It seems my blog has come to life!

Wow!

Thanks for all the support, guys! It means a lot to come back from a ten-hour-shift (being away from home for 12 hours) and find that my blog has been living it's own life while I was gone!

I am unfortunately working tomorrow as well (but not as long as I did today), so I might have to wait until Sunday until I can do you all justice and answer your comments with the attention they deserve! In the meantime, I will try to keep by head above surface and listen to the voice that whispers so clearly in my heart who bears my burdens and settles my fears. It's amazing how hard it can be to allow oneself be small, but it's such a relief when one does. I was doing that a few weeks ago when I was running on the water surface. Perhaps I started taking all the good moments for granted again?

Oh well, will go in and check on my mom, have a long talk with God and then see what tomorrow brings. Take care you all!

Ishtar

The art of walking on water

It's been a long time since I was down. Despite my mother's illness, May was a month of hope and I had a heavenly song of joy singing in my heart. June was a month of family reunion and celebration. Now is a time of... I don't really know, for sure. Internal battle, perhaps?

There is a curtain of melancholy lying like a heavy cloud over my head, that someone insists on pulling down in order to dim my view. I've been battling that curtain for a few days now, and there has also been a touch of despair and anxiety lurking in my shadows. My mother is hurting, and it makes my heart bleed not to be able to do anything for her. There is nothing in my power that can ease her pain.

A little voice is stubbornly proclaiming that the good times have come to an end, and wants to bring me back into a state of mourning. I know that voice and I care little for the insinuation, but a bleeding heart makes an easy prey for despair. Hence the curtain-battle. But I have all reason to hope, even though my heart is being a bit resistant right now.

I wanted to write something deep about Niger tonight, but I have no concentration for that. Instead, I will tell share something that happened on the 19th of May. Something I've been needing to remind myself of for the past few days.

My mother was woken at 06.15 am by a voice, saying: "Bettan, you are to receive a great gift." Her first thought was, "Have I been healed?" but she hadn't, not then at least. A little while later however, my brother and his wife came to tell her her that they were expecting another baby - her second grandchild. That was indeed one of the greatest gifts anyone could possibly give her.

I'm not easily moved to tears, but when my mother told me this, I had tears of joy. My mother could not have been given a greater gift than to know that she will have another grandchild, but above all, it is was the fact that God sent a messenger to tell her that moved me to tears. Somehow, he just knew that she needed to know from him before she heard it from anyone else.

The funny thing is that things have been looking very gloomy lately with my mother's health deteriorating day by day. And yet, I am full of hope because God is with us and my heart is singing a song of joy. How could I want life to be otherwise when I have peace in my heart and overwhelming joy and thankfulness? How could I be anything but grateful?

I don't care about the outcome because I have a hand to reach out to, and I will squeeze that hand tight and savor every minute that we have together. And I want to live my life wholeheartedly and invest every day as if it might the last.

Ishtar

I could write pages on my current state of melancholy, but I know, deep inside, that it's all about having faith. It's not the rain outside that brings darkness to my soul. It's the constant battle of daring to venture into the unknown, choosing to follow that whisper in my heart that gives me peace.

Even though I walk through the shadows of death, I fear no evil, for you are my comfort.

Although I call it a battle of curtains, it's actually all about daring to walk on water. I was running on the surface a few weeks ago, eager to reach my goal and to follow my heart's desire. Now all of a sudden my legs are made of concrete and the impossibility of it all is making me sink.

I know where to find comfort, and I know whose face I will seek. I know who carries me when my soul is weak and my legs are limb and even when my heart is bleeding and my tears have run dry. I know who takes over for me when I am losing the battle of curtains. I just need to remind myself to actually go and ask for help.

Copyright Eden Foundation 2006

Ishtar

Reasons for having a dog

Reasons for having a dog?
1. Great company!
2. Best of all "guardiens" as they have a very reliable intuition on who should be "in" and who should be "out".
3. Wonderfully successful hunters!



Donja - my brother's dog - caught this not-so-little fellow in 2004. She meant to bring food to the table, but what she didn't know was that rat meat is not on our personal list of edible things... I do know people who fancy it, but not being that experimental when it comes to culinary novelties of which I unfortunately know the origin, I choose to pass. Which makes me such a conservative nasara for I eat neither locusts, nor rats. Nor frogs, dogs or monkeys. The funny thing though is that I can't actually say any of it tastes bad, because I haven't ever tried!

