little walk on the wild side

there wasn't much time to be a tourist when i went to zambia (my first time in africa!) to study. our schedule was filled with visits to the university, the house of a local alumnus, local NGOs...and a lot of waiting. and waiting. and waiting. for everything! macrina and i stole away for 12 hours while we were in lusaka--for some of the only free time we had through the entire trip. we found a privately-owned, absolutely beautiful safari lodge in close proximity to lusaka, where we rode horses to get up close with the elephants, went on a game drive had the opportunity to see a wide variety of traditional and modern african art, and enjoyed quite a few glasses of pimms (very african, of course)! it's interesting that all of the land/animals were privately-held, and i'm sure i could start a debate with my environmental friends about which is better in the long-run. we didn't have the time or the money to go on a full-blown african safari, but our day trip did the trick.

the place we visited: http://www.chaminuka.com/. 

i bought a book about the owner and all he has done in africa, but sadly, still have not gotten around to reading it!

weekend in connemara

i don't know what made me think of this. maybe the trailers for the new harry potter movie coming out. during my time in ireland, i spent a weekend in connemara, which is an absolutely beautiful part of the country. i'd love to go back at some point!

for an ireland photo (and my photography skills), it doesn't get much better than this!

charley almost blew away!

breast cancer awarness month

october is breast cancer awareness month....and wonderful organizations around the world are drawing attention to breast cancer along with other important women's health issues.

i took these photos in cairo last october, when the first susan g. komen race for the cure was held at the giza pyramids. it was incredibly powerful to see so many egyptian women (and supportive men) out to race --and erase--the stigma of breast cancer in egypt.as breast cancer and other women's health issues are still taboo, breast cancer is often detected in later stages, and the event aimed to raise awareness.

the pyramids were even turned pink at night! sadly, i wasn't there to see that in person...just in the newspapers.

participants and the sphinx post-event...notice the usaid logo on the hat--the event was supported by the american people!

geography in scotland

what a nice looking geography department at the university of edinburgh--such a scholarly location. i feel like studying here would really inspire me. given the title of this blog, i thought it was only appropriate to share this photo that my good friend megan, a fellow geography fan, sent from her studies in edinburgh.

why didn't the geography programs i attended look this inviting? the geography department at colgate was in the basement (with no windows), and the geography department at university college dublin was in one of those concrete 80's buildings.

but this place? wow!

this just didn't make sense.

oh, the life of a tourist. these gentlemen were playing SCOTTISH bagpipe hymns in a ROMAN amphitheater in jerash, JORDAN. they were playing the hits--it was beautiful to listen to--but didn't seem to make sense. we heard the sounds of the muezzins calling prayer in the town next to us, yet in jerash, it was time to please the tourists with bagpipes. interesting.

when was the last time you saw the sunrise and the sunset in one day?

before a few weeks ago, the last time that i actually noticed that i was awake for both a sunrise and a sunset in the same day was in august 2004. i was driving back to the east coast from los angeles with liz, katherine, and durban, and i was driving through las vegas when the sun rose. we also saw the sun set before we pulled into breckenridge, colorado, where we were calling it a day, for the driving at least. for some reason, it was a truly memorable day.

at the end of september, tim and i went down to bristol, rhode island to sail with his parents for the weekend. on the first day of the trip, the boat was moving well before the sun came up--and we were anchored in the great salt pond in block island (which is surprisingly small, considering) to see the sun set. truly everyday events. but we hardly notice for the most part. i usually realize that the sun has risen when i can't see where i'm going because of the glare!

sunrise--bristol, ri

sunset--block island

a perfect day...

it's been quite a spring and summer. as the leaves are starting to change colors and it is becoming necessary to wear a heavier coat, even during the day, i've been thinking about how my summer began this year. i had been on crutches for a very snowy january and febuary, and at the beginning of march, i finally got the orders from my wonderful doctor that i was good to get walking! what a relief!

before the grass even turned fully green, some good friends planned a trip to the wineries and vineyards in northern virginia--just an hour or so from dc. we had a wonderful day sipping good wine and celebrating the beginning of spring (very early in the year, i might add). we didn't do the normal "wine tour," but chose one nice spot and spent a few hours there chatting away. it was absolutely perfect.

here's my favorite shot from the day. i still can't think of a better way to spend a saturday.

some of my favorite northern virginia wineries:

http://www.barreloak.com/ -barrel oak winery

http://www.piedmontwines.com/ -piedmont*

http://www.threefoxvineyards.com/ - three fox

a different perspective...

i will probably work in an office environment for a long time. hopefully someday, i'll get a window and permanently move out of cube land. no, i'll never be a farmer. that's for sure. i'm certainly not cut out for that line of work. even though i do love the idea of it.

but this poem, by wendell berry, which a friend of mine reminded me of a few years ago really resonates. not all of it, but some parts. i'd copy the entire poem directly here, but i'm not sure if that is allowed. although, at this point, i don't know if anyone reads my blog to turn me in!

http://www.context.org/ICLIB/IC30/Berry.htm

what do you think?

a child bride in sudan

i read this story in the new republic a few days ago and it keeps coming back to mind. this story goes beyond the statistics, political-foreign-policy speak, and tells the story of one girl in sudan, who was married at 11 years old. in my job, i've been trained to try to find the "success stories" in international development...but these stories are important (and incredibly frightening at the same time) too.

http://www.tnr.com/article/world/78104/child-bride-in-sudan

it's not thanksgiving yet....

but i'm feeling very grateful for my wonderful friends and family today. and maybe this is more of a "tweet," but it's easy to forget how truly lucky we are.