Is West Africa a Country?

While waiting for my medical clearance to head to BF, I am living the life of a retiree and fielding questions that I don't know the exact answers to. Every day, I read the paper, do the crossword, putter around the house/yard, and take afternoon naps. Sometimes, I walk to the library or my retired family members invite me out to lunch, and we leisurely enjoy a meal with other retirees and young families. At the same time, families/friends/strangers ask me many general, well-intentioned questions about Africa and my upcoming assignment (see blog post title for an example). If I learned anything from preparing for my Mauritania and Morocco assignments, it is that I should instead enjoy my time in the States and never avoid an opportunity to fulfill goal 3 (PC plug). I’ll understand my assignment and buy things I need when I’m in-country. Besides a sharp cooking knife, deodorant, accounting notes en francais, and a couple cans of SPAM, what do I really need* to pack anyway?

I’m actually looking forward to getting away from America’s consumer culture. Yesterday, I finished reading "When a Billion Chinese Jump," by J. Watts. The book went on and on about how China's the western world's dumping ground and how the country is sacrificing the environment for its unsustainable economic growth. Since the author portrays a pretty dismal future, I would have liked him to go more into what grassroots/international efforts can change this system. Hope is not enough. I think PC volunteers tend to be very hopeful (at first anyway), but we lack proper training and leadership to make much of a long-term impact. Perhaps I am cynical and hypocritical, yet I still hope working with PCR beats doing nothing.

This entry is digressing from the reason I wanted to post a new entry. Victoria’ Secret sent my retired aunt a heart-shaped coupon for a free Valentine’s Day thong. I don’t want to think about what kind of underwear my aunty wears, but I took her coupon and picked up the thong. I’ve never been inside the Ala Moana store before, and I wanted to see consumers’ fascination with Victoria’s Secret, especially after reading this article last December:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2074278/Victorias-Secret-Luxury-underwear-cotton-picked-abused-child-slaves.html
Of course, my underwear wasn’t free.

Whether child labor should or shouldn't be supported is another entry...

Something else to consider, BF lost 2-1 to Sudan in the African Cup football/soccer quarterfinals game. When did Sudan become such a football powerhouse?

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*Okay, I still am an American consumer. Many thanks to Aunty B for the clothes, toiletries, kitchen/office supplies, duct tape, etc. that will definitely help me with settling in and save some CFA.