I do know however that elephant meat is nice (the park keepers of Yankari offered us a sample) and that the Kangaroo steak I ate in Copenhagen was delicious!

Ishtar

Land of Eden

My turn to be peopleized! Szavanna, the Hungarian music lover (currently living in SA) whom I interviewed a little while ago, has interviewed me back! The original interview is posted on her site Szavanna Blog, entitled Niger - Land of Eden - as seen by Ishtar.

Niger - Land of Eden - an interview with Ishtar

Peopleized by: Szavanna - Monday, 25 June 2007

About Ishtar, Niger and the Eden foundation - just an intro actually - make sure you get the bigger picture on Ishtar's blog - once you have seen her it - you will probably spend the rest of your night reading through all her stories.

Szavanna: Hi Ishtar - thanks for agreeing to answer my questions. My first question of course is - how did you end up in Niger in 1986? What connections did your parents have with Africa?

Ishtar: My Dad first crossed the Sahara desert the mid 1970s, when the first seed of Eden was born. There’s an article on Eden’s website entitled The Lost Treasures of Eden, which talks about how he came across a plant growing in the middle of nowhere. He was struck by its potential and wondered what the consequences would be if such a plant could give human food.

My parents chose Niger because out all the countries in West Africa, it was the country most threatened by desertification, and yet was at the time receiving the least international aid. So that’s the reason why we packed all our belongings and drove south from Tunisia to Niger, a journey that took a little more than five weeks.

Szavanna: You write that you stay 6 months in Sweden and 6 months in Niger - what do you do in those half-year periods?

Ishtar: Well, when I’m in Africa, I work with PR, writing Eden newsletters and articles, working with correspondence and training the Eden field team in what kind of information our sponsors (most of the private people) are interested in hearing. We have a very rich material with 7000 pictures and lots of social documentation, so to me, it’s a dream job because there is always something to say.

The only catch with working as a volunteer in Niger is that I don’t get paid, so when I’m in Sweden, I mostly work (for money, currently I have two jobs), hold Eden presentations and catch up with friends and family.

Szavanna: Describe a day in Niger - what do you do from the moment you wake up till you go to sleep?

Ishtar: Wow, what nostalgia you awake! Normally I start the day with work, but it’s my intension to start every morning with a quick ride, even if it means going up at six o’clock. Just have to get to bed later, meaning I can’t sit up and blog, hehe! Anyway, work hours in Niger are between 07.30-12.30 followed by a long siesta, only to pick it up again in the afternoon from 3.30-6.30 pm. When I was studying, I used bring out my books in the sun after lunch and wrap up in time to have a ride in the afternoons. Since discovering the solar oven, I normally fix the next day’s lunch in the evening instead of in the middle of the day, and this saves a lot of time as food is ready when you come home and you just have to take it out of the solar oven.

So somewhere after supper, I normally go into the kitchen and put together what seems to be a good mix. I really enjoy cooking and the solar oven has been an intriguing challenge as you have to rethink, as slow cooked food needs to be positioned in a certain way, and you also have to think about differences in texture and moisture. The best thing about solar cooked food however is neither that it’s time consuming or cheap, but the amazing richness is taste that you get!

As for the rest of the household chores, there is often a lot of people coming and going while you’re at home. There’s the greengrocer man who sells fruit and vegetables, the meat man who (obviously) sells meat, the egg man from Kania and so on …

People are really into coming home to you in Niger, which is cool since you don’t have to rush around town trying to get hold of people, but it can also get a bit too busy, going from one person to another. There’s a man for just about everything, but the greatest luxury is having your personal tailor come with clothes you get to try at home, and if there is something that doesn’t fit, he fixes it! At least as long as it’s still fixable, that is…

So as you can see, my days are pretty much filled up with work, horses, household stuff and seeing people, an “obligatory” half-an-hour in the sun (I seem to need it as much as coffee and my daily timeout with the horses) and then finally keeping in touch with people in Europe. That’s why I started the blog in the first place, so that I could post all the pictures in the same place and not have to send them around all the time. I was into writing personal newsletters (still do, although not very frequently), but by the time I got them out, all my close friends had already heard the details, so they didn’t find them very interesting anymore…

Szavanna: Please introduce us to the Eden Foundation.

