My friend's new business!!

Hi all,

My site-mate from Peace Corps Stephanie, and her husband Michael, have started a business called My Wonderful Walls. They design fun and unique kids murals or nursery murals!

Check it out....

www.mywonderfulwalls.com

I'll have more news soon....there's a big change coming in the new year.

Back home

Well--it's been ages since my last entry....Here's the rough blow by blow of my trip....

Saturday 9/6:
1st: went to Notting Hill to peruse the market on Portobello Road,
2nd: went to Oxford Circus to search for the same kind of duvet on my hotel bed (that thing was MAGIC I tell you),
3rd: I met up with Taylor (an OFDA colleague joining me on the "European Tour" as it was to be known and had lunch at a proper pub
4th: went to the Tower of London for 2 1/2 hours--that place is huge!!
5th: walked to St Paul's Cathedral along the Thames
6th: went to Covent Garden to met a friend of hers for dinner
7th: took a pedal cab home (instead of horse drawn--it's person riding a bike pulling you home)

Sunday 9/7:
1st: went to Buckingham Palace for the tour--set for a state dinner---totally cool!!!
2nd: went to Harrod's
3rd: went to Westminster Abby

Monday 9/8: meetings in London

Tuesday 9/9: traveled to Oxford for all day meetings (cool, beautiful place from what I saw. It would be nice to spend more time there!!).

Sadly--my time in England was at an end....I loved England. And if the election doesn't go my way in December, I'm going to see (seriously) if I can emigrate.....

Wednesday 9/10: traveled, at the crack of dawn, to Dublin. After checking in to the hotel, we went to Dun Laoghaire (pronounced Done Leary if you can believe it). then in the afternoon we took a little bus tour of dublin with a stop at the Guinness factory. I gotta say, I'm not a fan of the Guinness. I liked Dublin. I could live there.

Thursday 9/11: Traveled by plan, train and automobile to Lausanne, Switzerland and enjoyed a nice night with a stroll by the water.

Friday 9/12: Back to back meetings with two partners and the on and off rain kicked back in. I did have dinner with a friend of mine from college who now lives in Zurich and works for FIFA (I know--cool right!). Though we both claim to have been at the 10th college reunion--we somehow didn't see each other....so it's been 13 years!! Crazy!! Anyway, a dinner and a few pints later and all is right with the world! I like Lausanne---but by golly it's expensive!!!

Saturday 9/13: Traveled by train to Paris. Finally got cash (what kind of train station doesn't have an ATM in this day and age!!!!) and got to my hotel. I settled in and quickly set out for a bite to eat and a strong in the garden between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde.

Sunday 9/14--the anniversary of my mother bringing me into this world--I got up and made my way to the Musee d'Orsy. I was there for about 3 hours--part of which was relaxing in the cafe having brunch. From there, I walked to the Eiffel Tower where I was joined by Taylor--who treated me to my trip to the tippy top. Since it was a beautiful, clear sunny day (my first since that first day in London) we had a spectacular view in every direction. Absolutely amazing!! After a quick stop for a crepe-to-go, we hopped on a boat for a 1 hour ride on the Seine. Then, I walked and bussed down to Notre Dame and then made my way back to my hotel. Taylor and I went to dinner at an Italian place (groan--I know I know--but for a vegetarian in Paris my options were very limited!)

Monday 9/15--two more meetings while negotiating my way around the city

Tuesday 9/16--my last partner meeting, followed by my last chance to buy little presents for friends/family at home! And at night, I jammed everything into my suitcase and prepared for an early start.

Wednesday 9/17 (yesterday)--I traveled home, without incident and with ease. I made it home by 3 pm and was able to keep myself awake until almost 9 pm!

Today was my first day back in the office. It's nice to go back after a break, for sure, but I wasn't really done with Europe. I'll have to figure out a way to live there at some point. either through school, work, or marriage! (still looking for that Scotsman (see earlier blog entry)).

So--It's 8:45 pm now and I'm almost asleep again. I'll try to post photos tomorrow or soon thereafter...not enough energy for tonight.

A bientot y bon nuit,
Jane

The thing about England is.....

So after my first full week here I've decided the following:
1) I love cheddar and pickle sandwiches (particularly from pret--something about that pickle!)
2) I don't love the trend of women wearing short skirts or shorts with tights and flats....it just looks wrong!
3) Some food choices are just wrong....for example
---boiled egg on pizza
---corn in tuna fish (and corn on pizza....eww)
---a Haggis Mac (available on at McDonald's in Scotland at special times of the year--BLECH)
4) there's just too much to see in a few weekends--especially with the wonky hours
5) the little gardens off of peoples houses are lovely
6) it's super expensive to live here (what I thought was a months rent and thus comparable to DC is actually the per week rent!!
7) I had no desire at all to try the "vegetarian haggis" or lump of bread pudding on Portabello Rd this a.m.
8) Beefeaters and the bearskin hat guardsmen look pretty rad in their uniforms
9) It'd be pretty cool to be married at the Tower of London (as someone was today when we were there)
and lastly,
10) I would LOVE to live here----if only I could get a job--or better yet, a nice Scottish husband (it's really the best accent)

Photos will be posted tomorrow night....
Night love!

Bearskin hats in London!

Hello all...Here's an update of the last couple of days.

