I’ll be frank, prior to my trip to Rwanda, my knowledge of the country spanned what happened in 1994 and…gorillas. I knew of Dian Fossey and her life’s mission and her untimely demise, and I also knew that her work was the country’s biggest tourist attraction. (OK, so maybe I didn’t actually realize that until [...]
Photo Friday: Children of Rwanda, Part I
March 26, 2010 By 23 Comments
We’ve covered much of the country by this point, and everywhere we go, the children wave enthusiastically, calling out heartbreaking “hellos!” as you pass, chasing the vehicle as far as their little legs will carry them. These faces are so beautiful, their skin so perfect, their teeth a straight, white line. If I were a [...]
Someone’s Popular in Rwanda
March 25, 2010 By 15 Comments
You’d almost think they elected him for their own president. (Rather, Rwanda is the first country in which women in government comprise the majority (at 55 percent). Empowering women in Africa, for the win!)
Perspective
March 23, 2010 By 12 Comments
“I’ve been threatened, held at gunpoint and locked in prison three times,” Angus says matter-of-factly and with a shrug, not a trace of irony in his lilting voice. The sole remaining Associated Press reporter in Zimbabwe, Angus has a weathered look and trace of experience in his voice that only lingers in a handful of [...]
How to Land Your Own Personal Assistant in One Easy Step
March 22, 2010 By 63 Comments
How I’ve dreamed about having a personal assistant for, uh, essentially the whole of my career but particularly these past three months, when I not only had three books to complete, articles to write, a move to tackle, a wedding to plan, but also a month in Africa and honeymoon to [redacted…still a surprise!] to [...]
Photo Friday: New Orleans, Louisiana
March 19, 2010 By 29 Comments
Two weeks ago, I jetted off for the world’s quickest weekend trip to New Orleans. But, hey, I had a free round-trip United ticket to use, leftover from one of the bazillion times they’ve left me stranded in transit, and there was a bigger task at hand: my bachelorette weekend. Now before you think this [...]
Anchors Away: Postcards from Asia
March 16, 2010 By 12 Comments
Since Kari clearly has better things to do than stop by this blog and regale you guys with her tales (ahem, Kari, ahem), here’s the consolidated version of what her last six weeks have entailed: Visiting Pearl Harbor and Okinawa; skiing in Nagano, Japan; hiking the Great Wall in China; playing with pandas in Hong [...]
On Newsstands
March 14, 2010 By 26 Comments
On Thursday, I awoke to a flurry of messages and cell phone pics from friends who had stumbled upon this in their monthly reading: I’m not going to lie: While I’m so often the profiler, I was quite giddy to be the profilee for once. Not to mention, Marie Claire ties Glamour as my favorite [...]
Photo Friday: Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala
March 12, 2010 By 16 Comments
It’s been 17 months since we went to Guatemala, and I only saw the visual evidence for the first time this week. (We have nine computers between the two of us—ridiculous, I know, I know—and the folder was deeply buried on a dormant one.) And, as the whole experience left a bad taste in my [...]
On the Road Again: Preparing for a Mega Trip
March 10, 2010 By 26 Comments
Much of my planning for my month in Africa will likely be left for the 11th hour (i.e. next Wednesday), as I have a self-imposed daily 3,500-word count I must write for my Tennessee book, on top of tending to my queries from Frommer’s and mundane production stuff (i.e. the dreaded maps!) and working on [...]