Ishtar: Ah… Eden Foundation is next to Niger the love of my life! Eden is, simply put, quite unique. It’s visionary, it’s down-to-basic kind of aid that makes a genuine contribution. It’s not the place to go if you’re a mainstream kind of person, because you wouldn’t like the time tables we use. If the development work you do is going to be sustainable in the end, it has to start from the inside, and Eden has a lot of patience. We believe in a simple solution, but we let things take their time. And the success has been huge. I came into Eden at a time when there were things to show for all the hard work, but my parents started off with just a vision. My role is easy: I look at the changes that are taking place within our Tanout society and I translate it to Western people so that they can see it for what it really is. I love telling people about Eden. I love holding presentations and telling people about the awakening that has taken place amidst the least developed area in the least developed country in the world. I show pictures of genuine happiness, of proud mothers and their healthy children, of fathers who have understood the value of trees and who have gone against local customs and stopped cutting down their perennials in order to get rid of crop-eating birds. When I present our Eden families to the rich in Europe, they marvel. I still remember the top bankers at a Swedish Rottary club who tanked me for coming to them, saying “We just can’t believe how those people can be so happy.” For them, it was an impossibility. Poor people with nothing but fruits – how could they be so happy? You see, Westerners have all the material but not the happiness. My dad is right when he writes: “It is difficult to understand, but just as the rich never found the right food, they never seem to find the right values either. The worst thing we can do is to be contemptuous toward the poor and their lifestyle. Electricity will not solve their problems, neither will cars. The infrastructure that would open Africa for export and import will not solve their problems and it may never even become a reality. By enabling people to produce their own food, so retaining their intrinsic dignity, they are being given a chance not by being told what to do, but by being given multiple options in life.” He wrote that more than twenty years ago and I still marvel, because there’s continuity about Eden and I like that.

Copyright Eden Foundation 2006

Szavanna: How would you describe Niger to someone who has never been there ( I know it's not easy to give a short description )

Ishtar: Niger is the country that stands still, for better or for worse. It’s a country where things take ages to come about and where stressful people go berserk. But that’s just the thing really. The first two weeks in Niger, when coming from any progressing areas, are disastrous, unless you’ve come for a vacation. However, after those first two transitional weeks, something within in you will change, and the real culture chock actually arrives when you come back to your home country, wondering why everybody is doing what they are without ever asking themselves why…

Szavanna: How did Niger and travelling in general changed how you look at life?

Ishtar: Ah… Niger is my little “life secret”. It’s a special pulse that I carry within me wherever I go. On the outside, I make a perfect Swede, but not a day that goes by when I’m away from Niger that I don’t think about it, when I don’t count the days until I go back. Traveling in general has made me a lot more humble towards other societies, but since I have been traveling since the age of 1, I don’t really know what I was like before I started traveling… :-) It’s just a natural part of my life, living in a world where we may all be very strong individuals, but where we still have to share with all our neighbors. Regardless of how much we have or don’t have in common!

shtar's Page

Authors Page: Szavanna

powered by Peopleized!

Thanks the interview, Szavanna! Loved the questions (as you can see)!
And the photo collage was great!

Ishtar

A day by the sea

Today I fulfilled a 24 hour shift (I work in a home for handicapped people), which involved cleaning, cooking, washing up and shopping; but also a lovely walk to the beach. It was raining and my poor companion was drenched in his own sweat trying to hold up with my tempo, but we had a fun together and the sea was beautiful...

I was in a kind of pensive mood and the vastness of the sea hit home. I'm a sahara/savanna girl when it comes to it; I'm used to seeing the horizon in all four directions. In contrast to my mother, who grew up on a little island off the West Coast of Sweden. Her father was a sea captain and used to take her own on long sea trips on his boats. The sea has always meant something very special to her which I have never really quite been able to share, because I on the other hand grew up surrounded by the freedom of a sandy horizon, one that you could walk on, drive on, and as I discovered later, conquer on horseback.

The sea did evoke a sense of longing and desire today; and when I came home, I knew it was time to call Niger again. Luckily for me, Skype has made phoning to Niger not so expensive, and so I talked on the phone for more than two hours. First, I called my good friend who is known on this blog as the Snow Man. I was happy to hear his voice again and he told me over and over how much they were missing me and how the race track wasn't the same without me.

