kar0ling

Listening to the radio today (having guiltily used the day for my own relaxation, and neglected going to a ceremony), I am reminded of how much I appreciate the name of this holiday in Canada: Remembrance Day. The day to commemorate fallen war dead is the anniversary of the end of "the Great War," the "War to End All Wars," now known as World War I; and accordingly, some of the coverage includes references to the successes of that war (yet even there, commentators do not forget to observe that "teenaged" Canada which emerged "grown-up" from that war did so at the cost of horror and death). Canadian troops are presently engaged in combat in Afghanistan, so that is oft-mentioned as well. But overall, the focus of Remembrance Day is exactly that: remembrance. It is not a day in which we glorify war, trumpet our successes, and flaunt our patriotism. Instead, it is a solemn day when we remember and grieve those who have died in war. There is a place, ...

Obama? The NDP? No, my hand -- for passing things. It's great; I'm still savouring it. Every time I pass someone something with my left hand, halfway through the motion I'm seized with guilt for my faux pas...then, realizing I'm in Canada, flooded with joy and relief that it doesn't matter anymore !

Financial woes from the downturn in the economy are leading people to rediscover the joy of simplicity, Maclean's told us this week. People are even considering lowering themselves to desperate measures. "Never mind brown bagging lunches, people may reuse everything from gift wrap to zip-lock bags ," write Colin Campbell and Jason Kirkby in "Living on Less", Maclean's , Nov. 3, 2008. Funny, I always thought that was normal.

The sight of a bunch of one-occupant cars in traffic has always stirred my ire, but since coming back from Cameroon, it irks me even more. Maybe it’s having seen how many people you can stuff in one vehicle. Seriously, a vehicle containing only a driver is nearly unheard of in Cameroon. On a trip to Kumba, Mike or Dan might leave the house the sole occupant of the truck (even that was rare), but you could rest assured by the time they’d left the village they'd have a few companions. The truck could be packed to the gills containing all 6 Scotts, me, and a pile of luggage for 2 weeks in Bamenda – and we’d still get requests for passengers to hang off the back bumper. Even the fancy SUVs on the highway between Yaounde and Douala usually had as many bodies as seatbelts. If ever, by some strange circumstance, the driver was the only human occupant of a vehicle, most likely the rest would be filled with cargo of some sort. So, now, seeing car after car after car clogging the ro...

When I stepped into my apartment after work today, I was greeted by a wall of heat. They've turned on the heat in the building for the first time this fall, and I think I can lay to rest any fears of shivering all winter. Hopefully these tropical conditions will not persist, however. The second thing I noticed, after a flashback to the rainforest, was a loud hissing sound and a jet of steam rising from the radiator. Something appears to be wrong with the apparatus. I hope it will be fixed soon.

Heat. Barren landscape. Antelope. Heat. Birds. Antelope. Heat. Yes, you're right; all the antelope are really far away, and/or hidden behind pieces of grass. It's all part of the experience, my friends!

I wrote this piece back in September, after attending the "Peace and Unity" soccer tournament. A newly arrived white person in a west-central African village, I’m very conscious I don’t understand the culture, am not familiar with the customs and haven’t got a clue what is expected. So to be singled out for special honours is intensely uncomfortable—especially on account of my conspicuously white skin. Having presented a letter of introduction from my home church to the pastor of the village church where I’d be attending for the year, I was surprised and taken aback to have the pastor read it from the pulpit and invite me to receive the right hand of fellowship right there. The pastor proceeded to preach from the church covenant, saying we all have talents to use to serve God and serve we must. But my talents are so very small. There is so much to learn before my talents can have a place here. Later that day, events rubbed salt in the already smarting sore spot of...