Except the last post it has been a very long time since I blogged. Burundi was generally not kind to the idea of long term use of the internet and the power was cut annoyingly often resulting in a loss of ... well everything really.
Working in two Francophone countries for the last few months had the usual effect of leaving me feeling particularly useless and stupid. It is not arrogance that makes Anglo-phones speak only English ... we are just linguistically challenged it seems. It left me feeling that I could not speak in English either by the end.
Anyway ... my impressions of Burundi can be summed up thus:
hippos, secretary birds and tiny brilliant honey-eaters;
masses of writing and editing translations (of a language that I do not speak although I can read it a bit)
training lots of people and being perpetually shocked at how much people can have a total dichotomy between talking the talk and walking the walk (I am sure I do as well - although I try very hard to be consistent): so in training workshops, participants know all the answers and say all the right things but in fact cannot put anything much into practice (or more to the point) even feel that they need to
Wonderful staff who helped out in all sorts of ways ... well over and above the call of duty
Wet eucalypts
From Burundi I travelled home back through Madagascar where I had an all day stay in Nairobi airport ... really all day arrived at 0500 and left at 1930. Even the best airports and the best airport shopping cannot cope with that. And I over heard some guy who had been there for two days!!!
Once in Mada my life was a social whirl ... shopping for semi-precious gemstones and lunch with the wonderful Anna and Uwaise, then whisked off to a dinner party and the next day to another lunch before the plane to home!
And now ... the somewhat staid life in Oz and being a grandmother ... but it is all good fun and now with a more reliable internet ...
Poor form from that 'Radio Star', but very mild cf other Sydney talk-back 'incidents' in the months you've been away!
You'd be well advised to start writing ethics training manuals for Sydney radio 'personalities'.
(apply for funding from uncle Kev - he's been dishing the money around a bit!)
Posted by: Nick | November 22, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Opps!, the preceding comment should have been attached to your earlier entry.
Posted by: Nick | November 22, 2009 at 05:01 PM
ooh what a good idea!
Posted by: pamela | November 22, 2009 at 05:13 PM