I was canoeing this weekend, and while in the middle of an adventure to get to the other side of the lake, my cell phone rang. I laughed as I was digging it out of my life-jacket "ah, enjoying nature" and saw that the number was from Ghana. Phone calls from friends and acquaintances overseas have been dwindling over the past 6 months, as they always do over time with any travels. This time, it was my old friend, Cheif Antony Awiagah, the chief of a small rural village in Kpandai, Mbowura. He was calling to send his greetings to me and my "husband" and to thank me once again for the gifts and books I had sent months earlier.

I stayed with Cheif Antony for one week last summer for something called a "village stay". This as to allow us to experience the lives of the people we were truly going overseas to help. Not only did I find that all of the women I met there more capable and motivated than myself, I found that what we call poverty, to them, was the lack of opportunity to live as a westerner. There was no running water or electricity in the village, and they seemed to get along just fine without it. I didn't, not that well, of course. I had been living without a refrigerator for the past few months prior to my village stay, and the only places that had running water of any sort were the hotels in the wealthier areas of the country. People thrived, but would have done better with a hospital in the vicinity, and, of course, running water. The environmentalist in me, sometimes a little harsher than my humanitarian side, sees the ecological benefit of having no electricity, but as nobody has the right to take away what others want, I keep that as my opinion and put no attempt towards any action on my part.


This time last year, I was in Accra, Ghana. It took me a long time to settle into where I would eventually stay for the entire summer. It was a very stressful time, and I think I have been riding on the same emotional stress wave ever since then, and probably even before that. Since 2006, almost way back to when I started university, I have been under the guise of two large and powerful non-governmental , not for profit organizations. While I have learned and benefited immensely from my experiences, I am still sifting through the emotional frameworks and guidelines of each organization, trying to piece myself together amidst it all. I am insanely jealous of all of the friends I have made in this time who have managed to DO something with what we learned during all the trainings and workshops. I feel the need in me to do something purposeful and selfless with my life. It would be great if I could do that from the comfort of my bed and be served fair trade, organic peppermint tea b my handsome boyfriend, whose life would revolve around ensuring my comfort and happiness. Ha haha.

In addition to emotional side effects, somewhere along the way, I picked up whipworm, which I have been treating naturopathically, i.e., the long and painful way. I will benefit from this by having a super-immune system when I am done, but in the meantime, I spent my Victoria day-off work resting in bed. I'm exhausted from getting my first colonic... yaaaaaaaaaay... Bathrooms be close. It hasn't been all that bad, I hate to sound ungrateful for my experiences, but there is always more to the picture than meets the eye... the motivation behind the painting or the landscape design. The reason behind the party on paper. I'm beginning to feel restless and am in denial of having to go back to work tomorrow, however, my job is completely wonderful and it is only the obligation of having to be somewhere that I am unhappy about. That, and, I begin my two solid months of summer school - calculus - in two weeks, so it's time to take it easy and only scheme, not plan, how I will execute greening my borough next year.

Safia, el gato

Walking along the path to enlightenment with cats

I can't believe how sleepy I am tonight. Usually I am up late bugging my boyrfiend while he tries to read, but we had company tonight so we're up later than usual. Tyler washing the dishes, me putzing around on the internnot.

So, we bugged the cat alot tonight, poor kitty, but it's almost good for her, helps her avoid boredom in our little apartment.

The things I am wondering right now, though, are: What am I going to do with my life? Why are things always so uncertain? Am I becoming too cocky and overconfident? Why can't I seem to be able to put in a full day's of work in the greenhouse? Why can't I just be happy with the things that make others so happy and comfortable in their lives? Why do I have damned parasites and gluten sensitivities when I'm a freeking vegetarian who tries really hard to take care of herself?

I suppose it's because life is a journey, and I am supposed to be learning valuable lessons along the way. I think it all boils down to being comfortable with who I am no matter what, despite scary dreams where my mother in law shoots down everything I say, making me feel stupid. I also think the cumulation of my university education has led me to think that I am unqualified to express myself because I haven't been able to express to the ultimum, the scientific relevance of why I think some things are better left untouched.

Whoops! abit of a rant... it's the wine, I swear!

http://www.endcancer.ca/site/TR?team_id=65406&fr_id=1252&pg=team&JServSessionIdr007=9hlm2tv8s4.app24b


Breast cancer.


If you know a woman, it's a worthwhile cause for supporting research and treatments. Mrs.McKay, a woman on my street when I was growing up had her left breast removed because of cancer, and I will never meet my biological mother-in-law. Her life was taken by breast cancer in 1986. There are probably others who I am indirectly connected to, but anyway, this is something that changes families, and is a way to honor the women in your life.


The link at the top of this posting is for three friends of mine who will be doing the breast cancer walk this coming August. They need to raise $2000 (Canadian) each for a grand total of $6000 (Can) to do this walk. They don't know anyone directly who has, or had breast cancer, which I find quite noble. What a bunch of great gals! If you would like to donate, you can do so online by visiting the site I've put up here. There's also a link on the right under "some stuff".

Deeni, Audrey and Marsha




I guess I like supporting causes! I started this blog just to write, have fun... little did I know... mwa ha ha

Jenna

The link presented here (which you should visit, of course) is of my apprentice, Jenna, who completely kicks ass.




She is in Toronto right now, going through pre-departure training with EWB (engineers without borders, Canada) in order to be prepared for a 3.5 month stint in Malawi, Africa. She'll be working with a water and sanitation NGO (non-governmental organization), improving best practices, going to live in an extremely rural community for a week here and there, doing some cultural learning, and see the conditions of how most of the world live in (note: non-judgmental, non-classificatory statement, it's just the facts. We have it good in the west. You have no idea how good we have it, and it's a crying pity that we're making it so bad for the rest of the world because we can't see this).




I remember my pre-departure training this time last year. I remember saying goodbye to my boyfriend who had driven me to Toronto, and who I wouldn't see for four months (I cried. In the past, when I would go on one of my adventures, leaving a boyfriend behind, it was understood that the relationship was 90% likely to be over, and that was fine, the awaiting adventure was far more important, and no hearts were broken... well... mine usually wasn't ;-) This time, though, I would be apart from someone worth coming home to, and we're still together today).







Pre-departure training is an intense experience, and Jenna is well prepared, she's a very impressive young woman. She was the co-president of the Macdonald campus' McGill branch of Engineers Without Borders Canada, and a die-hard change-worker. This past April, Jenna and two other members of our exec shaved their heads to raise the money needed to support a junior fellow overseas for four months. The event was called Engineers Without Hair, and was one hell of a fund-raiser, far surpassing the goal of raising $3000 (I think the final total was close to $5000... not bad for a small campus!)




I find it incredibly inspiring that these three ladies delved into the world of no-hair in order the raise awareness for the work that EWB does overseas. The didn't think it was that bog of a deal... hair grows back, right? I don't know if I would be so willing to trade my long flowing locks for a tactically pleasing fuzzy head... maybe one day! Actually, right before the event began, I jokingly said that I would shave my head if we raised $4000 (we were still at the $2000-ish mark). Then, the student council said they would match our donations, bringing us to $4000-something. Tatjana (striped shirt) then came up to me with the shaver, trying to make me keep my word. I thien had to admit that it was just a ploy to raise more money (I have been trying to grow my hair out for a few years... I'm not ready to let it go just yet!)