Hey everybody! I hope you're all doing well and enjoying this lovely long weekend. I wanted to share a very special Canadian moment I just had here. It can be summed up in three letters: BLT. That's right; I found a place that makes a REAL North American BLT!!!! YAY!!!!! Apparently the Chicken Club they make is also good... This new discovery came about in a rather interesting way... Yesterday while I was taking a short afternoon run (all cardio has been officially shot during malaria) I came across some Peace Corps volunteers at the local corner bar. So when I [View Full Entry]

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Hi everyone I hope you're all doing well and that Canadian summer has been good to you. Here we are, Labour Day weekend, and yet I'm still at the office... how does this work? Oh, yeah, I'm in Africa!!! :) Well, as consolation, I'm kicking off at 3pm to watch the Tri-Nations match on the French sports channel. I've been absolutely spoiled with the amount of rugby I get to watch here (often 2 matches a DAY!) between the Tri-Nations and the Top 14 from France that are on right now. Today I will be watching the Springboks get schooled by [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone Not too much to report this time. I'm over the hump in terms of malaria recovery, and back at the office of course. My colleagues here were a bit worried I'd jump back in the saddle too soon, so it was decreed that if I tried to set foot in the office before Tuesday I was to be hog-tied and locked in my room! Luckily, I was smart enough to comply and stayed home until yesterday. Looking forward to the trip up Kilimanjaro. I've been reading through all the papers that the travel folks sent me about arrivals and [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone Well, after 3 months and 20 days of fairly reasonable health, I finally came to that glorious day that every expat looks forward to: their first bout of malaria. Now I don't want all the folks back home to worry too much. The fact that I can sit up well enough to write this proves that I already have a much lighter case than most. Best of all, I seem to have the lightest case anyone can remember; just some fatigue, a bit of a headache, and some fever when I'm sleeping. Normally, malaria is one of those kick-your-ass-one-foot-in-the-grave [View Full Entry]

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Heya everyone Well, that song last time must have done it cuz the SCOTTISH LADIES WERE TRIUMPHANT!!!! :) In a score of (what sources tell me) 22-17, they defeated the very sneaky Ottawa Irish to become Russell League Champs. I look forward to the match report! Well done ladies!!!!!! In other news (although not nearly as exciting) things in Ouagadougou are going fine. Been training hard for my climb up Kilimanjaro in 2 weeks!!!! Actually, 3 weeks exactly from today I will be standing at the summit of the highest walkable mountain in the world, and the hightest mountain in Africa. [View Full Entry]

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O Flower of Scotland, When will we see Your like again, That fought and died for, Your wee bit Hill and Glen, And stood against him, Proud Edward's Army, And sent him homeward, Tae think again. The Hills are bare now, And Autumn leaves lie thick and still, O'er land that is lost now, Which those so dearly held, That stood against him, Proud Edward's Army, And sent him homeward, Tae think again. Those days are past now, And in the past they must remain, But we can still rise now, And be the nation again, That stood against him, Proud [View Full Entry]

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Heya everyone I'm back in Burkina now, but I promised a rundown of my holiday. So here it is! So I arrived in Accra on the 8th with no drama whatsoever, which was nice. Chantal was waiting for me at the airport, and we went directly to the house of our colleague who was nice enough to put us up. He's got this enormous but largely unfurnished house in Accra, and we gladly crashed on a couple of mattresses on the floor for free. :) Chantal had already been in town a few days, so she took me out to show [View Full Entry]

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Heya everyone So I've officially finished my vacation in Ghana. My shuttle to site doesn't leave until Friday though, so I've got some time to fart around Accra and get used to big city life again. The trip down the coast was completely amazing. There's way too much to tell but I'll do my best. No pics yet since I don't have the cable (that's back in Ouaga) but I've got some good ones. Chantal and I couldn't have made better travel partners and that's definitely a reason the trip went off so well. We let the wind take us and [View Full Entry]

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Heya! Just wanted to let you all know that I made it to the coast of Ghana with no complications and I'm having a great time. The beach is amazing!!! More later, but Mom, I know you're worrying so just to let you know I'm fine. Love you! xoxo -Brownie [View Full Entry]

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Heya everyone! Sorry I've been so long between blogs lately. Bamako has tired me right out and I haven't made the time to blog. Shame on me. Anyway, there's lots to tell so get comfy and read all about it! So after my arrival in Bamako last Saturday I got to do a little tourism with my faithful driver, Yacouba, and explore a bit of Bamako and the surrounding hills. I think I've mentioned before how much I love the scenery here, but the pics say it all. On Monday I started my course on promotion of hygiene and sanitation in [View Full Entry]

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