get back into the flow of SoCal life. Every day I keep reminding me of how I spent all of May and how meaningfully I lived each day just so I don't get caught up again in the life I lived here. Even playing solitare igisoro is a good reminder for me of my friends back in Rwanda.

Bonjour Boy

We called this little kid the "Bonjour Boy." He lived in across the dirt road from our students' hotel and every day when they were all leaving or returning to the hotel, this little boy would run out of his house to the fork in the road and start yelling "Bonjour!" He didn't know any other French or English and would usually run away from us when we started walking toward him. But, once his figured out that his face showed up on the back of our cameras, he was hooked and was a quick friend.

Butare

Here's a shot of Butare, Rwanda, where my team lived and worked for two weeks.

Greetings from rwanda

Hey Everyone!
Greetings from Debbie and Jennifer. We have now switched teams and those who were at the English center are now at the University. Saturday we were all together for a native drum and dance show. Some of us even got to participate. Jen and Kelly really have some moves! Jason was also able to practice some of his drumming skills. We have tried many of the local cuisines including "Chinese food" which was actually BBQ. The first day of teaching for the new team at the university will be tomorrow. Today we showed a film and later today we will have time for open discussion with all of our new friends. God has blessed us with good health but no hot water! haha. We have to head off to the university now. We miss you all! God Bless!
Jen and Debbie

Team Rwanda Update

Muraho Kristen (and others),

I can hardly believe that I'm writing to you from Rwanda, Africa! In some ways, this does feel like the opposite side of the world, but in others, it is so similar to America. But first – for you parents – all the students are healthy and doing well. The two days of traveling to Kigali, Rwanda were the longest of our lives and we slept wherever possible, even on the floor of London's Heathrow Airport. However, once we landed in Kigali all of the wonderful training we had in the States completely left my mind as I realized I had no idea how to get from the airport to our hotels. So, I was so thankful that people were there waiting for us. I wish I could remember more of the National Genocide Museum in Kigali that we saw that first day, but as you'll see in a later photo, we were all too tired from traveling.

I do have to brag about my team. When we boarded the planes in the States, I gave them a half-sheet Kinyarwandan-English dictionary (it had words like Muraho=hello and Amakuro=How Are You). But, with every Rwandan they met, they learned more words and they then taught these words to the rest of the CBU teams.

Now, we are in Butare and I have barely seen any mosquitoes. The food that our hosts are preparing is wonderful. We even had apple pie the first day. The water rationing over the past couple days and the spotty electricity do remind us that we are in Africa. But, I have never been prouder of anyone than I am of my teammates. They are considerate, are eager to share their testimonies, have boundless energy to meet new people, and have rarely if ever complained about anything. I am so blessed to serve with these students.

Well, I should send this off before we lose electricity. All of us on Team Black Sheep send our love.

Imana ibahe umugisha (God Bless You),

Erica and the rest of Team Black Sheep