Preparing for the Driving Test

I’ve been meaning to leave confines of my hotel post-work but the street directly in front is as hard to cross as a river.  There is a CONSTANT strum of traffic that include cars, busses, goats, donkey carts, and mopeds that never stops.  I wanted to buy a Coca-Cola Light that was being allegedly sold [...]

The extraordinary in the ordinary

This picture is taken from my hotel window overlooking the hotel parking lot.

La cuisine a l’hotel

Mali and most francophone West African countries serve excellent French cuisine, one of the remnants of its colonized past.  You can get authentic French dishes for mere dollars at almost every hotel in the country.  My boyfriend was also a Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa and OFTEN reminisces that his favorite French dish in [...]

I’ve already drank the water

It’s been less than 24 hours since I’ve been in Mali, and I’ve already drank the water. Sometimes even I am amazed by my own actions.  I’ve probably had a cumulative 48 hours of training in my lifetime on the subject of not drinking the water, yet give me a hot burning day and I forget it all.  I [...]

Welcome to Africa

Fifteen hours after we left the U.S., our plane landed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (my first layover on the journey).  As we got off the plane in Addis, I was shocked to discover that everyone was departing the plane aisle by aisle, row by row.  OMG, order in Africa! Well maybe in East Africa.
Because then [...]

I’m off!

It’s 4:55 am.  Sunday.
Am about to leave for the airport. From there:
Airport – Rome, Italy (8 hours)
Rome, Italy  – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (6 hours)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Bamako, Mali (7 hours)
For those of you I didn’t talk to personally yesterday, I love you and will miss you.  See you on the flipside!

A farewell letter…to my legs

Dear legs,
I am about to depart on a journey across the world to a land far, far away, and although you will accompany me, you are to remain hidden at all times.  I wanted to write you a farewell letter to thank you for all of the good times we shared the last few years.  [...]

Prescription Meds

I picked up my prescription medication today, that thankfully, my insurance covered.  Despite this, I still spend $225 in copays.  I laughed out loud when I saw the size of bottle below for my Malaria prophylaxis.  Can you guess how long these pills will last me?

Reunited

As you may have guessed from my post last Sunday, leaving my boyfriend in NYC was a very emotional experience.  It took me several hours to recover from the experience while sitting on the train (with thanks in part to the sweet girl sitting next to me who timidly pushed her magazine towards me in [...]

I have a serious problem

Overpacking.
It may not be a serious problem for most people, but since my nature is nomadic, it carries more weight (literally) than you think.
So a couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of the 15 shoes I was considering taking to Mali, and asked you all to help me choose up to five pairs.
I [...]

Security and Safety

70% of aid workers in Africa have gotten into serious car accidents, we learned in training yesterday.
GULP
Most people warn me of the numerous illnesses I may catch in Africa: malaria, cholera, Dengue fever, worms, giardiah, amoebas, HIV, scabies etc. (ok, so there are a lot)
BUT
Car accidents are the #1 most dangerous part of living in [...]

Temporary Relief

Since I received my assignment in Mali, I have received many perplexed glares of confusion, stares, blatant disbelief and a slew of questions starting and ending with ‘Why?  (Disclaimer: this does not pertain to my family, who have always been 110% supportive of my life).
Well that has come to an end.  I arrived at headquarters [...]