Thursday, July 30th,
Labe, 0700 - Ibro, Damba, Daniel, driver Mamadou and I got started bright and early on our trip back to the capitol, leaving the hotel promptly at 7. Monica had gone back to the village she's posted to the day before to pack for her upcoming trip to the Peace Corps training village near Conakry (to welcome a new group of ( Read more... )

Wednesday, August 3rd (today), Moriac, Australia - Well I just got home today from my third project in Guinea. Let me tell you, it was an ordeal getting there as well as getting back! I think I can break this down into just four entries, (1) on getting there; (2) the project itself; (3) on the drive back from the interior to the capitol; and (4) ( Read more... )

Tuesday, November 3rd, Day 31, Kasese, Western Uganda - Have you ever found yourself on the edge of a lake in Uganda surrounded by hostile young men whose loathred for you even extended to your local guide? Well that occurred this day.

Somehow, I managed to pry my battered carcass out of bed at a relatively early hour the morning after hiking ( Read more... )

July 11th, Friday - After ten days in the field it was finally time to return to "civilization." And by civilization I mean spend most of a week in the crowded, dirty capitol of Canakry, ground zero for the burgeoning "worst ebola outbreak in history." But at least I'd be able to shower again ( Read more... )

July 7th, Monday - Day Six: We finally had a new generator, so even though we were going out into the field I left my computer and phones plugged in and left the generator running, to be turned off by others when everything was charged. Once we'd gotten that sorted out we accompanied the president of the national beekeeping federation an hour south ( Read more... )

Leg 1

I felt the aircraft gently jolt into motion, the motion mainly transmitting from the seat in front of me through my knees which were jammed against it. I peered out the window as the gate pulled away, and wondered why I couldn't shake this strong feeling I'd forgotten something. I had packed for a year in Australia the morning-of, but for ( Read more... )

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   I just wrote this entire thing and was on the second-to-last paragraph (had just written "and now for the most shocking coincidence") when LJ borked out and lost the whole thing (and apparently didn't autosave!), so this is take two. Anyway, this is the last leg of my recent journey. Previously I had left Ethiopia and, via Istanbul (where I ( Read more... )

   Having returned from Korem the previous day...


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   Picking up where I'd left off, I had just arrived in Mek'ella on Friday, May 4th.


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