ba bam!

liz and julie posing with huge gourd-fruit-plant things called calabash (they make bowls out of them here). we were obviously in shock that the tree was able to handle such massive bowling-ball weight. i know dad will enjoy this interesting species!


a close high school friend of ours goes by the nickname BOFF! and here you are! as an african backpack brand!!! (shown here by 9th grader regina, btw pronounced RAGINA)


the state of taxis in this country are so shady it's hilarious. the speedometer, gas gauge, and other important life-or-death parts of the dashboard are normally covered with dust and not functioning. door handles and window roller-uppers are always missing. but the car pictured above has to be the best ride yet...mainly because of the random switch hanging from nowhere! what is it connected to? what does it turn on? an ejector seat? a strobe light? who knows!


the gender determination chart is here! (maximize photo if letters are too tiny)
read instructions (don't try to read the confusing paragraph above the chart unless you want to laugh REAL loud):
1. find the age of the mother at the time of the baby's birth on the top row
2. find the month that the baby was conceived on the left row (NOT the baby's birth month)
3. match up in the middle and BA BAM you will see the gender of the baby!

although we purchased this admittedly dubious looking information on the street in the life guide pamphlet for 50 cents, we have experienced a 100% success rate when checking our own and sibling's stats. let me know if it works for you! if it fails, let me know too....hmm...maybe...i don't know if i can face the bitter disappointment!