On Sunday--I slept in until 11 a.m.!! I think waking up at 6 or earlier every day for the past three weeks was taking it's toll and I just pooped out. After waking up and eating some brunch I took the tube to Waterloo station and walked along the Thames. That actually took quite a while...but there's a lot to see. Much to my mom's dismay I walked right past the Tate and other museums without a second thought. I've just enjoyed walking everywhere.

After a quick stop home, I met up with "Dr. Jill"--someone I met in Darfur while she was working for an NGO who is in London finishing up her graduate degree. We walked to a little Thai restaurant and made it just before the heavy rain!

Monday my nutrition course started. We're an interesting mix. There are a lot of Brits and other Europeans here but who general focus on Africa. There is a lone New Zealander, an Omani, and someone from the Solomon Islands....and I'm the lone American. The course is going well so far!!

Last night I walked down to Oxford street and took a look around, then stopped for a bite on the way back. I'm finding British t.v. very enjoying so far...particularly a show called "The Dragon's Den"--the dragon's being five rich British entrepreneurs who listen to pitches by random people and decide whether or not to invest (usually for some share of the business).

This morning, the news was focusing on Gustav missing New Orleans, the downturn of the British economy, the expense of school shoes, and perhaps most shockingly to me, that they're looking to a few designers to use synthetic fabrics for the Royal Guards bearskin hats. Who knew those were still real bearskin? NOT ME that's for sure. I'm totally appalled. Tons of poor little bears have died just to be these hats?!?! I hope this is an easy call for the decision makers. Surely Vera Wang can come up with an appropriate solution!

Oye

Ahh--London. My Anglophile roots remain!

Well--I arrived in London at 6:30 this morning. My flight from Dulles wasn't the worst I've ever taken, but it wasn't the best either. I've definitely grown accustomed to taking flights longer than 14 hours so being able to upgrade. This was rough. I had two kids in front of me that keep jostling around and asking for more food from the flight attendants, and two Irish high-schoolers next to me that were trapped in and traveling with a couple other girls that kept coming over to talk. Then, I seemed to be surrounded in general by the entire geriatric crowd going on a Carnival cruise. Of for the love of peter, paul and mary!

Anyway--I arrived, quick trip on the Heathrow express and a taxi ride and I was happily ensconced in my hotel. A shower and a nap do a lot to revive you!! So I slipped on my keens and started walkin'. A few hours later I'd covered Covent Garden, Leicester Square to get theatre tickets and whatever neighborhood I'm in (near University of London). I also caught up with a friend from Darfur who's here finishing up school. I went to see Wicked--an early birthday present to myself (and if I don't really eat much here for the next week I should be able to cover my ticket with my perdiem). It was fantastic. Lots of Americans there......And lots of people in really weird and IMHO inappropriate clothing for the theatre. The weirdest thing was that it looked like a movie theatre when we left---water bottles and candy wrappers all over the floor. Strange, strange, strange.

Anyway, tomorrow I'm going to hit Regents park and maybe the Thames.....it all depends on if the weather is as lovely tomorrow as it was today!

So, I'm off to bed....

Cheers mate,
Jane

anglophile

Oye--I really need to sleep!!

Well--for those of you who don't want the minutia of my life....skip this one!! It all started last Monday.

I took Lily to the vet for some nasty skin infection. And, after a mere $180, we are on the road to recovery. But, the antibiotics she's on for two weeks increase her water intake and (apparently) decreases her bladder. On Tuesday, I came home from work and discovered Lily had peed on the stair landing. Hmmm. So on Wednesday I blocked the stairs...hehe. Not so much, she peed in another spot on my carpet. Blech. So I blocked her in the kitchen on Thursday with a "target" in case she had to pee and her dog bed. She peed all over the dog bed. Eww. Friday I blocked her in the kitchen with nothing, and she peed on the floor. Now I can't really feel angry becuase she can't help it!! But she's also unable to make it through the night either. So she's woken me up at 3 or 4 a.m. every night.

I thought things would be better over the weekend becuase I could let her out. But I foolishly signed up for a sprint triathlon run by my tri club on Saturday. So I had to get up at 5 a.m. Lily wanted to make sure I was awake so she woke me up at 3:30.

On my way home from the race, my duty officer blackberry rang. For those of you not in the know (and why would you be), each of us has to be on duty for 1 week every six months. We answer USGS earthquake notifications and alert staff, and are available for others as international disasters are identified. So I was on the receiving end of a call from USAID-Tbilisi (Georgia) where Russia has decided to attack. Oye. After dealing with that, I came back, took Lily to the park, and took a nap. I woke up hungry and decided to have some edamame from costco. Bad move, something didn't sit right. By 4:30 pm I was on the floor of my bathroom, sweating so hard my clothes and the bathmat were soaked! And let's just say I cleared the edamame, and all other food, out of my system.

After a few more hours of resting, I settled in to watch the Olympics. I walked Lily multiple times and let her out at midnight after watching the women's 4x100 relay. (My friends Stefanie and Mark are there--so cool!!!) So I had a chance of making it through the night---if it weren't for that pesky war! The State dept operations center called me to find out what our response plan to the disaster declaration would be. Apparently, some people weren't communicating as well as they should!! So, up at 4, I figured I would be proactive and took Lily outside. After a few more hours of sleep, the blackberry rang again.

