Happy New Year All and warmest wishes for a new year full of health, happiness and peace. I thought it fitting that today, New Years Day, be the final blog for this chapter of Chica Jan’s 2006 amazing adventure. I have been home some 3 weeks spending time in both Calgary and Edmonton. To say that I have been experiencing culture shock - is a complete understatement. I find myself seeing our fast paced, constant stimulation and constant consumption world through another lens. You know you are in culture shock when you feel more at home with a Nigerian cab driver [View Full Entry]

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A million and a thousand weeks, according to my niece Emily - age 5, is how long I have been away. And in many respects she is so right! When I first came to this amazing land called Africa, I was told that the 4 - 6 months would seem like 4 to 6 years. Perhaps Emily has got it even more right? Today I begin the journey home. The day has been spent packing - two suitcases and a carry on. And this is no small feat given that I am packing treasures from Pakistan, Dubai and Africa. Tonight we [View Full Entry]

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Hello All! My sabbatical is coming to an end. I should have my feet on the ground in Calgary early December - almost 5 months since last I was there. I am in Nairobi finishing up some loose ends and enjoying the last few days with friends. Rachel and Tereneh have kindly opened their flat to me. I left Kisumu last Thursday after hosting a party for my adopted family at the Imperial Hotel. My timing was also good because I learned yesterday that the airport is closed until the runway can be repaired. (I thought our take off on Thursday [View Full Entry]

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I had the great fortune and privilege to visit Sauri Kenya last week -- some 40 km sort of northwest of Kisumu. Sauri has been on my list of sites to see before departing Kenya. It is one of the first UN Millennium Village projects. There are some 13 original sites spread throughout Africa and Asia - many more have morphed in the last couple of years - all selected due to extreme poverty, lack of infrastructure and unique environmental, ecological, and health care factors. The idea is these villages can be incubators for unique solutions to unique problems. Sauri was [View Full Entry]

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This is the salary of a nursery school teacher in Mombasa - assuming that the community can afford to pay the $16 that month. In Kenya, primary school (level 1 to level 8 -- British system) is free. But nursery school is not. Neither is secondary school. And by free I just mean school fees -- not the fees for books or uniforms or feeding programs. So sending your children to school is both a sacrifice when living in extreme poverty -- 80% of Kenyan families. But sending your kids to school is also hope for a higher standard of living [View Full Entry]

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Happy Weekend All. I enjoyed a lovely Sunday lunch today getting caught up with my friends Nej and Chotu Pabaris. They have lived in Kisumu over 30 years. The Pabaris were introduced to me by my golfing partner Sheila. They are an amazing and generous couple. Nej is the founder and inspiring leader of Ladies in Action - a local NGO that refurbishes public schools in partnership with local communities and holds weekly medical camps at schools to provide villagers with access to doctors and medication for a nominal charge - 5 ksh for children and 30 ksh for adults (8 [View Full Entry]

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Let's play safari jeopardy! You know the game. What are the correct questions to the following answers? 1) Wildebeest Tail 2) Leopard and 3) Pink Flamingos. Questions are provided at the end of the blog! The week of October 30th was spent on safari with the Safari Chicas: Sheila, Janet and Kim and what a special time! We can proudly say that we have all seen in the wild Africa's Big Five: elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard. The latter being the most illusive and we were blessed to see two! Our certificates are in the mail! We also enjoyed seeing [View Full Entry]

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Jambo All …with all this safaring and visiting chicas it has been a challenge to find time to sit at a computer. I apologize to those who are in Blog withdrawal. Let me catch you up on our adventures. And I am thrilled to report that I am writing this blog from the luxury of my Imperial hotel room on my very own laptop. Sheila brought it with her and I am marvelling at how I coped 4 months without it and my music!!!! I am now chicaless. The Safari Chicas departed yesterday (Nov 6th) from Kisumu and should be making [View Full Entry]

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Jambo from Zanzibar! This is a stunning island..the color of the Indian Ocean is photo shop azure blue - that deep and that beautiful - hard to believe it is real. I am in heaven mostly because I am in the company of dear friends. The Safari Chicas - Sheila Weaver, Janet Brown and Kim Searle arrived 2 days ago..travelling some 3 days via Toronto, London and Nairobi to hook up with me in Zanzibar. I met the chicas at the airport after spending 4 nights in Stone Town touring Aga Khan healthcare and education projects. More on my travels in [View Full Entry]

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It has been 10 years since I visited Dubai and I didn't recognize the city. Ten years ago you still felt like you were in the arabian desert when in the city. Not the case now....this is a city on the move (when you are not stuck in traffic!) with more construction cranes than almost anywhere in the world (heard Moscow may have more) and stunning futuristic architecture. This is also a place you can buy anything -- and I mean anything. I arrived mid afternoon on the 7th. And spent a quiet afternoon getting recalibrated. It was quite the shock [View Full Entry]

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