Countdown.

Over the last 4 months, I have had many things to look forward to.  Naturally, I was able to keep track of all of these events by a countdown app on my phone.  I counted down to Dahab where I spent four days learning how to scuba dive.  I counted down to Dubai where I went to the top of the tallest building in the world.  I counted down to Ethiopia where I hiked across the Ethiopian Highlands with shepard boys and girls.  I counted down to Abu Dhabi where I partied with Jay Z.  I counted down to Hurghada where I learned how to enjoy scuba diving.  I counted down to Beirut where I learned how to speak Arabic while day drinking.  Now.  Finally.  I count down to Colorado where I feel the comfort of my own home.  And it could not come soon enough.

Living in Egypt isn't so bad.  I like my job.  My Second Grade team may be the most normal functioning team I have ever been on.  The kids are wonderful and make me laugh all day.  My apartment is pretty sweet.  It's on the best road in all of Maadi Degla.  I get to travel to the aforementioned places.  But I cannot wait to get home.  I can't wait to eat good food.  I can't wait to have heat and warm clothes.  I can't wait to see my family.  I can't wait to catch up with my friends.  And I can't wait to hang out with a certain boy.  

I looked back at past blog posts today about coming home.  It's funny.  As much as I love traveling, I write about coming home almost every time I travel.  They usually have the same theme though--not being ready to leave the place I am coming from.  Although I can't predict the future, this time it's different.  I don't know if it's Egypt.  Or if it's that I live here.  Or if it's that I've been gone too long.  Or if it's Colorado.  What I do know is this: the grass isn't always greener on the other side (Egypt doesn't even have grass).  So even though I am not coming home for good (yet), I know where I belong and will start an official Cairo Bucket list/Countdown to Colorado as soon as I return in January.  As much as this has been an adventure and an experience that I am thankful for, I know it's not for me.  Not now.  At the end to the school year, I will be headed home for good.  I'd love to give you details as to what has brought me to make this difficult decision over a fancy cocktail or a craft beer sometime.  

But I'm not done yet.  I still have lots of laughs with my friends and teammates here. I still have to teach some 7-year-olds how to read and write.  I still have to learn Arabic.  I still have to dive deeper.  I still have to see the region--Turkey, Jordan, and Greece for sure.  I still have to have some visitors.  I still have to visit my African family since I live in Africa.  I still have to see more of Egypt.  And for goodness sake, I still have to see the Pyramids.  So as I sit here now, counting the days, hours, minutes and seconds till I feel the frozen Colorado air on my cheeks, I know this adventure isn't over yet, but I desperately need a break.  Take me home!

Sustainable Fashion--A New Obsession

I have a slight obsession with any kind of sustainable fashion.  It started with Invisible Children MEND and has grown exponentially (both my obsession and the market for it).  I love that I can wear something that not only stands for something but is also impacting someone else's life in a sustainable way.  

Sustainability has become a priority for me when thinking about charity, non-profits, NGOs and humanitarian aid.  Very frequently, Americans send their money somewhere not really knowing where it is actually going.  Or we send large amounts of charitable contributions instead of empowering the people that these charities supposedly are supporting.  In the words of Ivan Illich: "To hell with good intentions [. . .] You will not help anybody by your good intentions." 

So here are a few of my favorites--not only are they fantastic, but I like to think of them as "Humanitarian Chic."

• MEND: MEND is an Invisible Children Program.  Bags are designed in the US and handmade in Uganda by ladies that were formally abducted by the LRA, most forced to be child mothers and wives of commanders.  MEND supports these ladies not just in giving them work in a society that might otherwise isolate them, but also supports them with a savings and loan community, functional adult literacy, and a social worker on site.  Although MEND bags are expensive, you get the name and now the fingerprint of the lady who made your bag on your bag.  If you would like to buy one at a discounted rate, spend some time with the wonderful ladies at MEND in Gulu.  I LOVE THEM!  

Rockin' my MEND bag in nyc

• Krochet Kids: Buy a hat, change a life.  Also based out of Gulu, women affected by the war are employed crocheting hats which are sold in the US.  Women are able to send their kids to school and support their families which is a cultural shift in Northern Uganda.  You can write the lady that made your hat a thank you note--just check the tag!  KKi has also started a program in Peru. Can be purchased at Unity.

Sportin' KKi kissin' a peacock

• Falling Whistles:  Quite possibly my favorite because I can wear it all the time and people ask about it a ton.  On an adventure to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sean Carasso heard a story of boys, too small to carry guns, being put on the front lines with nothing more than a whistle.  I wear my whistle to promote peace in the drc.  Proceeds go to programs on the ground, supporting the rehabilitation of war-affected Congolese children.  Wear your protest--be a whistleblower for peace.  Can be purchased at Unity.

• The Giving Keys:  Keys on chains with words engraved on them by homeless to help them get off the streets?  Sold.  And they're beautiful.  Best part?  It's a pay if forward deal--so eventually, I will have to give mine away to someone who I think needs to be liberated (or whatever your key says).  I already have a couple going to a few friends.

• 31 Bits: Also based out of Gulu (love), 31 Bits employs women to make paper bead jewelry to empower them to rise above poverty.  There are a ton of paper bead organizations around, most with the same goal and doing great things; however, I have a special place in my heart for 31 Bits because you can buy them at my nail salon, fingers and toes.

So, what do your accessories say about you?  I love knowing where mine were made and even who made them.  Not only do I look smart (Ugangalish for looking good, having swag), but I am sustaining communities at the same time.  So when you ask me where I got something or what it is, expect to hear a story.

rhetorical thought.

I have definitely found myself a Sunday routine while in grad school.  I get up, go to my fave coffee shop, Hooked on Colfax, pull out the piles of work I have to do, and spend my time catching up on blogs and wasting time.  Although the table, chai and atmosphere are better than trying to read in my bed, I am not sure this hipster scene is conducive to reading about the history of rhetoric.  However, it has been helpful to have a place to reflect without the disruption of cats.

I am quickly approaching being at home as long as I was away--which is always the hardest part of being in transit.  It is finally the realization that yes, I do live here, and this is what my real life is.  It makes me miss where I have come from--this time Gulu--even more.  Although I can get Pineapple Fanta at my local Avanza, I can't get the burning trash smell or the red dust filling my lungs as I hold on to the back of a boda.  In the past few weeks, I have teetered over some major decisions, or rather desires.  Currently, on the two year plan that I seem to always extend, I am happy with what I am doing.  But what do I do if say, the Communications Officer for ICU opens up?  I debated for an entire day if I should apply, but then spent the next day with three of my students at a Karen wrist tying ceremony.  For what it's worth, I still have work to do here and haven't decided what I want to do when that work is finished.  I am trying to wrap my mind around everything I have learned this summer and how it has changed me.  I feel like I have more of a focus in everything I do.  Critical thought and humanitarian aid are always seem to be connected to everything I am learning and teaching.  But how can I really make others see it, if I don't know exactly what it looks like?  I guess this is why I have my Sundays to think about it, with small breaks of rhetorical theory.