zetku

wow, what a great thread. i haven't been around in years so its wonderful to hear about how folks are doing. my husband and i celebrated our 3 year anniversary in Nov 2010. we are applying to remove conditions which what brings me here. we had our little "big girl" two years ago. as most have mentioned, we too have had our ups and downs,but together we move forward on our journey. best to all of you. and to the those awaiting their fiances, remember to enjoy the last of your semi-single days !!!

woooohooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i was just thinking about you and loves recently, wow. i haven't been on vj for awhile so this great news to read. i'm so happy for you, you deserve all the happiness in the world. watch out Philly!!!

peace and love!!!!

Yeah i know we should start at the bottom. So i'm just applying sales in the stores or teaching/ office assistants. I didn't even apply those which require a lot of experience/ specific qualification. In their job requirement, they just said that you need to be a high school graduate with little or no experience. But then they still didn't consider me. I also want to find a job which need my bilingual skill, but my bilingual is English/ Chinese. Here there're many Chinese professionals who have better English/ Chinese than me... sigh... I also want to find a Chinese company cuz I know it'd be easier. But there aren't any that I know here. The Chinese who work in here are all working in big companies.

i'm so sorry you are having such a hard time finding employment. i know that must be very disappointing and discouraging. have you tried looking into entry positions at non-profits that work with immigrant communities? often unions are searching desperately for bi-lingual people to assist in informing people about their employment rights etc. that could definitely key into your teaching experience. many progressive organizations seek to hire and train women from different communities/ethnicities as they are committed to diversity. try idealist.org for listings.

also working in restaurants and grocery stores can be great. i worked as a waitress all through college and met great people and made good money. i even picked-up a few shifts this summer for extra money as its a great side hustle. its hard work but it feels good to have that cash in your pocket after every shift. food prep in the kitchen is good position if you don't have the energy to move fast serving food. also grocery stores are often looking for consistent hardworking people and often they offer decent salaries and benefits. health food stores such as Whole Foods might be a good place to look esp if you know anything about or have an interest in "Chinese medicine" or natural healing methods (you can give yourself a crash course via the internet if necessary ). generally these places have pleasant atmospheres and interesting people coming in and out. you can also begin to gain experience in light admin, sales or shipping/receiving/ordering. or perhaps you search the phonebook for Chinese medicine practitioners--such as acupuncturists--they might need a bi-lingual receptionist or office admin.

at this point you need to just get that first job and from there your options will begin to open up. also you begin to meet people who may have connections in other fields. lastly volunteering in after school programs or the YMCA might be a way to build your teaching portfolio, if that is what you seek to continue doing. and maybe you can offer to tutor students in Chinese, you can put up signs on college campuses and cafes and see what happens.

just remember there so many job opportunities outside big companies and the IT sector though believe i feel your frustration because as a literature/ethnic studies professor/filmmaker in training, i'm quite un-marketable in those fields too!

i hope that my suggestions are even a tiny bit helpful and not assumptive or impractical. i wish you all the best!

thanks so much everyone for the info and advice. i'm looking to buy a used car too in that exact price range. this will be my first car so i need all the informed input i can get. i've been checking out craigslist regularly and its good to know folks have found good cars at an affordable price though that listing. and thanks Aidan80 for the thread.

Here is a suggestion:

On the 12th of this month, there will be a new moon(no moonlight)

and a the peak of a meteor shower, where you should be able to see a falling star

every minute

about 60 in one hour

enjoy!!!!

that's a lovely idea. you can make it an adventure to find a place in NY where you can actually see the stars.

as folks have mentioned there are tons of free concerts, movies, festivals in NYC especially in the summer time.

for example every first Friday of the month the Brooklyn Museum is free, open late and there are bands, films and galleries to check out. not to mention good people watching. that's tomorrow night! MOMA is free on Friday nights as well i think 5-7pm. then there are all the street festivals, from Harlem to LI.

also check the Village Voice and Time Out NY for free event listings. Central Park, Battery Park and Prospect Park all have free concerts this time of year. top-notch artists and performers come through, so get there early, bring a blanket and enjoy. get an unlimited Metro Card and explore the boroughs, you'll soon find there is TOO much going on and you'll happily retreat to the house with your love to rest and recover !

I used the US Post Office for one shipment too. He did get the package, but the US Postal Service online said it was never delivered to him. He had to pay alot to get it.