So it's Sunday a.m. and I haven't slept through the night since last Monday a.m. I'm so tired. And Lily has another week of antibiotics so I'm not in the clear until at least next weekend. Yikes.

Well--at least the tri went well....though I have a lot to do before IronGirl in a few weeks!!!

Maybe I'll go take a nap---it's only 8:20 a.m......

Jane

Photos from my trip and update

So I've been back for just about a week and have been working crazy hours as it's our busiest time of year. I finally got Lily back from the Aloise clan on Saturday and she skipped over excited and went to annoyed (that I had left her) but she finally seems to be recovering from that too. I tried to get a lot done over this long weekend and I still need to clean up the place, but a few loads of laundry and $200 in groceries later (!), things are settling back to "normal".

I got my photos uploaded to facebook (finally) and I'll upload all of them to shutterfly or some other service that will let you look at them without creating an account....but here are a few highlights.......

This is from my camp on the 2nd night and was the first time we were above the clouds and could see Kilimanjaro. The coming days would take me toward the base and then around to the right side before summiting.

My porters would set up my tent and a little table for my meals. If you have a big group they bring a mess tent, but since it was just me, this was my set up. After this camp it was too cold to sit outside so I would eat in my tent.

A beautiful sunset

Sunrise while I was summiting Kili....I had been climbing for about 6 hours by this point.

Once we got to the top, we could see some of the famous, and shrinking, glaciers

I finally made it to the very top--Uhuru peak.

A few more views of the glaciers as we walked back to Stella's point before descending.







In Ngorogoro crater, in one of the few places you can get out of the car,
we enjoyed watching the hippos.

Two wildebeests play around.

We had a visitor to our camp....and she drank a lot of water.

We ran out by the next morning.

A lion cub poses for a photo.

I love my hippos--but in this hippo pool, they're disgustingly dirty.

A herd of elephants come to the water point where we're parked.

And line up to take a drink. I don't think they were feeling photogenic.

A handsome devil poses for his glamour shot

while looking out for his four females nearby.

Safari Buzz

So after returning from the Kili climb on Saturday, I left Sunday a.m. for my four day "budget" safari. There was one other person in my group--Carlos, a Venezuelan engineer who lives in Paris (really---does that sound like a bad gig??). We headed off for the long drive from Arusha to the Serengeti around 8:30 a.m. At the gates to the park I saw someone familiar---Stella from Kili!!! Random eh? She was on the second day of her 5 day safari....so I ingratiated myself into her group of 5 little by little since we were camping at the same place every night for the next three nights.....

During our first afternoon tooling around in the car we saw hippos, zebra, gazelle, giraffe, a lioness (posing for the cameras which she was pretending to ignore), and some others that I'm forgetting right now.

During the next day + in the park we saw lots of the same, plus Nile crocs, water buffalo, a few prides of lions, impala, warthogs, a herd of about 20 elephants drinking from the water hole right next to us, a cheetah, possibly a leopard in a tree (looked like a lump to me...I want to enhance my photo and see if I can really distinguish it from the tree branch), lots of birds and lizards, hyena, a serval cat, a jackal, and maybe more.

The best sighting was a group of female lions tearing apart a zebra they had killed fairly recently. We went back later to check on the status and the four moms were sitting on the side with HUGE bellies, while their cute little cubs starting munching on the deceased. One was playing with a chunk of the zebra tail....pretty cute. Then we saw a young, injured male some in for some snacking too. Totally cool!!!

The last night we stayed at Simba camp on the rim of Ngorogoro crater. It was cold....again. But Ginger (from Stella's group) called me over in a hurry....to see an elephant drinking out of the water tank for our camp!!! I have some great pix that I'll put up in a few days. Let me tell you, they can suck up a LOT of water quickly in their sassy little trunks!! Of course, we did run out of water by the next morning, but it was worth it.

In the crater, we say two cheetahs running along, followed by lots of wildebeests, zebras, buffalo, flamingos, hippos, elephant, and most importantly, 2 endangered black rhinos. There are somewhere between 10-20 left in the crater. So that was awesome!!!

Then on Wednesday evening I flew to Dar and spent a few days with my sister Molly and her hubby and 2 kids.....It was nice to finally be warm again!!! My mom was also there for the first two days. We went to a town north of Dar that used to be part of the slave trade routing where people were brought in before being shipped to Zanzibar. Different, but interesting in it's own way.

After a few more days of playing with the kids, a little memento shopping, and a scary moment when some guy tried to rip my sister's side view mirror off of her car door (while we were inside), it was time to leave.

So right now I'm at the Shipol airport in Amsterdam enduring the 8 hours between flights. (I know i should go in to town but it's boring by yourself.....plus my carry on is heavy).

I'm excited to get home. All in all it was a great trip!!!!

More soon!
Love,
Jane

The Kili Blow-by-Blow

Despite the technology on Kili (people were using cells, iPhones, solar powered internet) I just kept a short, hand-written account of my trek. Here's what I wrote in chronological order. If you want the big finish....skip down to Day 6.

