thoughts

Et la Famille? Et les Affaires? Kow ka ŋi? Let’s Take this Thing Off the Tracks

by phil February 26, 2012 thoughts

The wall decorations in my gf’s childhood room in the village of Fana, Mali A directionless post has been a long time coming. And now, with my brain T’ed off on 3 Malian teas (think diabetes), I will write one. 1. It will be numbered, though. I developed a strain of OCD when I taught [...]

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Sharing some love on my way out the door

by phil November 16, 2011 thoughts

I’m flying to Ghana today. More regular posting will resume next week. In the meantime, I want to share a few worthwhile projects from others. The Wise Routes Project My friend Claire and her boyfriend, Brandon, just rode their bikes from Vancouver to San Francisco. Along the way, they crafted an open source curriculum that [...]

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The Destination for your Pity Will Soon be Something Else

by phil November 4, 2011 thoughts
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This post is not a rejection of aid or charity or volunteering. It’s a rejection of an attitude about Africa. Last summer, at a chop house in Takoradi, Ghana, an American girl struck up a conversation with me. She was a 3rd year university student volunteering in Ghana for 6 weeks. When I told her [...]

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What’s Next for me

by phil September 1, 2011 thoughts
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Much to your dismay, I am not actually skydiving to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I will be returning to West Africa, however, and I have a few things in store beyond my normal agenda of camel drawing consultations. Right now I am in the states, doing some side trips, staying with my mom, and [...]

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Putting your African Adventure to Shame: Kilimanjaro by Lionback

by phil August 22, 2011 thoughts
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I have a surprise announcement. I will be returning to Africa next week. Back to Mali? No. Mali has incredible people and otherworldly music, but there is nothing else I can conquer there. I already went to Timbuktu and I’ve climbed the Hand of Fatima like 14 times. On this trip I will be going [...]

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How Should you Cover Africa? Better Question: How Should we Consume Media?

by phil July 11, 2011 thoughts
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NY Times writer Nick Kristof recently returned from a jaunt through North and West Africa. He had a teacher and a medical student in tow, winners of his yearly trip-to-Africa contest. He took some flack for his chosen itinerary, which disproportionately featured the downtrodden and miserable, and for his post-trip write up, which included lines [...]

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