There may be other creatures, but...

Today I was disappointed to learn that Guinea Pigs do not actually come from Guinea.

The above picture is from Sandros on Wikipedia

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Next Stop: Conakry, Guinea

So, we found out where we will be going next: Conakry, Guinea (the kelly green country between Mali and Sierra Leone--not to be confused with Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, or Papua New Guinea)! Call me crazy, but we bid it high and I'm excited about the job, learning French, and serving in West Africa. It seems strange to be thinking that far into the future. I'm sure as it gets closer to the date, the reality of it will sink in. It is definitely going to be a drastic change from Tel Aviv, and we know that. Be prepared for the content of the blog to change drastically as well--but not for another year and a half!

Send me a note if you have ever been to Guinea or have any tips on West Africa in general.

Bisous!

Thousands Rally in Tel Aviv

I was exchanging e-mails with a friend and realized that he did not know anything about the peaceful protests going on in Israel. Apparently this has not yet hit the international media in a big way. So for those of you who are not familiar, I wanted to post a few pictures and observations. As everything on my blog, what I write reflects my own personal opinion and in now way reflects official policy.

There is a protest going on in Israel right now. People old and young, religious and secular--though I might add mostly middle class--have come together to demand "social justice." Rothschild Boulevard, a posh Tel Aviv street, has become a speakers corner of sorts for groups demanding lower cost of living (particularly rent). You can also find subgroups demanding rights for Arab Israelis, equal educational opportunities for secular and religious Jews, no dairy subsidies (the dairy farmers are against this), vegetarianism, freeing Hamas' captive Gilad Shalit, and lower cost of living in Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This Saturday night, 300,000 Israelis poured into the streets for a protest March. See the first photo above (credit: AP/Oded Balilty). The rest of the photos and the video are mine.

Roasting Coffee

Have you ever wanted to roast your own coffee? If you've ever tried the fresh-roasted kind, you know that it tastes and smells so good. My husband grew intrigued with the idea after learning that two of our friends have the same obscure hobby. So, to learn more about the process, we hosted a coffee roasting brunch on our balcony. It turns out there are several ways to do it.

First, you need to purchase your own raw beans. You can order them online from Sweet Maria's, for example. My husband tried roasting his own in a wok on our stovetop, which worked pretty well (instructions here).

One of our friends roasts his own using a heat gun (pictures 2 and 3).

Our other friend uses an old-school popcorn popper (fourth picture), which can be purchased on e-bay for about $20 (instructions here).

What do you think? Would you try it?

Everything Remotely Possible

Everything Remotely Possible. That is the name of the spreadsheet we made this weekend as a way of organizing our bid list--i.e., the list of 250 possible positions all over the world where we might be sent for my job. My husband named it before we started narrowing it down more precisely to positions that fit our timing and training limitations, but the name stuck and I like it. Now we are starting to research the countries themselves and imagining ourselves living at each one. The funny thing is, we don't have very much control over it. We list our preferences and that's it, it's out of our hands. For less than a month, the world is our oyster. And then we will be assigned one position off the list and it will start to sink in that this is really happening.

I'm embarrassed to admit that some of the cities I had to look up to find out which country they were in. I would have failed Carmen Sandiego (oh to be awesome like this kid). Where would you go if you could live anywhere for two years?

Eating with friends

I wanted to share with you an online magazine that I am very excited about. It is called Kinfolk Magazine: A Guide for Small Gatherings. The creative minds behind Hearblack--a blog I have been following for some time--are on the editorial staff.

Here is an excerpt from their manifesto:

We recognize that there is something about a table shared by friends, not just a wedding or once-a-year holiday extravaganza, that anchors our relationships and energizes us. We have come together to create Kinfolk as our collaborative way of advocating the natural approach to entertaining that we love.

Although their print magazine is already sold out, the beautiful electronic version is free for browsing on a computer or iPad. I am already impressed by the content, which includes stunning photography, insightful essays on entertaining, and ideas for parties both small and large at various times of the day. Some chapters include links to videos. The entire endeavor is extremely well-executed. My husband and I love cooking and spending time with friends, so we will be turning to this great resource for inspiration. Take a moment to check it out yourself!

www.kinfolkmag.com

Goals Realized

Here is the final project from my watercolor class. As you may recall, taking a watercolor class was one of my resolutions for 2011.

This project was literally inspired by the work of This Paper Ship.