Category Archives: Africa & Middle East

Travel-ish: Africa, Aid and Making an Effective Contribution

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During a visit to Randy’s restaurant last week (no, that’s not the travel-ish part), I thoroughly enjoyed a conversation about Africa (that’s the travel-ish part) with my two companions. Seems a rather broad topic, you say? Well, yes, and we did have a rather broad discussion, ranging on education, investment, natural resources, transfer of technology, volunteerism, environmental issues and long bus rides. All this while I munched on my six-dollar tuna melt. We weren’t even drinking (when a glass of wine is $2.75, it scares me). Continue reading →

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Don’t Be a Walt Wawra

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A casual letter to the editor caused a controversial social media stir on both sides of the border earlier this month when a police officer from Kalamazoo, Michigan wrote in to the Calgary Herald after his visit to the low-crime city. Walt Wawra complained he felt vulnerable when two men walked up to him and his wife in Nose Hill Park and said, in a very aggressive tone, according to Wawra, “Been to the Stampede yet?”

And then they said it again. Continue reading →

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Share Your Fave Beach for a Chance to Win Tro-tros & Potholes

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To all the landlocked countries in the world: I’m sorry. Lakes, rivers, ponds–sure, they’re nice, too, but can they compare with staring off into the endless horizon over the ocean? I think not.

The less crowded the beach, the better, even if it takes hours or days to get there. Hey, you don’t have to worry about somebody stealing your stuff while you swim when there’s nobody else there! Continue reading →

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Happy 94th Birthday, Nelson, and Good Luck to Me

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My new wristband

My husband knows me too well. Starting Thursday, I’m off to spend four days at the Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) conference, and it will be the first time I’ll pitch my current book to literary agents and publishing editors. Francis thought to himself, ‘hmmm, what could I get her as a good luck present, something she could wear or keep close to her at the conference?’ And he picked the absolute most perfect thing: a 46664 wristband. Continue reading →

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How I Ended Up Living in Israel: A Guest Post for Molly Greene

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The international volunteer program on Israeli kibbutzim has pretty much gone away, but like Jerry Seinfeld and Sacha Baron Cohen, I was lucky enough to experience it in its heyday. I invite you to join me in a hop over to Molly Greene’s blog today to read how it turned out to be a life-changing experience. As one of 80+ volunteers on Givat Haim Ihud–some Jewish, most of us not–I was part of a crazy, eclectic mix (and a few lost souls), there to work, learn, travel, party and get up to a variety of shenanigans…sometimes frowned upon by the more serious Israelis…

A big thank you to Molly Greene for hosting me (again) on her most awesome blog. The countdown is on for the release of her new novel, Mark of the Loon, due out in mid-May.

This is what we did to English volunteers

This is what we did to South African volunteers

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Mangoes in Mali: An Essay on Fruit and Friendship

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I awoke to the unrelenting sun creeping up in the sky and the sound of impatient commerce in the street below. It was 7 a.m., and more than 100˚F. My location was the open rooftop of a zero-star hotel in Djenné, Mali. I’d started out in a windowless room the night before, but after miserable hours of the fan throwing hot, heavy air in my face, I dragged my sleeping mat up to the roof in search of relief. It had worked, for the most part, though I was still groggy when I took a seat in the hotel’s outdoor restaurant and ordered some coffee.

Almost immediately, a young man of about fifteen approached the restaurant, the sand kicking up around his feet as he crossed the street. Continue reading →

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Why I Love Nelson Mandela

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Like Georgia, Nelson Mandela has been on my mind lately. Alright, truthfully, I think about him a lot all the time, as I’ve had a minor crush on him as far back as I can remember. My husband finds it quite amusing that he must compete with a 93-year old for my affections. In these times of political polarity in the United States, though, Nelson (I agree, it’s creepy that I think that we’re on a first-name basis) emerges in my daydreams most often for some of the things that he did as a nation builder in post-apartheid South Africa.

Let me start by saying that I have been to South Africa three times now, but have written very little about it. By far, the most important of my visits was from 1993 to 1994. Living in Johannesburg, I worked as an intern for a local non-profit called the Grasmere Community Development Trust. I was there from December through July. South Africa’s first fully-representative democratic election was in April, and Nelson was inaugurated as president in May (an inauguration which I attended). I was also an accredited election observer for South Africa’s electoral commission. Continue reading →
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