Bye Bye Obibini

I know I've been incredibly negligent about blogging...I suppose I could say life got in the way, but in reality I just got lazy. And the internet wouldn't cooperate when I tried to upload pictures, frustrating me into defeat. Since my last post, I have traveled around Burkina Faso and Mali on holiday and Togo and Benin (once for a vacation, once for work), as well as twice to the western coast of Ghana.

And now, it's time to move on. As of today, I have 11 days left in Ghana. That's exactly 2 years and 3 months from the date of my arrival, 7 Feb 2005, though I'm sure I've spent more than 7 months outside the country and have racked up 15 African countries visited. Ghana stray long enough!

From here I will go to Southern Africa for a three week self-fly safari, hitting S.Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Namibia with my own private pilot. : ) Then it's back to the US for at least two months, during which I will roadtrip from Iowa to California with my parents to see my siblings. I'll also be visiting NYC and Chicago at some point. Sooooo, if I'm likely to pass your way, please let me know so that we can be sure to meet up.

Next destination: Japan. I've already started to try to remember the 4 years of high school Japanese I took and am anxious to see the country that was the first I ever visited (more than a decade---and a lot of international experience---later). If you have any family or friend connections in Japan, send them on to me! I'm looking forward to the contrasts to Africa that Japan will offer...and you can anticipate that the change of location should inspire me to a return to writing. Look here in June for safari pictures and this fall for the link to the new blog. I already have a potential title: Ishitsubutsutoriatsukukaijo (Lost and Found Office---me and my brother's favorite Japanese word!).

Now say "Sugoi" ("Great/Wow") in falsetto and clap your hands together in front of your chest in excitement.