Day 1: The trek begins. And after a few hours I think "What the ...was I thinking?!" After another hour of mud and rain uphill I was simultaneously thinking "I'm going to die" and "I'll never make it." My guide Gerald says the first day si the hardest. Well, inshallah. Gerald took pity on me and carried 2 liters of my water the rest of the way up that day to lighten my pack. And meanwhile, porters are zooming by me with 20kg of gear plus their own stuff. I'm lame. I'm not sure triathlon season really prepared me for this (as I thought!). Of course, hiking in the rain for 3 1/2 of the 4 1/2 hours I climbed up today didn't help. I was wearing my rain coat to keep my bag dry ,so by the time we got to camp my bag was dry but my body was cold and semi-wet. My rain pants kept my lower half dry but I was sweating through everything so it doesn't really matter. Wet from rain or sweat is still wet. So I've changed my pants to have the thicker, more comfortable ones and hopefully that, plus less rain (fingers crossed) will make tomorrows 1,000meter climb better. The porters have set me up and I have a little table and chair for dinner/breakfast. They also brought me hot water right away with an assortment of drink options (tea, milo, coffee, cadbury drinking chocolate, nido, etc). So it's 5:35 pm but I'm ready for bed. It's still raining so I don't want to be outside. And I'm praying my soaking wet rain coat is dry tomorrow.

Day 2: Woe is me. I woke up at 7ish and got ready to go. The porter, Ben, borught me hot water by with no real place to wash I just washed my face and brushed my teeth. We started up, and I mean UP, at 8 am. We didn't stop going up until about 11:30. No joke. Pole pole yeah, but it's still hard. We got to camp around 12:45 so that last hour was some up and some flat but much easier. But what a view. The rain stopped about the same time we got to the top of the hilliest section...because we're mostly above the clouds now. Here at camp and at 2 spots along the way we could see Kili. It's gorgeous. And with the sun, everything is better. My clothes are dry! Yeah! I'm dry....double yeah!...for the first time in 18 hours. Once the last two porters got here (oh yeah, it's me, a guide, a cook and three porters), they set up my little table, heated some water for washing and gave me some hot toasted peanuts. So I'm sitting here in the sun and 2:45 with nothing else to do. I've met another American traveling sola....Stella...and also a German guy alone. But camp is huge today. Yesterday it was hidden by trees and rain but today our moving village is clear. I can also see Mt. Meru from camp, above the clouds anyway. There's not much snow left on Kili--I guess I thought there would still be more left. The next few days should be shorter and "more less steep" as Gerald says. So that will be good.

Day 3: "More less steep my ....." I was up and at um early. We had a long steady climb until basically lunch. We went up about 800m straight. That was actually ok--it was the 2 hours of steep downhill (and then a steep uphill) after lunch that did me in. Plus, the a.m. sun was gone so it was cold and cloudy. I waver between "I can do it" and "I can't". I think I'm two parts negative and one part poistive--not the best outlook really. During our long uphill to lunch I sang 99 bottles of beer on the wall to keep myself occupied. I spent all day trying to fight off dehydration (why didn't I bring electrolytes?!?!) and the pain of sunburn on my forehead and nose. Just a little sun will do it I guess. So the sky cleared up and I can see two things. 1) Moshi town below (and even twinkling lights at night) and 2) the insanely steep hill we climb tomorrow. Oye!!!

Day 4: BRRRRRR. Holy crap it's cold!!! If it gets much colder I'm in trouble! I haven't broken out my warmest clothes yet but I thought I wouldn't need them for another day or so. My forehead is so sunburn it hurts even when I sleep. I wish I could see it. I tried taking a picture of myself but that didn't work. Oh well. The other hikers don't see too repelled. Today's uphill was some hand holding/rock climbing. It was a rough but fun uphill for a while. Then down, then up, then flat, then down. then up again. Seriously, hasn't anyone thought about building a bridge? Jeez. One porter for another group fell right in front of me going downhill and sprained his ankle. I gave him some advil but in the middle of nowhere he eventually just had to suck it up. He still made it to camp before me. And with his 20 kg too. I have no idea how. Today was a short day. Only 4 hours of hiking. I was told 3 but I guess I'm slow. (though another group I've befriended came in 1 1/2 hours after me and had left earlier so I guess I'm not that slow). So I got to camp at 12ish. I had a warm lunch today. My appetite's stronger--which is good considering not much is sticking. Let's just say I've left a part of myself on the mountain. So it's almost 2 and I've got 4 hours to kill. Hmm. Stupid not to bring a book. I'm going to see if Chad's grou has nail clippers cuz I think I'm losing my big toenail. Ewwww.

Day 5: The start of summit day: Today I started out ok. We climbed to the last camp (around 4,550m). Despite layers of SPF 55 on my face, I feel like my sunburn is getting worse. It feels all leathery. And after arriving at camp, after a steep, steep last hill....I have a massive headache. This leads me to a panic attack (in my head I'm sick and I'll never make it) But I'm already here, so despite my panic attack, I'm going to try. i'm told that if I make it to the snow to just push till the very end....but if I go bonkers before the snow, to think about turning around. My friend Stella made it up and I ran in to her as she was leaving camp for the descent. She said I'd be fine....but that was before my panic attack!!! So we'll see. It's almost 5 pm. We'll leave around midnight I think. I hope I make it--but if I don't, it's still been a good hike with amazing views and I've gone further than ever before!

