On the day I left Philadelphia, I was consumed with stress and grief. So many things had happened to me and the children over the past three years. My mind could no longer comprehend and my heart was unwilling to be patient any longer. In fact, it no longer had the ability to withstand the … Continued
It’s odd to think of being free in a country that is still recovering from civil war. When comparing the highly developed, technological culture of the United States to the under-developed subsistence farming culture of Burundi, however, there is a kind of freedom. Freedom from returning emails because the Internet is down. Freedom from returning … Continued
The cold breeze ruffled my hair as we wound our way down into the valley. I pulled my scarf tighter around my neck, grateful for my gloves. Dawn was breaking, the sun turning the morning around me varying shades of gold and pink and, as I shivered in my seat, I thought of how very … Continued
UGANDA: WILD AND FREE by Bettina Gantsweg Two guides slash a path through branches with huge machetes, another treks behind lugging a shotgun, and we eight adventurers follow. Words crackle over their radios—“Keep going—six—moving fast.” I shove scratchy branches out of my face—thorns piercing my hands, and continue slogging through slush, tripping over vines. The … Continued
Discovering Magaliesburg, South Africa: where our prehistoric forefathers once stood What is it about a place that sets all our senses on heightened alert, infusing us with that wonderful feeling of unbounded elation? Could it be discovered nestling within ambrosial aromas, awe inspiring sights, or is it, perhaps, to be found amongst those mind-enhancing novel … Continued
“I lost? No freaking way!” A Mozambican man in a stained vest and cheap sunglasses, rolling a matchstick in his mouth, had invited himself to play a card game with me. He had lost the game we had played, and his pickled, uncoordinated mind had left him confused. I had been sat on my rucksack … Continued
I’m not sure if it’s safe, but it is only 500 yards from the compound to the post office, so I head out alone. Everyone on the compound shares a post office box and I have been put in charge of the key while the secretary is on maternity leave. I’ve been here, volunteering, a … Continued
Introduction Cotonou is the commercial –hub city of Benin Republic , a French speaking country in West Africa, south of the Atlantic. It is a cosmopolitan city with a sizeable number of residents as foreigners in the city. It has a well structured network of roads built up to international standards comparable to any modern roads … Continued
It was dusk and the tiny zoo in Naples Florida was about to close. My husband and I were on our way out when we heard a tremendous roar. It was very deep and guttural and resonated throughout the whole compound. It stopped us in our tracks and we felt compelled to backtrack to the … Continued
While scouting for the first descent of the Baro River in Ethiopia, a tributary of the White Nile, I heard about a Peace Corps volunteer, Bill Olsen, 25, a recent graduate of Cornell, who decided to take a dip in the river at Gambella, a village near the South Sudan border. The locals warned to … Continued