Desperate times call for desperate measures and all that. We had our newfound bestest friends in all of Africa, the O’Callahan’s, over for dinner last night, and the pile o’ kids wanted to watch a movie. Since we forgot to bring the 67” flat screen, they’re having to make due with a 17” laptop. I…
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Okay, I’m going to gush like a teenage schoolgirl for a second: I am absolutely head over heels in love with Google maps and their recently updated satellite imagery. The reason for this total crush? Without the CIA-grade detail, there’s no way in hell I would be able to string together a random collection of…
It’s been a tough couple of weeks for all of us. After a week of simply adjusting to being here, getting over jet lag etc., we got around to renting a house. After appreciating that the pickings are slim (either overpriced or unacceptably crappy or an audacious combination of the two), we learned the hard…
That’s the wonder of being a few degrees off the equator: sunset is at six sharp every night (and sunrise at six sharp as well). We go from daylight to pitch black in about 15 minutes. Took this shot from our balcony here in Kinyinya, Gasabo — there’s a big party going on at the…
It feels terribly unfair to slam the Kivu Serena for anything at all. As an outpost of civilization on the edge of the chaos and anarchy that is the Democratic Republic of Congo (literally walking distance from the hotel’s lobby), pretty much anything shy of cholera and gunfire at the breakfast buffet should be counted…
There are two cardinal rules you learn as a dog owner: never feed them grapes, and never feed them chocolate. A few years ago, Lucky made off with and ate an entire loaf of banana bread, complete with chocolate chips, and we were petrified that it would do her in. But apparently Golden Retrievers like…
I can see the leak in the boat. It’s right there, fer cryin’ out loud, not three feet from where I’m sitting, the lake water slowly bubbling in, filling the bottom of the ancient, decrepit tub until the captain’s assistant decides it’s time to bail us out yet again. I’m fairly confident I could swim…
Just a quick picture for now. We had dinner at a bizarre restaurant on the shore of Lake Kivu this evening — reportedly one of the best in town (not saying much), it was hiding in the pitch black darkness at the end of a dirt road down a driveway that could only barely be…
Four Thousand Nine Hundred and Eleven Feet Up. That’s where Kigali is at. Each and every one makes a huge difference, especially when you’re just a few degrees south of the equator. Daytime temps rarely get much over 80 degrees or so, going down to low 60s at night, with little or no excess humidity…
It was bound to happen. The protests, the objections, the rejections, the resentment. Why are we here? Why can’t we just go back home? It hurts when you have to acknowledge that you’ve inflicted that pain on your kids; I’ve been there myself quite a few times and remember all too well the bottomless pit…