Day 6: The push to the summit: We started around 11:30 pm. I put on every layer, took all of the other stuff out of my bag and headed out. It was brutal. The moon was just past full so it was bright--which was nice--though you could still see the headlights bobbing along eerily in the night. It was straight up. The whole way. No rest at all--no little flat parts, nothing. I freaked out around 3 or 4 am I think. After much cajoling to just go a little further, I said I quit. Gerald tried to get me to keep going and I would go a little bit further, but I just couldn't make it. My muscles weren't tired, but I was disoriented, and tired from not sleeping and just out of it. It was like I could tell I didn't have enough oxygen for what I was asking my body to do. And for some reason the Cipro still wasn't taking hold so I was just tired of it all. Just as we started to head down (literally one step), my friends from the other group came up to where we were standing. They've always been slower than me...but very nice. They convinced me to join them since I was already so far up (turns out about 75% of the way). So I did. And we finally made it. Late, cold and tired, but we made it. Of course, once you get to the top of the hill at Stella point, you have to walk another 45 minutes along the glacier rim (seriously?!?!) to get to the sign, but that part wasn't that bad all things considered. Then of course, you still have to get down the frickin' thing. There weren't too many people up there. Mostly the people I summited with and a few others. Some were totally spaced out, others were romping around like it was no big deal. After my few photos and a snickers, we headed down. Down was like (after the sketchy icy part) skiing through dirt and sand. Maybe like telemark skiing? It was fun at first, but after an hour solid of that my thighs were burning. We got back to camp at 12:30--much later than we thought. But I did it....despite my best attempts otherwise. Now we're at Millennium cap--about 1 1/2 hours down from last night's camp. My knees are screaming!! Tomorrow we do the last bit--through the rain forest again. At least this time there'll be a hot shower at the end of the road!

Day 7: The end. OMG. That's a lot of downhill!!! We started down towards Mweka camp at 7 am and it was rocky and steep. I bit it once on my already sore knee. After Mweka camp, it turned to serious mud. I was cruising for that first 1 1/2 hour after Mweka, passing people left and right. But after 3 hours of walking down the steep hill I just got tired. Knees and thighs hurt, and it just went on forever! It was super muddy and you just keep going down, down, down. We made it to Mweka road. Yeah right? no. Another hour of slogging through the muddy road and we finally made it to the gate. I signed out at the hut, tipped my porters, cook and guide and endured a terrifying drive back to Arusha. Finally a hot shower! NOPE! The power had just gone out so there was only luke warm water. Agh!!! But at least it was a shower, and with semi-clean clothes to wear!! So I walked in to town, got some money, the Herald Tribune (one day old) and some pizza. Except for the total body soreness, I feel like a new person!!!

All in all, it was a great experience. I met some great people and accomplished my goal (though I'll always remember I tried to throw in the towel and a smooth talkin' Floridian with a bad knee made me keep going!).

Now I get four days of safari, camping style, and watching from the comfort of my car!!

Photos will be posted later......

Jane

On to Kilimanjaro!

So today I left Mombasa. Our conference went well. The mix of sun and rain made being inside from 8 a.m to 5:30 bearable. Of course, by the time we got out it was too cold and windy to want to go swimming. But that's ok. It was nice to see my Sudan colleagues!!

I got on my little twin prop airplane for the flight back to Nairobi and then on to Kilimanjaro. Everything was smooth as pie. Of course, I almost peed my pants as we flew by Kili. What am I thinking? I'm totally scared to head off tomorrow. Keep your thoughts with me...especially towards the end of the week!!!

More next weekend--until then--I'll be on the mountain!!

Jane

In Mombassa

So after a mere 24 + hours of travel, I arrived in Mombasa at 11:30 and at my hotel around 12 a.m. All in all, the flights weren't too bad. It's just a long haul with a bunch of transfers. So once I got here I was showed to my room....and in my haze, the only thing I really remember in walking was a sign that said "Please don't feed the monkeys". I have yet to see a monkey, but hopefully they'll wander by sometime this week.

My room is nice and clean--which is good since I spent about 30 minutes to 1 hour on the bathroom floor the day I arrived. I don't know if I ate something or what, but I was sweating up a storm and alternately hot and cold. It was brutal. Much like my experience on the floor of the Khartoum airport for those of you who know that story.

So after finally getting out of bed at 10 a.m. I wandered around looking for colleagues. I found a few and found out that a bunch of people were going snorkeling....so I promptly jumped on that bandwagon. We took off in a boat and headed out to a reef right off of the coast and near our hotel. We snorkeled for about half an hour and saw some great fish, coral, starfish, and other strange sea creatures. We then walked on a separate "reef" with lots of sea spiders (star fish), sea urchins, oysters, little crabs, etc. All in all, it was a great way to spend a few hours under the beautiful sun after 24 hours of travel. In the afternoon, we did a bit of work on the presentaiton we have later this week, and then a team meeting, followed by a nice dinner.

Today the work began---an all day meeting to start things off. The food, for a vegetarian, is a bit sketchy....as are opportunities to exercise.....And everyone's starting to get me really nervous for the hike up Kili next week.....

More to come,
Jane

I'm off!!!

