I was shocked to hear the news that This American Life is retracting their January 6th episode “Mr Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory” that I was raving about just last weekend. I have not had a chance yet to listen to this weeks episode (called Retraction) where they detail the errors and fabrications in the original story (it’s downloading as I type this) but given how much respect I have for the show I am also taking down my original post. “Mr Daisey Goes to the Apple Factory” was an excerpt from Mike Daisey’s one-man play The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. In his response to this weeks episode of This American Life he stands by his work as a piece of theatre and not of journalism and that he regrets allowing This American Life to air an excerpt of his show.
Earlier this week I shared on Facebook that I used the word Savingram for the first time since I left Botswana. A Savingram is basically a memo that is sent to someone outside the organization. Maybe it’s an inter-government thing? I’m not entirely clear. In this case I was writing a “memo” effectively from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Local Government. As a PCV who worked in an office I wrote more Savingrams than I care to remember, but I still don’t completely understand the terminology. The term is so obscure that it’s not even included on Wikipedia. Can you believe that? And when I tried Googling it the 8th hit was of a document from a Government of Botswana website (gov.bw) So appropriate if you ask me.
Thinking about how long its been since I left Botswana reminded me that this weekend will mark the seventh anniversary of my arrival in Botswana. (BTW – if you’re paying close attention I went from 5 years last year to 7 years this year. Who knows that I was thinking last year. I arrived in 2005.) I can’t believe that that was seven years ago. It’s so cliche to say that it feels like yesterday and it doesn’t, but it does feel like only 2 or 3 years ago. Later this year I will probably exceed the time I lived in Botswana with living in Lesotho. That is also hard to believe. As I have gotten to know PCVs and RPCVs I realize how lucky I am that I feel a connection with Botswana. That I had a really good Peace Corps experience. Sure there were challenges. It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns but overall I have always been very positive about my experience in Botswana and I feel the same way about my life in Lesotho.
Went through my pictures to find a new goodie to share. This was a drawing that fellow PCV Jane Lay did during training and that we had printed on the back of our t-shirts for COS. She was so talented. I still have a set of fridge magnets that she made me for my birthday. I wonder where in the world she is these days.
P.S. Earlier this week I added another About page with 25 (More) Things to Know About Me. It’s been over two years since I wrote the original list so I figured it was time for an update.
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I do not have dreams of being on Iron Chef or even just a serious foodie. In fact most days my culinary skills max out at boiling water or popping popcorn. However, I like to think that if I put my mind to it that I can pull off almost anything and follow a recipe. Last week my sister shared thoughts on having “house specialties” – go to recipes that you know how to do very well – on her blog. Of course this got me thinking about what my items might be. This is what I came up with:
- Beer can chicken: The first time I had beer can chicken was as a PCV when my friends Dave & Wendy made it on their Webber grill. Eventually another PCV figured out that you could make it in a potjie (a round, cast-iron, 3-legged pot similar to a dutch oven in the US) and this is the technique that I continue to use today. Mine is big enough to cook two chickens. The base for my rub is usually paprika or chili powder but then it is different every time depending on what other spices I have around to throw in. What I love about beer can chicken is that it’s pretty hard to screw up – just let it cook super long so that it’s done all the way through but you really can’t over cook it.
- Chili: Again, my key is making it in the potjie. Clearly I have something for cooking with coals.
- Beer bread: Another Peace Corps recipe (I swear that it’s only as I started writing this that I realized my go-to recipes come from Peace Corps …) We one time had a celebration that we called “Beer-giving” where we made beer can chicken, beer bread, beer battered onion rings and, of course, drank beer. Recently I added a beer dip that goes with pretzels to my repetoire of beer recipes.
- Lemon cake: My go-to dessert recipe that is super easy given to me by a friend. Even when it doesn’t turn out lemony enough (like when I made it last weekend) it is still yummy.
- Cheesecake: I haven’t made this recipe in ages as I don’t have a hand mixer, spring form pan or the right ingredients for the crust (a mix of chocolate and regular graham crackers.) When I do have the right ingredients my (read: my friend Bunnie’s) cheesecake cannot be beat.
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So, why do you write these strong women characters?Because equality is not a concept. It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity. Equality is like gravity, we need it to stand on this earth as men and women, and the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and women who’s confronted with it. We need equality, kinda now.So, why do you write these strong female characters?Because you’re still asking me that question.
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How does one break out of this rut? How does an average Jane let the world know she is not so average? How do you tell them that I have something great inside of me that is dying to come out?
I shared this video on Facebook today, but had to share it here too just in case there are people who are reading the blog that aren’t FB friends. Megan is the sister of high school friends and she is fighting stage 4 breast cancer. One of the things on her bucket list is to design a dress for Lady Gaga. I was so moved by her video and her blog (particularly the quote above) that I had to share it here. Please help to spread the word so that Megan’s dream can come true. xoxo
P.S. Here’s a link to a story in the local newspaper about Megan’s dream
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Right now I am:
- Not training for my 10k thanks to injuries. First extensor tendinitis in my left foot and now runners knee in my right knee (Mind you both ailments have been self-diagnosed using the Internets.) Extensor tendinitis is treated with rest – my favorite kind of treatment. Runners knee requires strengthening the leg muscles that aren’t naturally strengthened with running. You mean I have to put in more work than just running?? I’m not convinced that this is what I signed up for … Nevertheless, the race is 5 weeks from today and I *will* be ready.
- Already planning in my head for April. This is not a good sign as it usually happens to me mid-month when I am so booked up that I start thinking 2 weeks ahead. We are expecting visitors at work every week of March, have a big event on the 21st that is going to be a logistical nightmare and it’s the last month for some of the team members that I supervise. Big, emotional month ahead.
- Taking it as a compliment that one of our visitors at work this week made an aside comment that I seem to have a good work-life balance. I think I do, too, and that I should be proud of it.
- Behind by four books on my reading goals. I just haven’t been able to get into a flow of audiobook listening and reading on my Kindle like I did last year. Normally I am behind because I’ve been watching too many random TV shows on my computer. Right now I’m behind because the social scene in Maseru has been going at a frantic pace. I’m not complaining and I think for right now spending time with friends is more important than holing myself up at home reading.
- Loving the February 13th episode of This American Life called “What I Did for Love.” Especially the prologue and first act. So many things I could relate too.
- Obsessed with the song “We Are Young” by the group Fun. It has been running through my head constantly. See video at the top.
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I remembered one more tidbit that I wanted to write about from “MWF Seeking BFF” The CEO of a website that the Match.com of girl-friendships tells the author, “I’ve found that most of us need to meet with somebody twice a month for three months before we will consider them a friend.” It was a lightbulb moment for the author (and me) as it is actually a tangible/actionable thing to do. At first I wondered if it really applied in Maseru. So silly of me because it’s actually the epitome of the idea. Especially in the height of summer (like right now) I see so many of my friends as often as several nights a week. It really does help maintain camaraderie. What is more difficult – and that I want to be better at – is maintaining contact with my friends with whom I can’t actually get together. Facebook has made me so lazy about actually writing emails to people as I just figure that everyone is looking at my Facebook postings. I think this is especially important as an expat because the people who are my friends now will leave. I don’t want my friends to consist only of the people in my immediate area and I want to be proactive about maintaining friendships with people that I really like no matter where they live.
P.S. Another friend post, another reason to share a random picture with girlfriends. This is Olga and I in Geneva when I visited her over New Years in 2010/11. It was such a great trip. She’s one of the people I’m thinking of specifically with this post. 
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