I wanted to send a bathroom set (towels, shower curtain, rugs) and bedroom set (bed in a bag, pillows, etc) to my mother-in-law in Nigeria- but when looked at some quotes ...the prices were extremely high.....UPS was like close to $500...can you believe that?? I mean, if it took a month to get there...I would be ok w/ that....if the price was reasonable. Does anyone have suggestion's or idea's or recommendation's???? I was thinking everything would be under 20lbs. Any advice is greatly appreciated

you should try sending the package thru a shipping company, like the ones that ship cars and/or cargo to Nigeria. they have a way of getting small packages there, and i think it's about 10lbs for about $50. You will have to call someone in Nigeria to go and pick it up from the shippers agent though. Goodluck.

How do you find these shipping companies?

yes, does anyone have a shipping company they could refer me/us to? mylove and i are thinking about sending some goods from Accra to VA so i searched online and received an estimate: two "computer size" boxes from Ghana to U.S.= $800.00!!! i'm hoping there's a better, less expensive option out there somewhere...

give thanks Princess, nice thread!

i miss the motherland everyday and i am so thankful i've been blessed with travels in every region in Africa except central so far. i miss Ghana soooo much and i also miss Senegal and South Africa and Eritrea esp!

but this is an ode to Ghana, happy birth-year Black Star!

i miss mylove, oh chaley i miss Ghana English oh! i miss hearing twi, ga and fante too. i miss the beach, i miss toking the nicest sess with my beloved, i miss the children, the chubby chocolate babies, the sweet little girls with their short afros, the little boys in fierce football stances barefoot dusty and free.

i miss hearing conscious reggae music on the radio, i miss the taxi cab and tro-tro dramas, all the Accra city antics, the crowded markets with everything from the US to China to Bukina Faso, bargaining for this and that, folks just stopping by the house to hang out with us/me. i certainly miss fish and banku, red and black pepper, eating with my hands, sharing the same plate/bowl, chilling at the spots, street food like plantain and groundnuts, all the beautiful fabrics--tie-dye and batik, and my favorite fashion designer's gear i miss politikin', dreamin, and schemin' with my Accra crew.

i miss the breeze, the mountains of Aburi, the green lush hills towards Kumasi, the spirits who forever roam Cape Coast---i shall never forget, i miss the shrines in the Northern region, pouring libation to my Ancestors on ancient, sacred ground, i'm missing Panafest right now! i miss dancing in the sand at the wednesday reggae beach party at labadi, i miss the easy vibes at legon-- neighborhood and discussing with the brilliant scholars at the university, i miss the bookstore too! i miss the goats, chickens, pigs, horses milling about and part of the everyday life, i miss the beautiful birds flying in the beautiful sky, i miss how mama moon looks different on that side of the world, i miss the stylish ladies with high-heeled sandals and babies on their back, oooh yes i miss the huge juicy mangoes, pears (avocados) and fresh coconut water, i miss Ghana style ital/vegetarian food at Asase Pa and 37, i miss people calling out "rasta!"

i miss seeing beautiful Black people everywhere, shaking off the minority blues and sucking up that natural feeling in my skin that heals the Diasporic soul, i miss long rides and watching and looking at all things African, Ghanaian, Accra-an, i miss the red, yellow and green flags, i miss being in the proud nation of the great Kwame Nkurmah and outrageous stories people tell about Rawlings, i miss people asking me what my day name is, i miss the fisherman and their painted boats, i miss the hand painted signs that are so clever and interesting and funny.

i miss being a witness to and part of African peoples' tenacity and creativity, i miss the red soil, the cowries and sea shells, i miss the trees, i miss waking up early to another sunny, warm, long day on the continent, i miss the been-to's and wanna be-s, and a very special soon to be, lol...

oneness!

congrads on the approval and thank you for the details. i hope the visa is issued this friday, all the best!

great news, congrads!!! have a wonderful time in ghana!

well, all and all, its sounds good. thanks for sharing the details. its hard to know what tactic some of these co's are using to judge us as applicants. whatever the case, its great that your fiance managed to stay focused and unfazed. i'm sure the visa will approved on august 14th, if not before. stay strong Sis, i am keeping you and your love in my prayers too!

p.s. you've been a great support to so many here, consistently optimistic and positive. i'm looking forward to your visa in hand post!

