I haven’t been getting into Tucson sparkliness nearly enough. However, I experience some things and feel the need to put them out into the universe with a scream of delight. This morning was one of those such days. In light of the recent shooting horror/hooplah/focus, Tucson has been licking its wounds, forming together, and making [...]

In a completely unrelated post to anything about Cameroon but everything about awesomeness, I feel the need to attempt to delve into the greatness that is Graceland Too. In Holly Springs, Mississippi Paul McLeod lives in a large house.  This mansion has been painted various colors, including pink, but had black accents when I visited. [...]

Galway, Ireland Charmed, I’m sure. We took a delightful bus ride from Dublin to Galway (we’d been informed by an Irishman that Dublin had nothing to offer and that we should head for Galway instead), still enraptured by the comfort of padded seats where you each get your OWN seat and no one accosts you through windows [...]

We’ve managed to get some of the pictures up from the trips – Kim’s pictures (click on the right albums of the European trip). More will be arriving. Excuse the inordinate number of pictures with just me and Kim making strange faces with something that we deem important in the background.  When it’s just the 2 [...]

Along the way, we’ve met a few people who had some doubts about couchsurfing  .(See the site for how it works.. it’s not too complicated) I wanted to throw out an unsolicited shout-out to this crazy idea. We have had an amazing variety of experiences in the short time we’ve been tripping through Europe. I regret that [...]

Istanbul Bougie: Aspiring to be a higher class than one is We apparently got above our raisin’ (this is a Southernism, for those folks who don’t know) in Italy and Germany but were quickly dashed back to a rougher style of life in Turkey.  A refreshing return to elements of Cameroon, we were darting for our lives [...]

Berlin (I know someone’s made this pun before, possibly frequently, but it’s too simple to resist) After flitting about Italy for a bit, thinking it was a bit cold (especially before our bags arrived and we were left only wearing what we’d taken on the plane), we arrived in Berlin and got schooled.  The entire week that [...]

I left Cameroon where I was surrounded by dark skin to come to Italy, where I am surrounded by people wearing black coats, tights, pants, and boots.  Instead of being the only white face, I’m now the only one wearing a bright light blue fleece (apparently very uncool here) and not Peter Pan boots (these [...]

It’s a rare gift to be able to be celebrated for something you’ve accomplished when you aren’t dead, extremely old, or famous.  (“Or ting where u never even do ‘em self “…. Or things that you didn’t even do) My NGO, specifically my boss, gave me a fantastic parting gift of a HUGE send off ceremony.  Officials [...]

So for 6 weeks, I hauled a basket full of colorful scissors, crayons, pencils, and assorted project materials up to the second floor of the oldest high school in the South West. I had taxi drivers, random people on the street, and students asking me what the supplies were for and if they could buy [...]

The top searches for people tracking down my blog right now include “flooded shoes”, “how to pop a blister”, and “seductress”. I don’t know how you got here, but I hope it was through one of those methods. Poppin’ blisters and seducing, this is my M.O.

Today was the World Cup qualifying match of Togo vs. Cameroon (or as I like to call it “Togo Domination Day”.   The history of my training group here in Cameroon is that when we arrived in Philly for pre-country training, we were roaming around Philly with trainees headed for Togo.  We’d see them in a mall on [...]

My friend, Josh, is back in Cameroon.  I met him at towards the beginning of his jaunt through Africa (for more than one year) when he came through Cameroon in the beginning of 2009.  Now he’s been in 9 more countries and has some perspective.  He’s reminding me of all the unique things about Cameroon, [...]

When I first came to Buea, I wanted to paint big pictures of the world on the sides of buildings – I was so excited about being in Buea! But that quickly became less than feasible without a partner in crime or students to help me. And now it’s on the table again! Kim, from [...]

 I picked up my skirts to rush out of Buea after only arriving a few weeks earlier from Ethiopia, the urge to escape the clouds and rain too strong.  My neighbors glanced up from washing their laundry, by now unsurprised at my huge pack.  I jauntily arrived in Yaounde, for our close of service conference. [...]

My last project in Buea is going to be an Artist Workshop with 25 girls.  It’ll be 6 sessions from October-November. Following is the program with a wish list for anyone who is able to send supplies (if you’re around NC and can get them to my mom, she perhaps could rally them together).  Anyone who [...]

“Let us have more oceans, more upheavals, more wars, more holocausts.  Let us have a world of men and women with dynamos between their legs, a world of natural fury, of passion, action, drama, dreams, madness, a world that produces ecstasy and not dry farts.  I believe that today more than ever a book should [...]

So while sitting in my house as the rainy season began in full force, I decided that I had to get out of Cameroon or my sanity was at stake.  I didn’t think I could go home and come back for less than 4 months of service.  There was already a group of 4 volunteers [...]