Where Do I Begin: Tracing the History of the Henry Family

A Sabbath Visit with Family in Jamaica

We went to visit our family in Jamaica for spring break.  It was important for me to introduce my children to their grand aunts, grand uncles and cousins.  We were able to capture all / if not some of the family members present.  I was really pleased that so many of them were able to make it out to celebrate family and fellowship with us.  

I want to Thank Uncle Martin for organizing the church visit and lunch.  

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Family Sabbath Visit - March 2019

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Henry Family Reunion 2011 - Great Wolf Lodge, Niagara Falls, Ontario

For this year's Henry Family Reunion we decided to travel to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls.  

Exclusive indoor water parks, interactive games, and cabin-inspired suites only begin to describe the extraordinary experience we had.

We had a wonderful time.  I am looking forward to next year's 2012 family reunion in Jamaica!  

Hope that the world does not end before then :-)

Here are some pictures of the experience. 

 

 

 

all-about-deja: her life and travels

Many people believe that traveling is only for holidays or special occasions, such as a honeymoon.  Some people never leave the country where they were born until they are forced to attend a funeral or relocate for a job.  Others are unable to or choose not to travel until they are into adulthood.  My view on (international) traveling, however, is that it is a way to make connections and stay connected.  This is true for developing friendships, and especially true for family connections.  Imagine having Christmas dinner via Skype?  Or celebrating your great-grandmother's 93rd birthday on the other side of the world by way of facebook status updates.  Sure, technology is great, but wouldn't you rather be there? 

Columbia University, and many other universities and specialty programs, advocate planting the travel seed in your child's life very early.  They offer programs where high school students can travel to different parts of the world to learn about how other people live - and in turn, appreciate their own personal family history, how they live now, and their future role as global citizens.  

This year, Deja was lucky enough to be chosen to participate in The Barcelona Experience High School program offered by Columbia.   This is a program in which students examine the history, art, and urban development of Barcelona, Spain, enriching their understanding of how European communities develop local, regional, national, and international identities.

Deja chronicles her day-to-day experiences in a blog - including beautiful pictures.  The title of the blog is all about deja.  Please click here to read about and share in her travels.  Or you can find her blog at http://allaboutdeja.wordpress.com .  

Cheers,
Marsha

Kurt Henry in South Africa for the World Cup - Week 2

Written by Kurt Henry

 

South Africa – Week II

 

 
 

Another week gone by and I am considering extending my vacation to permanent residency.  Before we get into our new adventures I have to introduce to our host known as, Lady Gugu, PM. They are the ones that have made all of our experiences possible.

 

Next stop was Cape Town for a couple days. We got on the plane without knowing where we were going to sleep. We thought we would be able to find a hotel.  When we landed the hotels were all booked, then PM called us at the airport and put us in touch with an old friend that was willing to vacate there apartment and let us stay there for a couple days.      

 

First destination was Robben Island for a tour of the prison where Nelson Mandela was held. To get there we took a Kombie (local mini bus).  Just raise your hand and wave and they will stop for you. After three full Kombies we finally got one with available seats.  Robben Island was a very educational and emotional experience. People have been imprisoned on the island for hundreds of years for various reasons. The tours are conducted by former prisoners, some of which still have criminal records from the apartheid era and have difficulty finding other employment.

 

The next day was Table Mountain. To get there we needed to call a taxi but we had no airtime left on our phone.  We found a taxi driver we saw leaving the complex to bring us to the mountain.  We brought our luggage to go straight to the airport after we were done. When we got there, the wait was 2.5 hrs, which was not enough time to catch a flight and it was too crowded to bring our luggage up the mountain.  We decided to ask our taxi driver to hold our luggage and we would text him when we were done. To be sure we make it back home we took our passports with us. Then the Mayor negotiated a line bypass to the top of Table Mountain. The view from the mountain top was beautiful; we took lots of pictures and enjoyed the view of the city.  Time to find our taxi driver and our luggage and head to the airport ……….. one text message later he showed up with everything in tact, how is that for honesty!

