After I finished school today, Maddie and I went to an outdoor place where we saw dancers from West Africa. We danced a lot. They were very good. A lot of people were there.

Aug. 8

From Jennifer

Today, Maddie and Cathy picked me up from school and we went to the train station and took a train ride to Philadelphia. I really liked the train. Maddie and I both fell asleep after we ate lunch. Then Tim picked us up and took us to meet Carolyn. Olivia was there and she is very cute. I like the clothes that Olivia wears. I was happy to see Carolyn and Tim.

We went to see some doctors at a hospital. First we had a shaved ice cone which was really good. Then we met some doctors who asked me a lot of questions. They looked in my eyes and gave me an eye exam.

Maddie waited for me outside with Tim and Olivia. Then we went back to the train station and I ate two cheeseburger Happy Meals at McDonalds. I ate one and then I said, oh this is not enough for me, can I get another one? We listened to some music on the train and went back to Maddie's house.

Aug. 7

From Cathy

We are so happy to have Jennifer back at our house after she spent several weeks with the Goldberg family. She really liked staying there and she said she was really happy that they drove her to school and picked her up and Madeline's friends came over and spent a lot of time with her. It has been wonderful to share Jennifer with other families at Maddie's school, who are very commited to helping her in any way they can.

July 28

A note from Carolyn

We are still trying to pin down Jennifer's further medical treatment for her hand and her face. It looks like Dr. Lee Osterman, a highly regarded Philadelphia hand surgeon, will be treating Jennifer's hand here in Philadelphia. Then, she probably will get a prosthetic from Pillet Hand Prosthetics, whose U.S. office is in New York. We most likely will be using a big chunk of donations readers have sent in to pay for the prosthetic.

Jennifer also will get another round of surgery to treat burn wounds on her face. Those arrangements have not yet been fully made. I'll let you know when there's more information.

July 26

Email to Carolyn from Jennifer, who has been attending an English immersion summer program at Washington International School.

Hi! I wanted to let you know what I've been doing this week and last week. In the morning we are still writing and reading at school. In the afternoon, we go on field trips. Last week I went on a boat ride on the Potomac river. We saw the White House. It was cooler on the water.

This week, we took a bus to Georgetown and ate at a restaurant called Johnny Rockets. I had a cheeseburger and french fries. We took a walk down by the canal in Georgetown. Today, we took the metro to an art gallery called The Phillips Collection. Those are all the new things we did.

On the weekend, Madeline's mom took us to the Maryland Science Center and the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.

July 22

From Debby Goldberg, member of Jennifer's current host family