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This is awesome! I’m gonna go with my trip to Accra, Ghana. We walked a lot there, but we also drove everywhere with the windows down because it is very hot and not everyone is willing to run their air conditioning in the vehicle.

It was the middle of November and very hot. The sun feels closer to your skin than in North America. I love the way the sun feels as it kisses my skin, and there in Ghana, it was the hottest stinging kiss from the sun I’ve ever felt. Even at midnight when we stepped off the plane outside the airport, the heat and humidity were unbelievable. I believe it was in the 90s at midnight that night when we arrived.

The sight of dust is the most stand out sight in my memory. Even as I recall the colorful marketplace, or the darkness of nighttime in the bush where there is no electricity, I recall the dust and dirt. Everywhere you go, you’re fighting the dirt billowing behind vehicles or sticking to your feet and face.

I remember being overwhelmed at first, then grow to love the smell of human life. It’s a very crowded city with open sewers alongside the roads and very few people wear deodorant. Scents that are typically covered with perfume in the US are number one in my memories of walking around the city.

The taste of pawpaw fruit and curry rice are two of my favorites. The pawpaw is a little slimy and mild in flavor, but super sweet. It’s almost exactly like papaya; I believe they’re the same fruit family. The curry rice was sweet and spicy and was a welcomed hearty meal after a day filled with exploring in the heat.

Hearing the foreign languages being spoken all around me with the splashes of English whenever someone caught sight of the white people was also very memorable. I have always loved foreign languages, although I’m not bilingual, and appreciate the musical sounds of the spoken language of other cultures.

I tend to have deeply emotional responses to the things I experience with my senses, and obviously I’m not the only one. 😊 The sensory memories I have recalled for this task are still as fond and vivid as the day they were first experienced.

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Adrienne, what a beautiful set of memories you shared. The heat and dust you describe of the region bring to mind the short story “Djinn” by Russell Banks. You would probably connect with his descriptions.

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Of course I’ve got to play along with this one!

I’m going to go with East Grand Rapids, MI. There is a lake there with a four mile walking trail around it.

1. In the fall, the trees burst into wild oranges and reds. I’d never seen anything like it and it never ceased to feel surreal to me.

2. The combination of feeling aching feet and legs alongside the euphoric endorphin release.

3. The smell was... earthy. Dry leaves, dirt, tall grass, sections of wetland. It combines nicely and changes subtly as the path takes you through different sections of the geography.

4. There was a farm-to-table restaurant nearby called Terra GR with a fantastic house-made ginger beer. I loved that drink. The ginger soothes the stomach but burns the lips. It’s spicy. And I love the memory of enjoying that drink after a long walk.

5. The “silence.” I put it in quotes because it wasn’t true silence, but the noise of a busy life momentarily died out enough to hear birds, gentle waves on the lake, and the wind going through the trees. And I remember the sound of my wife’s voice as we talked and dreamed about what the future might hold for us.

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Thanks for the share, Austin! Ginger beer is such a nice treat. That “silence” you describe is beautiful. Do you know what birds you may have been hearing on those autumn days?

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Fantastic comments Austin and Valerie! I loved the trip around the lake in Michigan and the visual image of the fall colors. That thought is especially delicious in this record-breaking heat and drought of a relentless Texas summer. And the flight over London, what a spectacle! I will never forget it. I don’t know how many times I have recommended the trip to Disneyland and used the ride in the ship with Peter Pan as a reason to make sure and go at all costs.

The senses are the absolute best ways to store good memories and are so striking and beautiful when they are encountered again and bring those memories back unbidden when we least expect it. The smell of fresh turned soil, the touch of an infant’s fingers groping and exploring around your nose, the first love song that really hit home or the resemblance of a loved one in the face of a grandchild, these allow your good times and your youth to be relived over and over again and to be stowed away as cherished treasured far into old age.

Thanks for the memories! ❤️

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Wow, what great examples! I hope those infant fingernails are clipped. Otherwise the inside of your nose is in for a rude awakening.

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Great newsletter! Loved the sensory scavenger hunt! I’m gonna have to go with my first time at Disneyland (which was as an adult).

Visual-Flying over London and Neverland on the Peter Pan ride

Scent-The smell of fresh baked cookies in the air everywhere and the citrus smell on the California Adventure soaring over CA ride (technically not Disneyland but relevant)

Sound-All the classic Disney songs I grew up with, plus songs like “It’s a Small World” and the repeated sound of the announcer’s voice before night shows “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…”

Taste-Dole Whip 😋

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Thanks for playing, Valerie! I have to ask, what is Dole Whip? Is it whipped cream with fruit, or am I way off? Theme parks really do make for great sensory adventures, don’t they?!

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Theme parks are the best! Dole Whip is a magical pineapple froyo served at the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland. Highly addictive in quality and I strongly recommend it. 😜

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Sign me up!

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Oh, my lands! I was transported to another world many years ago as I read this. I can close my eyes and see those polished handrails in the lines, smell the creosote, taste the pink thing and if I’m not mistaken, I think I may have some chafing going on.

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Oh no, not the chafing!

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Don’t forget to play the game. Take me on a sensory recall journey from your past! 😁

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I remember seeing lots of red wing black birds at some point during the year. But other than that I couldn’t say.

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I love red winged blackbirds. There’s yellow in there, too, but it doesn’t get any love in the name. Poor yellow.

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Those sensations sound so ancient. I’ve never been to Africa, but from what you’ve described, I can sense the antiquity of the place. When someone says old as dirt, there’s a reason that it conjures images of fledgling life.

I especially appreciated your auditory depiction. There is indeed a certain alluring rhythm and cadence to some foreign languages, even if you aren’t fluent. I really like the allusion you made there. I can really relate!

Thank you for taking us along for the ride. It was invigorating.

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