Stampede Breakfast

Yes, apparently the almost two years of living in Calgary had some affect on me. My co-worker Sarah, who is here for three months, is from Calgary and so we threw our own Stampede breakfast on Saturday morning. It was fantastic! We planned on an outdoor event, but were disappointed to wake up to rain. Luckily, we had just the right amount of people and it wasn't too crowded to be able to hold the festivities in our house. We estimate that we served up somewhere between 170-200 pancakes, and at one time had about a dozen people line dancing in our living room. Sarah took the lead on most of this, and I acted as junior cowgirl. She had decorated our place up right Fancy, and we had the country tunes pumping throughout the morning. Issac and Felix, the Kauffeldt's two boys, keep asking when the next Stampede breakfast is going to be, and so we consider it a success.

Apart from our own version of Stampeding...we of course watched the world cup come to an end last night. We didn't exactly see it right through to the end though as the generator broke down and we missed the shoot out. Disappointed to hear that Italy won...but oh well, I didn't have my heart set on either of those two teams.

Interns have also arrived, which has impacted all of our lives. 6, yes 6, have arrived from across the US. We spent last week in orientation with them, and this week are seeing most of them move out to their various worksites and projects. They're a great group to have around, and have added some unique flavour to our office.

And of course, our staff house is nearing completion. Come the end of next week, I think we'll be able to move into the new place. I have yet to go inside, but people tell me that it's looking great. The contractor pimped out the place a bit by putting silver, "SP", lettering on the outside of the bars that protect each of our windows. It's a bit tacky, but you can hardly say anything, as the guy thinks this was a great added bonus.

Anyways, I'm heading back up to Foya on Thursday for almost a week to help settle in two interns. I hope to shake this head cold that I have before then, but apart from feeling a bit run down, I'm looking forward to getting back up North. Will write more upon my return.

Is it July Already??

Happy Belated Canada Day to all of you in the homeland!! We celebrated in Liberia with fellow Canadians at a potluck and a game of volleyball. No big parades or bands, but we did manage to round up a few of us to celebrate the day. Canada, America and Liberia all celebrate their independence this month so we have all of our staff covered for holidays.

Things are moving onwards and upwards here. We were shocked the other day as we saw power poles and wires being hung along the main roads of Monrovia. The President has promised power by July 26th and so everyone, including her opposition, are anxiously waiting to see if she'll meet her campaign promise. Each day I notice small differences and small changes occuring throughout the city that indicate continued growth. With this development comes more beauracracy, which is a challenge, but I suppose inevitable.

Lot's of other changes going on with us. Many of our international staff will be travelling home for vacation or home leaves this summer. In their absence, we have had 6 interns arrive from the US, and I think this will keep us on our toes. They're a good bunch and it's hard to believe that I was in their similar shoes a couple of years ago. Sometimes I feel like life is passing me so quickly, and then other times I realize that so much has happened.

Anyways, feeling like this one needs to be a short update. Busy days, long days, and just feeling tired. I have been reacting strongly to red ant bites, and it's driving me nuts at night. I swell up and they are so darn itchy. Even thinking of it right now is driving me nuts....alright...I'll write more soon.