I asked him to pass on a message to Yaronbaba, my jockey, as my Hausa has been deteriorating these past few months, rendering communication a little bit difficult. Sure, no problems, he said, and lol, when I called YB about 15 minutes later, he was at the Snow Man's place, being informed of what we had talked about. We talked about the horses, laughed about my poor Hausa and then the job was done: the relationships had been maintained.

I am still smiling from my phone calls. I thought about a fellow African blogger that I met these past few days, who wrote that he did not like romanticize over Africa. I know I do, but knowing what the Western world is like, I have reason to romanticize because there are just some things about Niger that touch my heart and I fall for it. I can't really explain what it is, after all, there are a number of issues about this country that makes most Westerners go mad, but the overall picture appeals to me. With a little bit of humor and large portion of self-distance, you can do so much in Niger. I guess that's what I love about it. That said, I will not romantizice over reality, because I know that regardless of how much I long to go back, the two first weeks adapting to this slow-slow pace is always a dreadful process. But THEN, once you're through it, the real fun begins!

OK, enough musings for tonight!
Ishtar

Niger's 2007 locust forecast

Copyright Eden Foundation 2006

People are always asking me about the locust situation in Niger, and as I came upon some information the other day, I thought I might as well share.

According to FAO's report, locusts this year are not a major threat.

The situation remained calm in the region during May. Isolated solitarious adults were reported in southeast Niger. Small-scale breeding will commence with the onset of the seasonal rains in Niger, causing locust numbers to increase slightly.

So there you have it; no exceptional damage anticipated this year when it comes to these little rascals, although I must remind you that they are ALWAYS part of the nature of things down there. And they DO eat crops, so cultivating your own Eden trees is a good tip because locusts are more into leaves than fruits.

Copyright Eden Foundation 2006

Looking forward to getting back there!

Ishtar

What people type to find my blog...

Ever wondered how people find your blog? I had a thorough look at the keywords used to find Ishtar News, and it gave me such a good laugh that I just had to share... :-)

1. heartbroken

One of this site’s top keywords – so much for me trying to show a positive attitude!

2. is riding a camel safe?

Well, I for one didn’t feel comfortable; I guess it’s all about the camel and your relationship to heights! If you're interested in my personal experience, look at the post Learning the art of riding a camel. At least I didn't fall off!

3. sahara race track

Sorry, Sahara does not have a race track, unless you see the entire desert as a track.

4. chocolate eating gallop poll 2007

Now this one is hilarious and I cannot even answer it, as just keeps on making me laugh!

5. jockey saddle

Yes, I’m looking for one as well, so let me know when you find one, ok? Actually, a good tip is to looking for racing tack. I couldn’t find a jockey saddle on the web until I looked for “tack”.

6. african carnival

I’m into blog carnivals, actually. The Beautiful Africa Blog Carnival to be more precise.

7. we'are very tired after long essay

Yes, we certainly are, but I won’t be blogging much more about that now that I’ve finished the course!

8. time for you to make an effort

You don’t like my blog? Not posting often enough? Not sure I can help you though! Blogging about working as a volunteer is actually seconded by the work itself…

9. news about desertification in 2006-07

You should go to Eden, I have only mentioned desertification briefly so far.

10. lazy niger

I never said that!

11. alsacian riding school

And what exactly would we be talking about then, if I may ask...? Something like this?

12. eden south of tanout

Yes, that would be us. But this is not the project site; go to Eden Foundation instead.

13. niger sport newspapers

Ah, need to go into sports, do I? Well, in a sense its pretty easy because the variety is limited. In Niger, you have wrestling, horse racing and football. Period.

14. best country to raise children is where?

I told you it was Niger but you didn’t believe me… Why don't you go answer the quiz?

15. "there is always tomorrow"

Oh, yes! Africa explained in a single sentence.

16. what custums come with the running of the bulls

Sorry but this one is above my understanding. Running with the bulls? Hey dude, have you seen their horns???

17. dan zinder, wedding

Not marrying Dan in Zinder, no.

18. "[my full name] " +"niger"

You got it! Sorry you didn’t leave a comment so that I could see who it was that’s gone looking for me!