 

Back in Joburg our next adventure was our first would cup soccer game Ghana vs. Germany. We took a four hour express bus ride to a stadium that was about 45 mins away on a normal day. The atmosphere was crazy. The stadium was beautifully designed like a calabash and holds almost 85,000 people. Lady Gugu got us amazing seats, only 5 rows away from the pitch. We felt like celebrities! Ladies were wearing flags as dresses and there were some interesting costumes as well.  Everybody was making beats with their Vuvuzelas that you could dance too. Germany scored the only goal of the game and we were sitting right there. It was just an amazing experience!

 

by Kurt Henry

 

Week 1: South Africa World Cup feature on Kurt Henry and the Brothers

Written by Kurt Henry

 

It’s been a week since I have touched down in the motherland! Here is my update on how things are going.

 

It all started on the flight from Toronto, with 3 brothers (aka VP, the Mayor, & Zim) from Toronto on the same flight on our way to South Africa.  I had no idea what to expect but I knew it was going to be fun and a little different.  We flew KLM (Royal Dutch airline) and for those of you that don’t know, the Dutch make Heineken, it was free and came with everything for the next 20 hours……..! It was an evening flight, so we started off with dinner n’ Heineken…. Then snacks n’ Heineken, then listening to music n’ Heineken, don’t forget the jokes n’ Heineken!

 

  
 

Then we landed in Amsterdam at 7am local time on a three hour layover.  Not enough time to get to red light district and back so we tried to have some fun in the airport.  It looked like everyone connected in Amsterdam for world cup because there were jerseys and jackets and t-shirts everywhere.  With my South Africa Jacket, the Mayor’s Brazil Jacket and Zim’s Holland t-shirt we made some friends. We all sat down and talked over some donuts n’ Heineken for breakfast as we waited for our flights.

 

We landed in SA after a 9 hour flight and whatever u want n’ Heineken it felt so much like home when we arrived at the airport.  I was tired, hungry and ready to get a taste of South Africa.  Our host (friends of the Mayor) was waiting and they got us home quickly to a beautiful place in Sandton, a borough in Johannesburg.  My ears perked up when I heard, “You boys must be hungry, we will make you some meat to eat….”  Mommy, you’ll be happy to know that I’ve been well fed! For those of you that know me well this is a big statement.  A freshly cooked meal everyday!  First meal was Pap (similar to Fufu) n’ meat. No knives, forks or spoons just your hands and your meal, and I’m lovin’ it.  For breakfast we had eggs, chips n’ meat. That’s right, every meal comes with meat.

 

First there was the Reggae Boyz of Jamaica and then the Soca Boyz of Trinidad and now Bafana Bafana of South Africa and they are driving the city mad. We all just wish they could win a game. Last chance is against France and the hopes are high. Nevertheless, I got me a Vuvuzela and the whole city blows them loud, all day long and into to the night.  Be careful if you blow them too much you may develop a case of what’s being called Vuvu lips…...  My first game is on Wednesday (Ghana vs Germany) so look out for the next update.

 

The atmosphere is filled with nothing but love.  Despite all the love, this country is cold.  Its winter and the weather is consistently below 10 degrees sometime times as low as 0 and I did not bring a winter Jacket.  We went to a reggae jam at Baseline to keep warm.  Besides the heat, it smelt just like a reggae dance in Toronto and the music was good too.  We also visited a lounge called Capello’s that reminded me of Joe Mama’s. 

 

While we were partying we were also planning some other activities for our trip.  Look out for updates on:

·         Robben Island in Capetown, where Nelson Mandela was held captive. These tickets are limited and hard to get but we are trying. And ofcourse table mountain

·         Durban for sight seeing and World Cup Soccer  

 

So much more has happened but this email is getting long.  If you actually took the time to read all of this and would like to know more send me an email or get a calling card and call me for live updates at  any of the below numbers,

011-27-741-95-2636

011-27-783-71-8585

011-27-721-16-0983

 

Call anytime because we are hardly getting any sleep around here.

 

By Kurt Henry