This post made me hungry. I first traveled to Ghana when I was 17 and lived with a family there. I fell in love with the food...so flavorable and spicy. Shito, Banku, Kenkey, wakye, contomere greens, kelewele, gari, all the soups - groundnut, okru, palmnut oh my goodness its so good. Fufu is ok, not my foavorite but I'll eat it. Fufu and ugali are very different...fufu is pounded cassava and plaintain, ugali is corn flour cooked to a stiff porridge, which is also eaten in west africa but usually they make it more flavorful by adding fermented cassava flour. Im not a fan of fish heads and I dont eat meat but I dont think I would like goat or any kind of organs, even if I did. East African food is good, but I think I like West African better.

i too LOVE West African food! i'm from the Caribbean so much of our food is similar to/based on African dishes. so if its meatless bring it on, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Gambian, Senegalese soups, stews, jollof rice, fufu, conomere, kenkey, plantain, gari, wackye, fried yam, boiled yam....all this week, i've been craving banku, pepper and fish! i love eating with my hands and sharing the same dish as my beloved. and my Ghanaian crew/family is always so pleasantly surprised with how enthusiastically and comfortably i dig in at mealtime!! i've been known to gain a few pounds with every visit actually!! i must say however i had an interesting experience pretending to eat a not so lovely snail soup offered by a lovely hostess, lol. but overall, i think its a wonderful and important way to really get to know a place, a people, the language and a culture by eating the traditional dishes with folks everyday. i've also shared in some of the cooking too. these days, food culture has also become a way for mylove and i to bond over the distance, i always i ask him "baby, what did you eat today?" and he's like "oh your favorite---fish and banku!" or "i'm about to get some wackye from such and such place, remember that spot?" or "the lady who sells roast fish on the main road was asking about you." and of course we've already discussed that he's to bring as much Fante kenkey and black pepper as he can carry when he gets that visa!

peace and smiling fish-heads to all!

Thank you all for your responses. It's really helpful. My fiance lives in Arusha, which is a 9 hour bus ride from Dar where the British consulate is located. He already made that trip back and forth a couple times going to the US embassy, getting his medical in order to get the K-1 and he shouldnt have to go thru that again JUST to spend a few hours in the Heathrow airport. On top of that is costs 57 pounds which is over $100, more than we paid for the K-1! I refuse to pay that much money just to pass thru the bloody airport. Its arrogant and racist. If he has a valid visa to the US, why should they bother him. It makes me so angry!

Anyway I checked with Swiss air and the swiss consulate, and both said he would not need a transit visa so God willing, he will arrive on Friday at JFK on Swiss air.

while of course there are some exceptions, officials at Heathrow airport are known for operating from a racist and/or arrogant paradigm, in fact it seems to be part of the policy, so i'm not surprised to hear of this transit visa for certain nationals. i had an extremely horrible experience there, unforgettable in fact, and over the years i've learned that many other travelers of African descent have had ugly experiences there as well. apparently Heathrow is a hotbed for post-colonial anxiety, so its definitely a good idea for your fiance stay clear of that particular airport if possible.

on a happier note, all the best to you two! enjoy your reunion!

Congrads Adwoa!!! Great News from Ghana! I hope your love arrives soon and that you enjoy every moment of your reunion. Many Blessings!

Sankofa: Hang in there. I'm sure your case will be located, processed and your interview scheduled soon esp with an official inquiry via your congress-people. As someone mentioned on another thread, the Ghana Embassy is indeed very backed up and may holding cases aside to catch up. Also it seems to me, from my recent experiences at the Embassy in Jan 07 and May 06, that the folks at American Citizen Services, the people who seem to be the only ones answering our questions, however well-intentioned, may not be privy to what is currently happening with K-1 cases. They've given me semi-correct info several times. Its frustrating, I know, but remember to stay positive and focused on the good, even as you keep up a vigilant correspondence with the Embassy. Trust that more Blessings are coming soon! By the way, did the Embassy tell you if your case has been received virtually? And has your fiance tried to pick up packet 3, cause sometimes having a in-the-flesh/in-your-face presence can make miracles happen at that little window. If he lives in Accra, it could be worth a try.

Anyway, big juicy congrads to all the recent Visa in Hand-ers and Peace to everyone maintaining the wait! May the emerging spring and upcoming summer inspire more love and good vibes all around: visualize smooth visa journeys for all, .

Stay Strong,

Z.

Good morning! Has anyone applied for a K1 Visa while they were in graduate school?

I have a question about the I-134 Form. I'm a graduate student. I don't beleive that I am technically employed (No W-2 forms), but I recieve a stipend in an amount that exceeds 125% of the poverty guidelines. I have a fellowship contract that states I will recieve the stipend from 2005-2008. I do not have income tax forms from the last 3 years, but I will pay taxes for 2005 (2006, & 2007)on my stipend. Do you think this will be sufficient if I get a letter from my fellowship manager on letterhead and provide a copy of my contract? Thoughts? Ideas?

