All I wanted from the trip to Kazakhstan with my kids was good company, good food, and a chance to get out into nature. Our first trip out of Almaty, to Charyn Canyon, Kolsai Lake, and Kaindy Lake more than delivered on all three. Charyn Canyon Charyn Canyon itself is starkly beautiful in a… Read More Charyn Canyon, Kolsai Lake, and Kaindy Lake (with kids!)
I took the kids to visit friends for eight days in Kazakhstan. Yes, as in, the country with the 9th largest landmass in the world, in Central Asia. A friend living in Almaty invited me and my monster gang to visit her and her own monster gang, and I knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.… Read More 8 Day Kazakhstan Itinerary with Kids
I can’t believe we made it six months in Malabo without visiting the Equatoguinean National Park. It’s more like a Central Park or the National Mall than what we would think of as a wildlife preserve, and it’s full of beautiful spots and places for kids to play. Now, we’re regular visitors. It’s a great… Read More Parque Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial (Equatorial Guinea National Park)
Sometimes you just need a little bit of peace and quiet. We took advantage of a recent local holiday to hit the beach and the pool. I’ve written about the Sofitel resort at Sipopo before, and it’s weirdly post-Colonial feel. That hasn’t changed at all. Even so. The kids and I had a great… Read More Island Life and Relaxation
I went to the state hospital last week for a dentist appointment. The dentist was all business, and super direct about the things he felt I could do better to care for my teeth, in a way that was off-putting at first, but also strangely familiar. The dentist was clearly not of Equatoguinean decent, and… Read More Homesick for Jerusalem. Finally.
I recently dragged Bertrand and the kids up Pico Basilé, the imposing volcano that sits behind Malabo. As the volcano hasn’t erupted since 1932, we surmised that it would be utterly safe to visit the national park on top of the mountain. On our way up the winding and narrow road, we stopped at a… Read More Pico Basilé – Bioko Island’s Biggest Volcano
This week in Malabo has been ridiculous (-ly awesome). The Embassy hosted our annual Independence Day Reception, then hosted an official nonofficial Community BBQ for all of the AmCits on the island, and also, my spouse started working. Yes. Bertrand started working (not at the Embassy) and upended all of the routines we’ve developed over… Read More Malabo, Six Months In
We made it to Malabo. Finally. After leaving Jerusalem in February of 2017, it felt like we’d never get here. Malabo is complex. Equatorial Guinea is complex. To set the scene for blogging over the next few years, I will not publicly grapple with colonial legacies and living here as a wealthy white woman married… Read More First Impressions of Malabo
Keeping with 2017’s theme of doing shit that brings me joy, I went on a group hike again, this time to Nahal Tse’Elim, in the Negev. I love the outdoors. I love hiking. And I love the sense of self-sufficiency that I’m gaining the more I explore the world around me. This hike was short… Read More Hiking Nahal Tse’Elim in the Negev
Hiking in the Negev in Israel is as beautiful as it sounds, and something I’ve wanted to do since we arrived a few years ago. As our time in Jerusalem is growing short, I ditched my spouse and kids, and signed up for a group hike in the HaMakhtesth HaKaton, a small crater in the… Read More Five Things I Learned Hiking HaMakhtesh HaKatan in the Negev