It's All Connected

I just read a fascinating post in the blog "Safari Ecology." The author is a British ecologist doing research and living in Tanzania. He started "Safari Ecology" as a tool for safari guide training. As a former forester and environmental coordinator, and a current enthusiast of Tanzanian parks, I've been sneaking in and reading it all.

His  latest post  ties together two subjects I've written about previously--Ruaha National Park and electricity shortages in Tanzania.

I won't attempt to link to every post I wrote that mentions lack of electricity. But when I came back to America near the end of May, we'd been getting about 12 hours of electricity per day with alternating blackouts day to night. After I was comfortably ensconced in my American house, enjoying electricity 24-7, Arusha dropped back to 8 hours per day, then to 4 hours only during the night, then they had a few 72-hour blackouts. A lot of that was attributed to a meager rainy season without enough accumulated water to power the hydroelectric system.

I only wrote one post on Ruaha National Park, which is much more fun to read than my whining about lack of electricity. In that post, I discussed the sandy river channels, partially dry, running through the park, and included a few pictures of the rivers.

"Safari Ecology" gives a fascinating discussion of the effect of grazing in wetlands that feed the Ruaha River, how that has altered the river's historic flows, the effect of the altered flows on electricity generation, and the effect of the unreliable electricity supply on Tanzania's economy. So click on over  and take a look at it. But you will have to concentrate because it's science and math, whereas I mostly centered my discussion around elephant jokes!

Blogging Award or Chain Letter?

 

Thank you and Merry Christmas to Caroline over at Asia Vu for giving me the Liebster Blog award. According to Caroline, who appears to be quite the language enthusiast, "Liebster Blog" is German for, roughly, dearest or sweetest or a very special blog. It's also like a chain letter. You know, when you get an email from a friend saying how much they love you, and that you must forward the email to five other friends in order to assure a run of good luck Sometimes they even promise money. 

I never forward chain letters, but it's so nice to receive this compliment from Caroline that I'm considering it to be truly an award that only slightly resembles a chain letter. She didn't promise me money after all.

The award is given to bloggers with fewer than 200 followers. It has these stipulations:

1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you. 
2. Reveal your 5 blogger picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award on your blog. 
4. Hope that the people you have sent the award to will forward it to their favorite bloggers.

Asia Vu is the chronicle of Caroline and her family's life as expats in South Korea. It was her post about visiting the National Museum of Chicken Art that really hooked me. I always enjoy hearing about the quirky things. Plus, this Korean museum had a Navajo-carved chicken, which Caroline featured in her blog. Just a few weeks before, I had  bought my own Navajo chicken in Arizona. I took that as a sign that Caroline and I are on the same odd wavelength. It's a funny blog. She can tell a good joke about the difficult parts of expat life.

It's really hard to pick just five blogs. Some of my favorites have more than 200 followers, so they're out. And they don't need any help from me in getting more readers, anyway. And some of my other favorites may not care about getting an award or about getting more readers, but I'm going to go ahead and pick them, anyway. They can always be the one to break the chain.

1.  Not Enough Mud.   Mud, a British woman, works in and visits many exotic locales. This blog leaves me waiting with bated breath to see what will happen next. Will the bus crash on Timor? Will the buried mine explode in Sri Lanka? What does a Scotsman wear under his kilt? Her writing and her photos are both beautiful. My only complaint is that, since she took a job removing old landmines, she's apparently too busy to post as often as I would like (which would be about twice a week). How can you not love a writer who nicknames a hot Swedish backpacker "Scandi Candy"? I am right now waiting with bated breath to see if anything will develop with Scandi....

2.  One Stoned Crow. One Stoned Crow does a lot of driving in remote parts of Namibia. It seems to be connected with his job, but I don't know what that might be from reading the blog. He posts the most amazing photos of the beautiful desert landscapes and provides a bit of history and commentary. After reading his blog for a few months, I feel that I absolutely must see Namibia. Hey, and maybe Botswana, too, since they're so close together.

3.  My Life a Bit South of Normal. AC vents about her southern family in a loving, hilarious way. For readers outside America, let me just say that the American South has its own distinct sub-culture. I had no idea how complicated that sub-culture was until I found this funny blog. AC is also a fabulous photographer. She doesn't often post photos in her blog, but you can link to them from there. Although she did post a photo of her new puppy when I requested it in the comments. She broke away from the South in a recent series of fascinating posts about her visit to Cuba.

4.  Africa, My Africa.  Robyn, a Scottish woman teaches school in Nairobi, Kenya. When I found this blog, she was teaching in Uganda. With her transfer, the reader gets a taste of what it's like to settle into a new job and home in an African country. I think of this blog as what my experience in Tanzania might have been like if I'd gone there for a job instead of for a man. Easier in some ways. Harder in others.

5.  In Veracruz. Leah, a young American woman married a Mexican man and moved to Veracruz. And then up into the mountains to Xico. I love Mexico and for years have entertained the fantasy of living there. This blog lets me indulge that fantasy. Leah's been posting less often lately, because she's pregnant and had morning sickness and is back in America for awhile. But I can't wait to read about raising a baby in Xico.

So, thank you, Caroline, for the award and for reading my blog and commenting so often. And thank you for providing me with an entertaining blog to read.  

Merry Christmas, everyone everywhere! And to K2, climbing somewhere on Kilimanjaro tonight.