by phil | Sep 15, 2012 | Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Stories
While waiting for a customs agent to come to an agreement with a man that had many jerry cans of palm oil on our minibus, we stood in the road and listened to Chéché Dramé on my girlfriend’s cellphone. Trucks and busses tore past, slaloming around potholes,...
by phil | Aug 30, 2012 | Cote D'Ivoire
Outside of a trip to Bassam, I have been in Abidjan for most of August. The city — one of the more energetic and nocturnal places I’ve ever spent time in — has felt a bit deflated. Ramadan, cool August weather, a proliferation of police checkpoints...
by phil | Aug 24, 2012 | USA
At the end of July, my former residence in DC ceased to be a residence. Chalk it up to disagreements with the landlord. It may become a residence once more, with new tenants and a different pricing plan, but it will likely never be the place that it was. While I...
by phil | Aug 15, 2012 | Biz, Cote D'Ivoire
6:30 AM – Starting the work day at the Toits Rouges Allocodrome We started this lunch delivery/catering business in January. We had no employees, just the three partners – me and my two former couchsurfing hosts, Faty and David – and Faty’s...
by phil | Jul 31, 2012 | Mali
The following 3 video clips appear tired and well worn, but the footage is only 2 years old. Originally recorded to VHS, the audio is warped and the picture is faded. Another layer of quality was stripped away when I filmed this with an iphone 3gs as it played on an...