After a sketchy ride to the airport with a total wacko and a disappointing non-delivery with some trip treats from REI, I'm off. I'll be in Mombasa Kenya for a week and then.....Tanzania!!

More to come,
Jane

The hardest sprint tri on earth!

So this weekend I eh-hmm "competed" in the Black Bear sprint triathlon. At the same time, my sister competed in the 70.3 mile Half Ironman. Oh my goodness.

So the distances were:
swim 750 meters
bike 17.7 miles
run 3.4 miles

What makes it hard you ask? One word for you people: HILLS. Straight up, straight down, straight up, straight down...for 17 miles!! About .7 was flat....but the rest--straight up and straight down. It was brutal.

I finished in 2:20 which isn't great, but whatever. The swim and run felt good as did the flat part of the bike where I was going 25 miles an hour...but hills--not my best.

My sister Sarah did these as her last big race before Ironman Lake Placid. She said that this course was WAY harder. As did the big, burly, 20 year olds also doing LP who competed yesterday. Basically, she had 56 miles of straight up and straight down. Bleech. I don't know how she did it. I would have quit. But congrats to her!!!!

I will not do this race again. Ever. Unless I'm paid LARGE sums of money.

Columbia Triathlon 2008

So yesterday was the Columbia Triathlon (in Columbia Maryland). My sister Sarah and a friend from her triathlon team stayed over Saturday night. Sarah's training for Ironman Lake Placid and her friend Julie Deery just came in second at the national duathlon championship...so she qualified for nationals. I was hoping that some of their training and endurance would rub off on me.

Though I don't think that happened, I did have a good race. I swam the mile in 29 minutes. That's a little slower than I did it last year. I blame it on the 70 degree water and some wetsuit issues. But I also haven't been swimming as much as I have in previous years. All in all, an addition of 1 1/2 minutes isn't too bad!

The bike was where I really improved. The 26 mile (41k) course is a beast with a few rolling hills. And in the past couple of rides, it's been a real mental game for me. But on Sunday, with lots of other people out there (passing me, that I was passing, that I could just plain see), it was much better. Last year it took me 1 hr and 43 minutes, this year it took me 1 hr 35 minutes. So, for me, that's a pretty good improvement.

There was a crash on the bike course. I'm not sure what happened but another amateur athlete had an accident and was medivacced out shutting down the bike course for 20 minutes. I don't know what happened--the only paper reports "multiple injuries" but Julie said there was a lot of blood. Hopefully he'll be ok. My mom was at transition and reported a lot of people crashing there as well. A combination of nerves, slick pavement for the on and off rain showers, and inexperience I guess?

Then, the run. Oh, the joy. I improved my time over last year. Wait for it. By 9 seconds. That's right people, 9 seconds. I did have some issues during the run, like shin splints for the first 2 miles, but I actually felt better than I did last year. maybe I could have pushed myself harder, but it's not like I was "in it to win it" so I'm just glad I could still walk afterwards!

Sarah had a great race, Julie, despite being disappointed, still managed to average 21 mph on the bike (to my 16 mph) and a 7 minute mile on the run (BLECH!)

So it took me 3 hrs and 26 minutes overall, and Sarah 3 hrs and 6 minutes. I'm pretty pleased with that. It took Julie on 2:28, but then, she is a duathlon champion.....

My friends Stefanie, her husband Brian and their friend Mark did the race as a relay team for the third year in a row (each year they do a different leg). They finished this year in an official time of 3 hrs and 22 minutes...but really you need to subtract 20 minutes because Stef got caught on the bike leg for the life-flight.

So, the training continues--my next race is in two weeks in New Jersey.... But the tough one is out of the way!!!

My sister Sarah Aloise, Julie Deery and me after the finish.

(The space blankets are to keep us warm.)

Mark, Stefanie and Brian after their relay finish for the third year in a row!

THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT GOOD WISHES TO ME!!!!

Only four days until race day!

Yikes! Columbia triathlon in on Sunday. I've been "training" but I haven't been as dedicated as I probably should have been. The hills are calling and I'm afraid. How on earth I'm going to get through this I'm just not sure. Why do I sign myself up for these things? I mean, I actually pay for this torture?? I must be mad.

But it's good that I did becuase it's given me the confidence that I am in shape enough to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro! I'm heading to a meeting in Mombasa and then taking some leave for the climb, a mini-safari and a few days with my sister in Dar before coming back to the grind. I'm super excited!!

Anyway--other than that, just trying to stay dry in the heavy downpour!

Love ya,
Jane

Some more photos from Costa Rica

For those of you who are interested....here are some more photos from my recent trip to Costa Rica. I'm back in Silver Spring now and trying to get in my final month (!) of tri training before my first race. May 18th is coming too soon.....


I can't figure out how to get this right side up...but a craftsman carves out a box at his workshop

Posing by the largest ox cart wheel....

Pointing to the lagoon in the background. Do you see it? We didn't either.

Two oxen get a reprieve from pulling their load while they pose.

The ox cart owner and I share a moment.....

Photos from Mexico and Costa Rica

Here are some photos from my recent trip to Mexico and my current (and on-going) trip to Costa Rica:

Mom gets a pedicure poolside in Mexico.

Mom and I pause at the top of the hill.

The main office of Rio Caliente.