19. working days in sweden

I have far too many of those. Please do not remind me…

20. snygging in swedish

Snygging [“handsome”] in Swedish would be just that, snygging. Or were you actually wondering what snygging was in English? Sorry, I don’t offer translation services…

21. western media exaggerate poverty in africa

Bingo! You hit right on! I've got two posts here, Cash Handouts are Not Helping and Niger in the News. But the best post is the article on Eden's website.

22. pictures of signs of impending birth in mares

Sorry, my horse didn’t give birth in the end… No pictures to show except of all my speculations around her non-existing belly. Still love her though!

23. sunbathing sweden photos

Wouldn’t show them for anything in the world!

24. miss niger

Well, you actually inspired a post of your own. You should go and have a look!

25. camel, training a, stubborn

Sorry, not into camels.

26. aid to foreign countries needed

Aid needed but should be directed towards a sustainable solution only.

27. women's daily life in zinder

Well, I can really only show you mine, can I? If you stick around however, I might start posting some people portraits.

28. reasons why niger is a least developed country

Hey, don’t put pressure on me! This is advanced level – and here I was, taking things a bit easy…

29. national celebrations in niger?

Lots of them! And lots of postings on this site! Look at the side bar!

30. hausa outfits

Ah, want to see me wear those? Will have to think about that one… Here's the closest posted on this site!

These people however do it better than me:

31. nigerian jockeys

Sorry, I have Nigerien jockeys… And I’m not handing him over!

32. holy cows uganda

Can’t really understand what you found in my site since I speak of neither holy cows nor Uganda, but you did stay for a while… The only cows I have presented are very skinny ones:

Copyright Eden Foundation

Hope you enjoyed it!
Ishtar

Getting peopleized

Title: Discovering Africa!

Category: Personal

Intro: Since joining MyBlogLog, I have quickly got to know a number of web people - most of them with a deep interest in Africa. One of them is Szavanna, a Hungarian music lover currently living in South Africa. She discovered one of my posts and then submitted an article to the Beautiful Africa Carnival. As she was into doing interviews through Peopleized, she asked me if she could interview me. As I had to join first in order to answer any questions, I decided to beat her to it, interviewing her before she had the time to interview me. So here's my very first shot at peopleizing!

1. Question: How did you first discover Africa?

Hi there - this was a surprise! Thanks for asking - let me think, hmmmm....it probably started through Arabic - since that is what I started to study while I was still in musical high-school. I did an intensive course - Classical Arabic for beginners.I thought this was a perfect thing to spend my holiday with. I loved the language, the letters, and I also met people from Yemen who introduced me to national dishes, music and I think this started it all. I was 19.

2. Question: What did you think about it then? Did it live up to your expectations?

I thought all the things that people think when they haven't been to a place.

I thought of black people with colorful dresses, huts, sun, palm trees, elephants etc. I only arrived in Tunis in 1995 - before that I met a lot of people from many African countries - Mali, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana etc. - and I never stopped asking them questions - so by the time I arrived in Tunis - I had a much better picture than what had initially. Still the real experience is always different from what you have in your head. And I liked it. I really enjoyed my stay in Tunis, I felt home.

3. Question: You've been in Africa for quite a while now. What stands out as the heights?

Heights - you mean positive things?

Well - I have been travelling around Europe, USA, and I didn't like the commercialisation, the big shopping malls, the material aspects of all of that. I always thought something is "wrong" with the "first world".

I thought I had to carry on and see places and people that live closer to each other, to nature, have a different outlook on things. I definitely think that I have so much to learn from this continent - I feel I haven't even started. So the heights - well music and rhythm and how art is present in daily life - I feel the cultures and music is so much source of knowledge about vital things.

Apart from that I am not sure if I can explain - but definitely there is something about Africa that draws me - I am really not sure why.

4. Question: What has been the most frustrating about the vast continent?

Frustrating - life in South Africa is not easy - the crime is shocking here - not only frustrating but scary - this situation also frustrates me becuase it makes people feel afraid of the others on the street, it also stops social interactions on many levels - which is what I came for - to learn from the people.

5. Question: How long do you think you'll be staying?

I don't think I am going anywhere :-) I haven't even started learning - so I will probably stay for a long long time :) Thanks so much for the interview - (I feel really important :-) looking forward to your thoughts on these answers.

