If Australia is truly a paradise on Earth - as it has been described to me on numerous occasions - I can only assume that this is a seasonal assessment of the place. I arrived in what is nearly the dead of winter, and I can say without exaggeration that the place is almost bleak. The sky is gray everyday with only occasional bursts of sunshine and frequent showers. It’s cold (about 13 degrees) which is only exacerbated by the grayness of the sky. Some tropical paradise. I apologize now to my readership for my lukewarm take on Melbourne so far. [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone Well, this is officially the last blog post from my trip to Burkina Faso which began on May 5th of last year. And what a trip it has been! With the many ups and downs (mainly downs at first, I will admit) I can honestly say I have gotten more out of this experience than I could have hoped for. It has been rewarding professionally, but even more so personally. Really, there is no way to explain the joy that I feel from having been here, and how profoundly and fundamentally changed I am as a result. In order [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone My imminent departure has given me new cause to reflect on things here in West Africa, and I find myself making lists in my mind of things to remember. I have decided to post this list on my blog, even though I do not have pictures of everything and you may not appreciate it as fully as someone who has been here. But you've all been along for the ride so, what the hell? -kids (I am talking about small goats) look a lot like puppies in the way they prance and play and are just as cute -the [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone Well, this message is one that I'm sure none of you are expecting... I sure wasn't! Well, without going into too much detail I will cut right to the chase. I am coming home. For good. In two weeks. So there you have it! I guess I'm no good at suspense... Things here have taken a very unexpected turn which I can't explain without swearing a lot. Basically, just know that our company has decided that my presence here is no longer required as we're going to scale back our social operations. I am not out of work, though. [View Full Entry]

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Hey everybody Sorry about that last post. It's pretty old (Jan 29) but I was trying to load some pics that weren't working, then I forgot about it. Technical difficulties! So what's happened since then, you ask? Lots! Continued sucking the old marrow, of course. Things here are going great and I am so THANKFUL to be happy and productive. The health issues of tiredness have continued, which is annoying, but I have finally taken matters into my own hands. Gotta love a control freak, right? :) I went to see a traditional Chinese doctor here in Ouaga today, since she's [View Full Entry]

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I went into the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life...to put to rout all that was not life; and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. ~Henry David Thoreau Hey, everybody! Ok, so maybe it's a bit cliche, but may I say that this quote has never held so much meaning? I feel like today is a good day in a string of good days, and I'm basking in all of them at once. I am SO enjoying being here right now; [View Full Entry]

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Hi everybody Sorry I've been out of touch for awhile. Things were pretty crazy getting out of Burkina before Christmas. The biggest reason was a second -and much more severe- bout of malaria. Thanks to my good buddy Guy I got to the doctor and got treatment, but it was a very VERY unpleasant plane ride home as my liver swelled and almost caused me to stay over in Niger... Which would have been bad... So I didn't... Anyway, I won't bore you with the story since most of you heard it while I was home anyway. But the bottom line [View Full Entry]

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Hi everybody I hope you're all doing super. As per the previous e-mail, this weekend was a particularly active one as Guy and I tested our mettle in a 26km run/bike race. We raced from here in town to an outside village called Koubri. They have a monastery there that makes the BEST yogourt! Saturday we spent the day preparing for the race on Sunday. We had to collect the bike I would ride from another mining biz friend of ours, and we bought high-calorie train food, and organized the logistics of how we were getting where we needed to be. [View Full Entry]

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Hey everybody No, your eyes have not deceived you: I got pulled over by the cops again!!!! I honestly wish I were kidding, but sadly I am not. I won't go into the details of it because it will just get me blinded by rage yet again, but suffice it to say this time was even more interesting than the first. I remembered to pack my driver's lisence at least, but the cop decided he was going to take it which resulted in me getting out of my car and chasing him down the street. I decided I definitely wasn't going [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone I hope you're all safe and sound and happy that the holidays are coming. I know I am! So the newest episode in the adventure is pretty exciting. I had my first meaningful encounter with the police. Now, the police here are actually the army, so they all have really giant guns and are pretty much to be avoided as much as possible. They almost always look unpleasant and you have to know that there's no accountability so if you say the wrong thing you could wind up in jail for no reason. It's not pretty. So the other [View Full Entry]

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