I pose with one of the mascots of the Beijing Olympics at the arts fair in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The panorama of coffee fields as we drove out of San Jose to the Poas Volcano.

At Poas, our view of the crater was obstructed by clouds and rain. I hid under the viewing platform to escape the worst of it.

Alisia and I pretend to be oxen big enough to pull the world's largest ox cart. Seriously, even the Guinness Book of World Records says it's the biggest.

Buenos dias!

Greetings from Costa Rica. I'm here until Friday for work. Not a bad gig...and I rarely (seriously) get the "not bad" gigs. I'm here to do OFDA's NGO training for partners. It's a nice break from the Darfur routine.

Today was a national holiday (I think to celebrate a revolution) so my friend Alisia and I went on a little one day tour of a volcano crater, a town with a metal church and a town where they make the traditional ox carts. It was ok, but tiring. The problem is that it's the start of the rainy season so while we hiked up to the crater---nothing but clouds. Oh well. But it was good.

The main problem so far is food. I always think of Central America as having similar foods, but I'm much better off in Guatemala then here. But they are big meat eaters here. The other problem is options close to our hotel. There's a burger king, a chinese restaurant, a subway and a Houston-based chicken chain. Seriously? I just want some rice and beans. Fortunately there's fair nearby so we went to have some "street food".

Our hotel's a little ghetto on the outside but the room's are ok and there's cable (which I don't have at home) so it's a nice treat! Of course, the gym is under renovations...so I'm totally screwed. this is supposed to be one of my big training weeks and with my race at the end of May I've feeling the pressure!!!

Anyway--I've also been to Mexico for a vacation with my mom which was fantastic. I have some photos of both trips and will post more soon. I haven't been writing mostly becuase there's not a lot to say and I'm mostly just trying to get myself together.

Anyway--more soon. Cuidense!!

OMG!! I just realized....

that I'm turning 35 this year! Holy Crap!!! A few of us were talking about our ages and I realized that this September I'm getting close to middle age!! Good grief!

In other news--triathlon training is going well. I'm a biking fool, but still having problems getting up to speed on the running and swimming. But it's getting better. Just a few more months until race days!! For those of you who are in MD and want to come check out the Columbia Triathlon. My sister Sarah will be down for the race too!

Lily's holding steady...she's on a duck and potato diet (we think she has a food allergy) so it's all fun in the Strachan household!!!

That's about it...hopefully I'll have some job news soon. Keep in touch,
Jane

Random Intelligence Triumphs Again!!

There seem to be a lot of people from my office living in Silver Spring. Sometimes we get together for dinner or a happy hour. Last night we went to McGinty's Pub in downtown Silver Spring for Trivia Night. There were 16 teams (frankly I think there should be a limit of 10!). We had six rounds: a general trivia; match the political man with the woman he had an affair with/sexually harassed; a music round; a numbers round (all of the answers were numbers), a round with "cold" clues; and a ID the photos round.

In the end, we were second place winning a gift certificate of $25!! We also won two Bass Ale beer glasses because of 1) a drawing of a person running away from Mt. Vesuvius (one of the answers was Pompeii) and 2) creating the winning limerick (the question was what is the number of lines in a limerick). All in all, we feel fairly superior!! Though there were a couple of standouts on our team, without whom we would have placed somewhere in the teens!!

Good times had by all!

Jane

President's Day Weekend

Hi all,

It's been a while, so just a short update. This weekend the Strachan women (Mom, Sarah, Molly and I) got together for a few days. Molly's in from Tanzania for a conference and Sarah and Mom came down to stay. Needless to say 4 people in a 1 br+ loft was a little tight, but we made it work. We did some walking, a visit to the botanical gardends, some good food, and a little shopping at some of the more arty stores by my place.

Sarah took Lily running on Sunday as I was biking that day. Poor Lily. She's not used to running so far or so fast (I'm slow and lazy compared to my sister). For the rest of the day she could barely walk. Poor thing. She seems to be doing ok now after another little walk and a visit to the dog park this a.m. But still, it was pathetic. She wouldn't leave the front door to go out side Sunday night!

Other than that, things are truckin along here. I'm still working on Darfur for OFDA and hoping to switch to another team--but that probably won't happen for another month. So, in the meantime I'm keeping myself busy with the Pandemic Influenza working group--kind of freaky!!

Well--that's it for now!!

Jane

The Sudan team is cursed and why I love AAA!

So on Sunday my car broke down--randomly--on Interstate 95 between DC and Baltimore. I called my mom's house and my step-dad promptly agreed to come rescue me and Lily from the side of the highway! Then I called AAA. Despite the frustrating wait time while she called around to see if people were open, they were super helpful and it only took about 20 minutes from when we hung up for the tow truck driver to arrive. I had it towed to the place where I bought it, north of Balitmore, near my mom's and will now hand over about $700 for repairs. So brutal. I mean, seriously, some small child probably made that part for $3 in Taiwan. Urgh.

But after towing and transfering the birthday quiche and cheesecake from my car to my step-dads, all was well. A mere two hours that I'll never get back, but at least I'm healthy right?!?!

Then I got to work and found out that my colleague had been evauted from Chad and my other colleague had her purse stolen with everythign in it--planner, check book, house keys, wallet, etc. Blugh. That would suck. And lastly--someone else on my team has pink eye. Seriously?? I've got to transfer off of this bad boy!!

