The work blur comes more into focus, several colleagues are going on vacation so there is a drive to finish and prepare and be on top of things. I take a boat ride. The office goes on a retreat and much is revealed (but not here, bien sur).
I am behind on my entries, apologies. Let me catch up:
And to catch up, let me back up. First, I should re-describe my entry to the country. Following my relief at finding a connection waiting for me at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, the first leg of my Afriqiyah flight took me to Tripoli, where I was briefly immersed in the crossroads of north and western Africa, with people waiting for flights to Cameroon, Nigeria, and the CAR. Our Bangui-bound flight took off at sunset and flew south over the surprisingly semi-green of the Tripolian environs. As the sun sank, the terrain changed to sand and dunes. We entered a dark cloud for a time, while below the fading sun refracted a million billion times in gusts of Saharan sands, an unearthly pink sunset reflected up at us. Darkness settled in completely and the captain came on to tell us that there were thunderstorms in CAR, but we would continue. Several hours later, rapid flashes of lightening on the horizon announced our imminent arrival to Bangui. For a moment, we passengers held our breath as we headed towards the storm. But when we reached the airport, the clouds had moved on. As we descended close to midnight, the city appeared below, lit up in a kind of threadbare glory. Electricity! Not one but several roads lined with lights, and sprinklings of of blue and orange speckles in the night showing a city spread out and alive with at least some familiar comforts. Above the town, on a hill, a large signed blazed in white but I could not read it.
The last few months have been pretty whirlwind, in what turns out is pretty typical fashion. Guatemala was great, despite spending the last few meals of money on a gorgeous and super amazingly warm blanket that I am allergic to. Returning to home in Juneau was also great, though jam packed with finalizing a move to my new/temporary home in Palmer, AK where I was living out of Toro (the amazing allergen-absorbing purple truck) for a few weeks before caving and renting some space from good bud Wiley.
AK oil pipeline near valdez
The semester finished in a blur of papers and exams, leading straight into several weeks of recuperation and preparation. As I sorted out my summer, I worked on rehabilitating my ankle and planning for the next year of academic fun. I finished my vacation in New York with a series of visits and chats with friends, which served to remind me that I have done a very poor job of making good on my new year’s resolution to be more social. Next semester, I promise.
Transit to the Central African Republic got off to an auspicious start. Air India called to tell me my flight to Paris had been canceled. The word hung for a moment and I echoed it back to the customer service representative. Canceled? Yes. Pause. But I was re-booked on another airline and please don’t hesitate to call us if you have any problems.
I’m headed to CAR for the summer. Here is some background to help put everything in context
CAR Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team
CAR Google Earth File (it’s better than a map: download Google Earth here)
About a month ago I broke my ankle playing ultimate. I’ve been hopping around on crutches, trying to manage everything without the added benefit of stability and balance. It has been an interesting experience, trying to rebuild the daily necessities of life around my new handicap. Everything from simply sitting down to dressing, showering, cooking… and then the larger parts of life, like interacting with people and getting to class.
I now have an enormous amount of sympathy and understanding for other people with disabilities. It’s actually a great bonding experience, to hop down the street and exchange collegial nods with people on crutches, in casts, or just limping. Even people without obvious issues like to tell me how they’ve broken their pelvic bone, or mushed a toe when they were six. A surprisingly large number of you people have been injured.