Just NB

Finally!! After multiple attempts to load all these pictures, they're finally up!! My second last stop on my Accidental African Adventure Part 2 , was to Nxbega located in the Okavanga Delta in Botswana. I have heard great things about the Okavenga...unfortunatly...I didn't really experience them. However, I'm pretty sure it's because of where I stayed... The accomodation is called a "luxury safari" and....that... it is . Because this little adventure came up last minute, I didn't do any research of where to stay and left everything in the hands of the travel agent. Won't be doing that next time... My Okavanga trip starts in Kasane - leaving from the Elephant Valley Lodge . (Also the place where I was told that I'd have to leave my luggage...and ended up paying the $30 Bitch Tax.. :)) It's quite the milk run to the camp....rode on this plane for about an hour (with three stops) (um...is it a good sign if this is in the front seat of t...

Well, I guess people DO actually like reading my blog because I've received a few emails asking if I'm okay and where I'm at! I'm okay!!! I've been working out of the office for a few days...and it's everything is taking longer than I thought... oh - and internet is brutal. I still have a few more posts about my vacation...but uploading pictures just ain't gonna happen until I'm back. Anyway...there's not much news for me in MG... still here and still happy/crazy/homesick/goofy. However, MG has been in the news a lot lately, so check out my MG News page if you're absolutely desperate for something to read. Two quick things before I go.... Thank you to ALL of the people in my life that have really been there for me lately... via email, phone, in person, or text message. I forget sometimes how lucky I am! And...everyone send get well wishes to my grandpa. He's been in the hospital for a few days and hasn't been doing great (although I he...

Last night I was looking back on my blog...and was shocked that it has been almost a year since http://www.nb-in-mg.blogspot.com/ was created. June 12 2009 was my first post!! It made me reflect/realize a few things: 1. I was like....umm...extremely unique - a.k.a " crazy " or " at-times-over-emotional " (please find me a girl/woman that isn't) - before I came to Madagascar. 2. I remember feeling homesick on my first two-week vacation away from Canada in 2006. So...maybe I need to cut myself some slack that I'm not handling homesickness as well as I would like to be at the moment... 3. From my very first rotation, I had some pretty big ups and downs. Seems par for the course. 4. After a few months of being here, I thought I was brave for walking near a gecko and not screaming. I thought I was super tough when I started killing ants with my BARE HANDS and not a kleenex. Um... princess-much?? 5. In MG, SO MUCH can change in the span of one month and SO MUCH c...

Giraffeafy, defined: is random facts I found on the internet + giraffe pictures I took on my Accidental African Adventure Part 2 . Males and females tend to eat from different parts of a tree to ensure that the sexes do not compete for food The mighty giraffe can drink 12 gallons in one setting Like human fingerprints, each giraffe's coat is unique. Giraffes rarely lay down; they even sleep and give birth standing up. A giraffe's tongue is on average 18 inches long A giraffe can run at a speed of 35 miles per hour. They have also been known to jump up to 6 feet. Male giraffes stand up to 18 feet tall and weigh up to 4,000 pounds. Females grow up to 16 feet tall and weigh approximately 2,500 pounds. Giraffes need very little sleep and may only sleep between 20 minutes to two hours out of a twenty-four hour period. The color of a giraffe's coat tends to become darker with age. A giraffe eats about 140 pounds of food a day. A male giraffe can tell ...

Wow, I have truly been sucking at getting my African Adventure Part 2 posts up!!! I still have quite a few animals to cover!! Next up on the animal pictures are leopards and lions! (I know...I know...my creative title skills suck lately....) I saw these guys on my last night at Elephant Valley Lodge . What a great way to leave this place! The guides were great and tracked down these leopards This guy (or gal?) was pretty brave and let us take pictures. Hope I didn't blind him with my flash!! He stayed for about half an hour or so....gave us some great poses.... and then he was off.... And lions! I think we saw at least one lion every day... ..sometimes closer than I would have liked.... These ladies gave us some good photo ops, but apparently we annoyed them, because they growled at us! Pretty scary where your about five feet away with nothing in between you and them! But they weren't that concerned....as soon as we started to drive away th...

...there are days I remember just one  of the many reasons that I like this expat gig. “Life is full of ups and downs. The trick is to enjoy the ups and have courage during the downs.” Unknown. I'm feeling refreshed....and ready to start a new week tomorrow....

A struggle I have as an expat is that I feel awful and guilty whenever I'm not happy. I go through ups and downs in life, just like everyone, but because I see what I see every day, I think that I should just be happy because I am have food, clothing, water, and shelter. And a lot of people in MG don't have that. But - feeling bad about feeling bad...just seems to make me feel.....worse. Somehow I got in a conversation about this very subject with a lady I met last night.. Her words brought me great comfort. Basically she something to the extent of that life is life and it's not easy. Regardless if you're born in a third world country or born in a first world country - it still has it's ups and downs. The poverty and hardship in a third world country is not my fault , and I shouldn't be harsh on myself for having feelings - just because I grew up in a different environment then those born in Madagascar. It doesn't mean that I should accept poverty. It d...

Alright, I'm finally here with some wildlife pics from my Accidental African Vacation Part 2!! It's *possible* that I went a little overboard on the picture taking... Day 1, I would take about 500 pictures of elephants. Day 2, maybe 250 pictures... Day 3, 100 pictures.... Days 4, 5, 6....well...I don't think I ever took less than a hundred pictures a day... Since a) my internet connection isn't good enough to post a lot of pictures, and, b) pictures of other people's holidays get boring really quick... I've tried to pick through the thousands of pictures and I'll post a different animal every day. Starting today with Elephants!! (As indicated by the incredibly creative title...) A thirsty youngster (with an impala in the background) This guy was actually more interested in watching us! Why DID the elephant cross the road??..... We got like REALLY close to the elephants! And a great "ear shot". African elephants can be distinguish...