Hope you're all well,
Jane

Am I getting fired??

Well--those of you who know me (and who is reading this that doesn't know me) know that at times I can be less than diplomatic. Today is a classic example. I said what many in the room where thinking but didn't (because they have sense!). Anyway, my comment was said in a reasonable tone, but the State dept official to whom I was speaking clearly had a sore spot. This has to do with some Sudan discussions we're having right now and I'm certainly not going to talk about it in a public forum, but lets just said it wasn't pretty (though some where proud of me). I don't really think I would get fired, but I probably could have been a little more sensitive.

Anyway, just another day at the office....well, not really. But still...I don't have much else to report. It's cold here, though not as cold. I've started training again and tonight my bike kicked my butt. That was rough. I highly recommend exercising while watching "The Biggest Loser" on NBC. It's a good motivator.

Talk to you all soon!!!
Love,
Jane

Triathlon Training begins!

Well, while May 18 seems far away, it is a short time for me to drop the weight I gained in Khartoum and get back in to gear. So I created a training plan (courtesy of internet guidance) and am off and running, literally, and biking of course. Swimming is definitely the easy one for me....though I do need a new team. I'm going to check out the YMCA Masters team today...see if they're up to my lofty standards! :-) I'm sure you're all fascinated by this....so I'll keep you posted!

Other than that, not too much news from here. It's a long weekend so I'm hoping that I get some of the things on my to do list done...but have you noticed that the list just keeps growing?? Such a pain. And I'll add things on that I want to do, just so I have some things to cross off!!

So--more from downtown Silver Spring soon!!

Miss you,
Jane

Rain and boredom prevail in early 2008

Hi all,

Nothing new and/or exciting in this installment. I holed up for most of the weekend. I did take Lily to the local park for a few hours where I ran into an "old" dog park friend of mine who I haven't seen for months, and someone from my swim team. So that was interesting. I also found out that a friend of mine has thyroid cancer. So 2008 continues to stink! Hopefully it will end on a high note. I said that maybe it started so tragically that it woudl end with something like an engagement (not that there are any prospects). My sister has already found a wedding dress maker and a rehearsal dinner location so we clearly know that she's on board!!

Anyway--just back and work and the daily grind.

Hope all is well with all of you....but drop me a line!!

Jane

Back to "usual"

Hi all,

It's been a while since I've written. The past week has been rough. On Tuesday I went to Buffalo for the wake and funeral of John. If you want to see a local story on it, google ABC + buffalo + "O.P. Church Packed for Diplomat's Funeral" and you can watch a clip.

So now I'm home and trying to get back in to the routine. This weekend I'll be doing the usual cleaning, trying to get organized, getting my act in gear to exercise etc. My place is still a mess from my trip and then post-Christmas unpacking. So hopefully I'll get my act in gear. I also want to go see a movie (Juno, Charlie Wilson's war). Any takers??

Hope you're all doing well and more soon,
Jane

More about John Granville

Hi all,

Details are still a bit vague. But here's what I know. John had been with a few friends for dinner and then to the British club for a NYE party. He and a friend left, she was dropped off first. The car, a few blocks from him house, was fired upon. AbdelRahman, our driver, was killed at the scene. John died later from his substantial injuries.

John is returning to the US tomorrow and some of us will try to be at the airport here in DC. I will also try to go to the service mid-week for John in his hometown in New York. Also, his dog Cooper, should be arriving in the coming days. Hopefully I'll be briefly reunited with him here or in New York.

There are lots of articles now about John, just google John Granville, and you can see all about him. As they report, he was definitely committed to his work and would rather have been living in Juba (the capitol of South Sudan) than Khartoum. But he was making his home in Khartoum (and when he had a bbq at his place as a goodbye for a colleague and made grilled paneer just for me!) He had a warm and welcome smile and thought I was nuts for loving his dog even for a few weeks! The last communication I had with him was an emailed thanking me for the presents I had sent out for Cooper and saying he would see me here, in DC, in January. Its tragic that that will never happen.

AbdulRahman was on leave when I left Sudan in mid-December so I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. But he was great. As I said earlier, he looked serious when he wasn't smiling but the smile was easy to get. He was quiet and courteous and so happy to be a dad. We hired him in 2004 as part of our initial team to help immediately following the violence in Darfur. He has stayed with us since. He leaves behind his wife Fatma and a 1-year old son. It's my understanding that USAID is setting up a global fund for contributions for his son.

Here's a nice photo of Adelrahman Abbas Rahama


Thanks for the comments and well wishes I've received.

More soon,
Jane

A Sad Loss

Hi all,

For those of you who saw the news this a.m. you'll see that a USAID official and driver were killed in Khartoum early New Year's Day.

The USAID official is John Granville...a friend of mine and ownder of Cooper, the dog that I took care of a couple of times. John worked for the Democracy and Governance Bureau and had lived in Nairobi for several years covering southern Sudan. His death is a great loss to all of us. This is a photo of him with our friend Andrea at the New Year's Eve party.

The driver was Abdul Rahman. He was one of my favorite drivers...soft spoken, funny, and very helpful with my bad arabic, and had a smile that reached all the way to his eyes. He leaves behind a wife and a young child.