Ishtar

First scene of yesterday's play...

NARRATOR: Welcome to this play. It is set in the late 20^th century, somewhere in theheart of Sweden – and then a little bit to the West coast. A young woman – our research apprentice – is about to embark on the journey of her life. She is ambitious and highly dedicated to what she does but very impatient when it comes to reaching the next level. Little does she suspect, that it will take several years to find the answers to the questions she will encounter along the way. Eager to explore the challenge that is about to be set before her, she will launch herself full heartedly into the world of venture capital. This is her story – and the revised version of what has been printed in the book “Venture Capital for the Future”.

[A man and two women are sitting opposite of one another at a table.]

PROFESSOR [very as-a-matter-of-fact]: Thank you both for coming. The reason I asked for you is because I have a project in mind. There’s an intriguing new business logic happening within our regional venture capital sphere. I was wondering if one of you could look into it?

FEMALE COLLEAGUE [shakes her head]: I’m sorry. It doesn’t interest me. Not my area.

RESEARCH APPRENTICE [enthusiastically]: Uh, I can do it! I think it sounds very exiting. An intriguing new business logic, did you say?

PROFESSOR: Good. Maybe you can hand in a project proposal by the end of the week, then.

RESEARCH APPRENTICE [to the audience]: End of the week? End of the day, more likely!

RESEARCH APPRENTICE [to the professor]: Sure! No problem at all. The truth is, I’ve been feeling quite restless actually, having only the ordinary amount of classes to teach. I’ll be thrilled to get my hands full!

PROFESSOR: Good. See you then.

[The professor leaves]

FEMALE COLLEAGUE: So, you just got yourself started on your dissertation. Got some work cut out for the next five years!

RESEARCH APPRENTICE: Five years? No, no, it’s not going to take that long. I’ll be done within three years. After all, it’s just a dissertation!

FEMALE COLLEAGUE [skeptical]: Right. Good luck then!

RESEARCH APPRENTICE: Thank you.

[The colleague leaves]

[End of scene one]

Ah... can't believe it's actually over! The whole thing went SO well; everything from her defence to my toastmaster introduction to the whole play, which was a huge success. Only left you with a small part of it; after all, it was about 8 pages long, but people really laughed. I think it must have been the act of my life because I remember so very little from it - I was totally caught up in my role. Will be fun (or maybe not?) to watch the tapes afterwards.

Just sorry not to have a few days to relax; instead, everything launches into turbo mode as of tomorrow. First a television team arrives from Norway (and I have to be there), then I'm off to work for a 24 hour shift, followed by my grandmother's 75 year anniversary, followed by another 24 hour shift, and then I have one day to pack my things before I go on a 16 hour shift; and then it's time to move in with my mother, while my dad flies off to Niger for a three week period of time.

No wonder my head is spinning!!!

Will post pictures from the dissertation feast as soon as I come over them!

Now I think I'd better go for some zzzzzzzz... :-)

Cheers,
Ishtar

Announcement!

Tomorrow is a big day!! After seven years of hard work in the area of venture capital, my sister will be adding the finishing (formal) touches to her dissertation Venture Capital for the Future - Implications of Founding Visions in the Venture Capital Setting at JIBS (Jönköping, Sweden), where she will defend her thesis at 2.30pm tomorrow afternoon. A feast will be held later in the evening, where I will be the toastmaster, probably looking something like this:


My sister and I are going through different stages right now. She is worried about the first part of tomorrow while I have to figure out some details for the evening. Can't tell you at this stage what I have been planning as there is always a slight risk that she decides to go and check out my blog just for fun, and then the surprised will have been spoiled. But I don't think she will disappointed. I only need to get my act straight, but that shouldn't be such a problem since I love standing in the center of the attention...?


Anyway, for those of you who do not know my sister, here's a picture (or rather, a picture gone painting) of the two of us writing our diaries in an oasis in the middle of the Sahara Desert sometime in late 1986. I am six years old, and she is ten. This was just before our family moved to Niger.

Tomorrow, the whole lot of us will be gathered and it's the second thing to a wedding. My parents will be there and my dear mother intends to hold a speech, but she is concerned because she intends to hold it in Swedish, "and there are those who only speak English..." :-) I think the day will be great; I'm still a little bit nervous because I have some things left to prepare (and my inspiration hasn't exactly been on top lately) but I only have one thing (apart from packing) left, so I think I should be all right... Won't be back until Thursday though.

