OpSail 2012 Video

The video above was produced by the City of Portsmouth after OpSail 2012, The Seawall Music Festival and Harborfest was over... It's a great way to re-live the weekend and most of the events that went on in the downtown areas of Norfolk and Portsmouth.

This is only one of the reasons I love living here...

Over and "Out" from my little piece of life, in Portsmouth, VA USA

OWYP Needs Our Help!

This is a request from OWYP for all that might have a need to support Global Cross-Cultural education. My Niece founded this effort and your donations are totally tax deductible.... Think about it, read about it and donate/share if you feel the urge...

One World Youth Project

http://oneworldyouthproject.org

Hello! Two outstanding students from the University of Guyana have been selected as the first ever university student leaders (or Project Manager Fellows) for the One World Youth Project (OWYP) program in Guyana. OWYP links schools across the world to create mutual respect and understanding among students. The two Project Manager Fellows manage the "Hub" on the UG campus, which is comprised of their peers who facilitate cross-cultural exchanges between local Guyanese secondary school students and their peers abroad in countries like the USA, Turkey, Kosovo and Pakistan.

In order to successfully lead this program in Guyana, the Project Manager Fellows must attend a mandatory training in Kosovo to gain the essential skills in leadership, management, cross-cultural communication, and most importantly, build a cohesive international community with their peers.

It promises to be an incredible trip for the University of Guyana Project Manager Fellows to interact with similarly ambitious students who are seeking new ways to connect with peers beyond national borders. The trip will allow Project Manager Fellows to develop leadership and management skills, learn about their peers' countries and cultures and prepare them for the upcoming service-learning work they will have in their communities. For most students in attendance, it will be their first opportunity abroad in a place that is so culturally different than where they are living.

Please help us empower local Guyanese youth to connect with others globally and make positive change within their local community!

What is the Summer Training Conference?

The Summer Training Conference (STC) is a weeklong experience where the Project Manager Fellows from OWYP Hub campuses worldwide come together to further develop their management, leadership and community-building skills.

This is a unique opportunity for OWYP's international leaders to come together as a team to learn from one another and form strong bonds across borders. The STC adequately prepares students to collaborate remotely with their partner secondary schools and universities abroad.

Check out this video from last year’s STC: http://youtu.be/vILw552FNFs

What is One World Youth Project?

One World Youth Project (OWYP) partners with universities and university students to build mutual respect and understanding among youth. Through the OWYP program, university students are trained to facilitate cross-cultural exchanges between local middle schools and middle schools abroad via technology. (Mentored by the university student facilitators, students gain empathetic and critical thinking skills that allow them to address challenges in their own communities with a newly developed global lens.)

The vision of OWYP is a just world built through the actions of empowered, discerning and empathetic generations of global citizens. For more information visit our website: http://www.oneworldyouthproject.org

To Donate
CLICK HERE

Media

The Guyana Times: http://bit.ly/K54YnZ and http://bit.ly/AgT52y

Demerara Waves: http://bit.ly/Jm8MDB

Guyana Chronicle: http://bit.ly/KgWU2o

Kaieteur News: http://bit.ly/H9LprV

Stabroek News: http://bit.ly/MFCZNH and http://bit.ly/MMWHsi

Over and "Out" from my little world, in Portsmouth, VA USA

Opsail Virginia 2012

This weekend is Opsail Virginia 2012 and Harborfest... Harborfest every year brings tons of tourist and resident dollars to the local (Norfolk and Portsmouth) economies. This year, with the addition of Opsail 2012 it is bound to be a MAJOR boost, especially to the downtown areas of both cities.

Today at about 12noon EST the fleet of tall ships arrives in the harbor (you can see it live at wvec.com). Most of them stay through the weekend and are "berthed" on all sides of the Elizabeth River, allowing tours and awe from most who visit...

Good luck to all involved to help keep us on the map as a major east coast port and tourist destination!

Over and "Out" for today, from Portsmouth, VA USA

Offspring...

This is a picture taken during our family reunion of my oldest, youngest, and me together... He (the oldest) flew up from Miami and she (the youngest) came up from Richmond...

Always great to have the kids nearby...

Over and "Out" from Portsmouth, VA USA

Family...

It comes in all shapes, sizes, and colors... Thank goodness not all as "dashing" as I am...

This past week we attended a mini family reunion (if you can call 40+ attendees mini) in the mountains of Virginia at the Massanutten Resort. Most family members stayed for the extended weekend and some stayed a bit longer. We took advantage of the week long rental and stayed until Friday...

The picture above is of a couple of my cousins, their kids, one of my brothers, his wife and daughter, one of my sons (daughter was in the shower), Mike, his son, and of course me (top of the picture in green). I was not surprised that (being the only gay couple at the reunion) we were accepted totally and unconditionally. I think there may have only been one of (my) aunts and uncles that had any reservations about my relationship, but they kept it to themselves and we all celebrated family without a hitch, as it should be...

Many of the participants had not seen each other in as many as 40 years. Most of the cousins' children had never met any of my (side of the) family. We had people attending from Montana, Massachusetts, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, and Maryland. A few of the younger cousins were just graduating high school and getting ready to head off to college...

In preparation, I have been working on a family tree using Archives.com. I had traced back this side of the family to 1540, in England. We all are related through the same blood line (our maternal grandfather) so the line was easy to explain. Our family arrived in Massachusetts in 1634 (right after the Mayflower) and we all qualify to be Daughters/Sons of the American revolution. One of our direct ancestors also chartered 5 townships in what is now Vermont (it was still a territory at the time). I had no idea that our roots in America ran so deeply.

While I fretted over the planning of the gathering (since February), and the approval of the locale by my relatives (it was my suggestion), everything just fell into place and the condos we rented, all seven of them, were all clustered together for easy access. In the above photo you can see a breezeway between two of the units. That became the main gathering place with 30 chairs all lined up (it looked like an old folks home)...

I'm sure there will be more references to this outing in future posts...

Over and "Out" from "life back to normal" in Portsmouth, VA USA