A sleeve of new cups Used cups headed for the “garbage” It starts with a little brown cup. Mildly brown, white on the inside, and not more than 2 inches tall. It’s size and disposability are reminiscent of the dixie Continue reading Ode to a little brown cup→

I long for the days of traveling through Rwanda where the sight of my camera didn’t immediately insight negative reactions from the people around me. With the exception of that one incident at the market where everyone seemed to be Continue reading No pictures please!→

The journey to Gorée island from Dakar starts with waiting at a pungently fishy smelling parking lot while dodging the many young men attempting to sell little trinkets. One teenage boy was peddling his mobile shoe repair skills- all contained Continue reading A Day on Gorée→

Wish-birds for rent The first day in Senegal was packed to the max with activities. A man with a box full of finches arrived at Mere-bi’s house to sell us his wares. Our Senegalese leader explains that you pay this Continue reading Art of Action, Birds of Freedom→

5:30 a.m. and a sleepy, quiet Dakar welcomes us with the salt-soaked smell of ocean air and an entourage of eager young men waiting to assist us with our baggage. Our Senegalese trip leader swooped in to inform us that Continue reading Senegal by Sunrise→

Photo by: Tara Burke For those of you who know me well, you’re probably wondering if I’ve been playing with any of the local dogs, right?  During my Rwanda trip in March, I think I encountered at most 3 dogs Continue reading Slum Dogs→

So yesterday we were out in some unknown part of the city near Wynberg trying to collect the remaining surveys for the study we’re conducting (as part of the service learning we’re doing here).  We had a great taxi experience Continue reading Disco Taxi→

 Indaba at GAPA Though I ended up having to miss an entire day of working at ARESTA, the day began with a celebration.  We all went to Grandmothers Against Poverty and AIDS (GAPA) where they were having an ‘indaba’ Continue reading A Smiley Day→

  looking out over the demolition site  Today we got up bright and early to take a tour of District Six with a woman from the District Six museum.  During apartheid, District Six was on of around 42 Continue reading Ghost Town in the Shadow of a Mountain→

We’ve now hit nearly the midpoint of this South African adventure, and today I got to take part in a meeting between the Department of Home Affairs and ARESTA.  The goal of the meeting was to simply hash out for Continue reading Midpoint→