Take care and make sure to fill the blog with comments while I'm away!

PS: For those wondering what my sister will be doing now that this seven year long journey is over, have a look at her new mission called The Vision Pioneers.

Ishtar

"Finalement!"

Wow, I cannot believe that I am finally done! Although I am not sure I will get that higher grade that I was hoping for due to persistent lack of time, I did my best according to the circumstances and handed in my essay ten minutes before deadline. That is, just now.


I am so thrilled. I don't care what the final grade will be; it's just a question of having completed a long overdue task. Mmm, the art of procrastination in all its glory but perhaps I am beginning to see the joy in putting things behind me as well. At least I am quite certain that I will sleep well tonight!

Ishtar

Quick associations

One Word Responses

1. Yourself: alive!

2. Your partner: absent
3. Your hair: blond
4. Your mother: sweet
5. Your father: cool
6. Your favourite item: Arwen

7. Your dream last night: theater plays
8. Your favourite drink: juice
9. Your dream car: horse carriage
10. The room you are in: spacey
11. Your ex: married
12. Your fear: time-shortage
13. What you want to be in 10 years: pioneer
14. Who you hung out with last night: sis
15. What you're not: stuck
16. Muffins: unnecessary
17: One of your wish list items: ark
18: Time: flies!
19. The last thing you did: worked
20. What you are wearing: black
21. Your favourite weather: sunshine!

22. Your favourite book: forgot...
23. The last thing you ate/drank: coffee
24. Your life: great!

25. Your mood: stressed
26. Your best friend: numerous
27. What you're thinking about right now: tomorrow
28. Your car: in production?
29. What you are doing at the moment: hurrying
30. Your summer: work...
31. Your relationship status: "free but unavailable"
32. What is on your TV: nothing
33. What is the weather like: cloudy
34. When was the last time you laughed: today

I pass this on to Hanna, Nettus, Szavanna, Tara and Photogchic!
Just because I want to know what your moods are like today!

Ishtar

Beautiful Africa - 1st edition!

Proudly presenting Beautiful Africa's kickoff! This first edition has kicked off with a strong focus on the Middle East.

First of all (and first to contribute to the carnival!), Howidiedtoday presents Siwa, Egypt: An Isolated And Flourishing Oasis Populated By A Community Of Gracious Berbers, a dream holiday in a mysteriously beautiful oasis where people go out of their way to welcome visitors to their town.

"I know that most people think of Egypt as being Middle East," she says, "which is why I thought it would be even more unique for this article to be featured. "

Zenofeller presents Xenophillia, where he talks about Egyptian perfume! Ha, I have been to Egypt just once in my life, and that was 21 years ago. I remember our excursion to the pyramids, the mini Pepsi cola bottles and the tiny boutiques, filled with just that: perfume!

In Naseer and the Lute, Szavanna presents a story about Tunisian music lessons and tells what it was like to fulfill a dream and learn how to play the Arabian lute - "a beautiful string instrument" that similarly to the violin is "fretless".
Read and enjoy!

In 1/3 of the Water Planet, Tim Abbott presents his reflections on deserts and his firsthand experience with Namibia.
"Deserts are alive," he writes, "and have supported life of remarkable variety and resilience. "This is a very interesting post about one of the most fascinating landscapes on earth. Go and have a look!

In Best Dressed Nigerians Hated by South Africans, Izz talks about his encounter with African inter-racism in South Africa when looking for a decent barber.

"My point," he writes, "we can learn a lot from places that are melting pots of nations and kaleidoscope of cultures such as Sunnyside."

Beaman presents some good humour in Constance: Noodle and Laxatives in Berlin; a short truestory about a girl from Cameroon in Berlin.

Finally, there is a post at the former Ishtar News site entitled First day for the 19th time. I have been going back and forth between Africa and Europe for as long as I can remember, and yet, the cultural differences never cease to amaze me. For the Twentieth 'First day experience', have a look at Back in Niger hosted on this site.

That concludes this edition. Thank you for your contributions! The next carnival is scheduled in mid July.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of beautiful africa using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

Ishtar