I have referred many times to my post-graduation trip to Africa on this blog; it was a summer spent with my friend Lauren ‘galavanting’ from Egypt to Kenya and finally to Tanzania. We had lots of travel plans that we wanted to cram in, in a mere 10 weeks time. Before we left we were […]
Africa
Dear Columbia, We’re Breaking Up (aka Blog & Life Updates)
I have spent the past eight months back in Columbia, SC working at the same place I worked last year. Although I often felt like I had no life because I worked opposite hours of family and friends, it was an opportunity that I am very thankful for and allowed me to save faster than […]
Obama is Everywhere… Even on Bubble Gum
As I sit here glued to CNN (really, I should wait to watch later but it’s fun to watch the percentages change bit by bit), I’ve been thinking back to how much Africans adore Obama. Because of his Kenyan father, I can’t tell you how many times (like millions), I’ve been asked in Africa, as […]
Awkward Travel Moment: Being Mistaken as a Victim of Abuse
Cultural differences… sometimes it’s as simple as wondering whether or not I should take off my shoes at the door. Other times it is taking continual shots of rice spirits at a Laotian wedding because you’re not sure if it’s rude to refuse. And then there is the time when a white girl’s sunburn highlights […]
When HIV is No Longer a Statistic
It felt slightly wrong. I mean, I knew it wasn’t really any of my business, but my curiosity somehow got the best of me. I slipped into the room next to mine at my homestay and picked up the bottle on my grandmother’s dresser. The description was in Afrikaans but I was almost positive […]
The Time I Nearly Got Stranded at a Desolate Border Crossing
Though I had gone abroad several times in college, my post-graduation summer trip to Africa was my first trip abroad without being accompanied by an organization, my school, or my family. Instead, I skipped town with a dear friend of mine for a ten-week adventure through Egypt, Kenya, and Tanzania. As if getting accustomed to […]