Thanks!

greetings reeses16,

thanks for posting these questions b/c as a grad student/ graduate instructor i have the same concerns. i was thinking i would need a co-sponser since i too have no tax record of my total income: stipend. i have secured my letter from my fellowship manager detailing my contract but i'm not convinced that will be sufficient. i'd like to hear other thoughts/advice/experiences as well.

smooth visajourneys to all.

greetings All:

i just received the infamous email: we've been approved by USCIS!!! now on to NVC and Ghana.

and i'll be in Accra to love up my wonderful man in 3 days!!!! what divine timing!

i am so thankful for the blessings!

and i give thanks to you all for your supportive energies and collective reasoning.

and big up the Vermont crew!

speedy approvals and swift agreeable interviews to us all!!!

wonderful news! enjoy every second of your reunion! congrads.

(and yes, let us know the details when you can).

peace A&O,

congrads on the successful interview. i'm sure all will go well with the Ghana police, just remain humble with dash in hand. then enjoy the last days of hot weather in Accra!

safe travels and give thanks for filling us in on the details.

greetings All:

indeed my fiance, in Accra, paid a similiar tax when receiving a package i sent him several months ago. he did manage to bargain with the postal officers but only because they knew his family. i too was surprised about it, but he wasn't b/c that's the deal in Ghana.

peace.

wow, this is great news!!! congrads.

i am so happy for you and your love. when is she coming? how exciting, enjoy every minute of your reunion. yippie!!!

let us know the details of the interview when you have a chance.

great news from Accra!!!!! congrads!

Words are often very subjective. I don't get worked up by the use of the work ghetto. Unlike "***", an unambiguously perojorative term, I don't associate it exclusively to the US minority experience. You don't like it, peezy, zetku doesn't like it, for your own reasons. That is your perogative, as it is ours not to be incensed about it.

We can agree to disagree.

wow. i haven't ever posted here, i share that i'm a Black woman, i extend a thoughtful explaination on the politics of an offensive word that absolutely does have racial implications, several of them in fact, and therefore why one should be sensitive to its particular degrading implications, and then one misquotes me and trivalizes my response, and another uses a highly offensive racist term used to systematically to stigmatize and brutalize Black people just to make her point, deflect from her priviledged position and/or condone her sloppy intellectualizing....

whatever the case, peace ladies, this forum is all yours.

peace to you all:

i too haven't ever posted in this forum but i wanted to respond to two issues raised on this thread.

as a Black woman currently living in the U.S. i DO think the word "ghetto" is offensive. while Americans seems to habitually attempt to make light of degoratory terms, this language still holds the weight of politically charged and social constructed inequalities, injustices, racial/ethnic hatred, enforced poverty etc that still impact certain "minorities" everyday lives. thus i would refrain from using terms that could offend someone esp in spaces of public discourse such as this, though perhaps in more comfortable spaces such as with friends, where your intentions are obvious, one can be more carefree. it is not about being politically correct or emotional, rather it is about be sensitive and aware of the history of certain terms in their current cultural context.

secondly, i do buy mylove gifts. i sent him a digital camera for his birthday and send him money occassionally. he shares everything with me when i am in Ghana and though i makes grad student wages, i still have more access to money than him. so spoil him, yes, perhaps, but i love to contribute to his happiness and well-being in any way i can. we are not economic equals right now, this i have accept and release any stress related to it, as i chose to be with someone from a post-colonial nation. as a student of sub-saharran African culture i am well aware of the many reasons for this imbalance. when he is here in the States, we both hope that we be on more of equal footing financially. until then, material goods are simply that material and can not express or diminish the huge love we share for each other, we are family afterall, so we do what we can for each other, everytime.

and if by any chance, it is revealed that he is "using" me than so be it. i rather act from a place of love than fear. my generousity will come back to me ten-fold!

p.s. i do enjoy this forum, lots of energy, craziness and affection! happy quick visa journies to you all.

many blessings to you and your family: congrads!

greetings All:

give thanks for the kind welcome and advice.

well, i've already had my first (and most hopefully last) taste of a K-1 delay. i apparently sent in the wrong version of the I-129F form. yes, indeed the form was expired even though i obtained it from the New York's Federal Plaza at the very huge and very secure immigration office in August. our entire package was returned to me last week.

the good news is that now i can include copies of mylove's birth certificate and passport that i just received in the mail. just in case, to avoid a possible RFE, at least in this regard. i hope to send it off--again--by Monday. i'll adjust my timeline accordingly.

so again, please wish us good vibes. and good luck on your journies too.

peace,

z.

sorry A&O, that's super crazy. i hope you get an earlier date. are they really that backed up in Ghana??!?