My Story

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=82 BGCOLOR="#CC66FF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>JO SANDERS STORYTELLER</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index-old.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="JO SANDERS STORYTELLER"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>  My Story</B>   |   <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="My Work"><U>My Work</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stories"><U>Stories</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id34.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Kids Page"><U>Kid's Page</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Family Pages"><U>Family Pages</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Roswell, GA Storytelling"><U>Roswell, GA Storytelling</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Southern Order StorytellersSOSGA"><U>Southern Order Storytellers-SOS-GA</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id21.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Texas Storytelling"><U>Texas Storytelling</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id31.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Storytelling Events"><U>Storytelling Events</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Storytellers Directory"><U>Storytellers Directory</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Books, Resources, Writing"><U>Books, Resources, Writing</U></A>   |   <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Jo"><U>Contact Jo</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=398 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>  My Story</I></div> <div> For fees and Booking:  <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Jo"><U>Contact Jo</U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CC00FF" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#9933FF" FACE="Arial" >      </FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#9933FF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Storyteller and Program Speaker - presentations tailored for the occasion!</B></FONT></div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > <IMG SRC="0d79fb60.png" border=0 width="159" height="182" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"> </FONT>Wimberley, Texas Festival<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT><IMG SRC="0d9caad0.jpg" border=0 width="202" height="173" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  School Storytelling  <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >    </FONT></div> <bR> <div>                                      <img src="HTMLobj-192/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="800" height="20">                                                               </div> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#CC00FF" FACE="Arial" >Storytelling is fun!</FONT>  "Come with me on a journey to the world of make-believe and true adventures. </div> <div> I bring my stories to life with animation and some magical voices." <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> My unusual travel and life experiences are often the source for my stories. <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >                         <img src="HTMLobj-194/aniGif.gif" border="0" align="bottom" width="85" height="81">  </FONT></div> <bR> <div> As a grandmother, I enjoy children and grownups of all ages.  I have traveled with my husband to all fifty states and on six continents in search of stories and audiences.  The connection to other cultures is a wonderful experience.  With stories, I have been able to connect with audiences of all ages and create pictures with words for each listener.  </div> <bR> <div> Storytelling is a powerful tool to introduce children to imaginative creative writing, literature, history and to appreciate cultures from around the world.  Reading, writing and listening create new ideas and introduce ways to communicate with others.</div> <bR> <div> Adults enjoy the adventures of real life stories and the telling of foktales and fairytales.  I try to find new ways to recreate traditional stories to capture the imagination of today's audiences.  </div> <bR> <div> Putting my own "voice" to a story is a rewarding experience for me and many have told me how much they enjoy my energetic telling style.</div> <bR> <div> My favorite times are when I look into the eyes of the audience and they are living the story with me.  My favorite comment from listeners is when children or adults tell me that my smiling eyes are talking to them.</div> <bR> <div>  <IMG SRC="05cc1c20.jpg" border=0 width="193" height="194" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT><IMG SRC="0726c9f0.jpg" border=0 width="108" height="159" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">  <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="082ab7c0.jpg" border=0 width="171" height="124" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><IMG SRC="08378610.jpg" border=0 width="120" height="97" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></FONT>      </div> <div> <B>The School Kids Having Fun       Carrying Laundry       Beautiful Face          Children's Artwork</B></div> <div> In the fall of 1997, my husband and I traveled alone, to the far reaches of Turkey to the small town of Yalikavik.  There was little English spoken.  We managed to learn a few words and smiled a lot.  Smiles show friendship and that was our goal.  We spent two weeks in that small village and visited with the school children almost every day.  My husband showed the children how to whistle through their hands and they loved it.  I told them stories with lots of animation and expression and smiles.  They enjoyed it so much and so did we.  A few of  the older ones could introduce themselves in English and that made them proud.  We in turn would introduce ourselves to each one and try to repeat their name.  That always brought a lot of giggles.</div> <bR> <div> Often the children would bring their parents up to meet us when we saw them at the market or on the village playground or square.  The children seemed so proud to know us and we were honored when they came up to us to speak.  Each time the introductions were repeated.  We tried very hard to show respect for their customs and to show love and caring for their land.  </div> <bR> <div> We certainly were happy to feel welcome in a place where there were no other Americans and we were traveling independently.  We rode local buses and public transportation and somehow managed to make our way around.  Sometimes it was a bit frightening.</div> <bR> <div> Upon the first visit to the school, the headmaster invited us to "Che" or tea.  He did not speak English but graciously invited us to visit the classrooms.  While we drank the strong Turkish tea from the small, ornate cups, the headmaster showed us drawings and different pictures and charts of the school activities in his small office.  Although we did not know what he was saying or exactly what he was showing us each time, we bowed and smiled and said thank you many times with our limited Turkish words.</div> <bR> <div> The teacher who taught English was the only one in the school who could speak English and that was very, very limited.  Every where we went, it was a struggle to communicate and we became quite proficient in sign language. Turkey was one of the many places we have traveled where we didn't know the language and met very few who spoke understandable English.  When staying in Old Istanbul, we stayed in a small local hotel and again, very few could understand us . That is the charm of a couple traveling alone.  It is much more exciting and adventurous.</div> <div>    <IMG SRC="07e21af0.jpg" border=0 width="289" height="175" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"><IMG SRC="08121b70.jpg" border=0 width="289" height="183" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>   See <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Stories"><U>Stories</U></A></div> <bR> <div>      My husband, Jack.......The boys always get in front!....YALIKAVIK, TURKEY</div> <bR> <bR> <div>                                              </div> </td> </tr></table></body>