Soup Season!

Ahh, October rain is here on the West coast.
The rain began again. It fell heavily, easily, with no meaning or intention but the fulfillment of its own nature, which was to fall and fall.  - Helen Garner

This year I'm set on trying my darnedest to embrace the wet winter weather.  Case in point - yesterday I managed to not only run in the rain but to garden!  My awesome department at UBC has successfully integrated two lasagna-style box gardens outside of our building - already home to a few winter crops like garlic, kale and cabbage.  It's getting on the late side of things, so hopefully they thrive and do their part in showcasing our efforts to the land planning folks at UBC (who may or may not have been completely on board with the idea). 

It's probably not the same way for everyone, but I've learned that going outside on a daily basis is imperative to my health and happiness.  Although, when the forecast is looking particularly menacing, there's no question that hiding from the weather can also be fun.  A particularly tasty way to enjoy an escape to the indoors is getting your cook on.  I nominate Sundays as the best days for this activity...I'm always excited when I've got arse-kicking lunches for the week to come.  It's also nice to be able to take time trying new or more difficult recipes (I took out 5 soup, etc. cookbooks at the library yesterday...the bookshelves swallow me up every single time).  This time I chose a vegetarian chili.  My inspiration was a can of red kidney beans in my cupboard and a hankering for eggplant. I added ground turkey to half and figure I can use the rest of the vegetable-hearty stew to bolster other splendid dishes, pureed into a sauce perhaps...I have already frozen two yogurt-containers for those lazy days. 

I feel good that I now have a clean home and good food in the fridge.  All the peace I need to write this paper... right? Right.  I meant for this weekend to jolt me towards making serious typing progress...turns out this week is going to have to be a long, tough one if I'm going to produce that draft by the 22nd.  It's time to get out of that head-space that wants everything to be done perfectly and get on that get'r done as best you can gear.  I hate that gear! If I have it my way, I'm a take your time and 'do it right' kind of person, and sometimes it's actually painful to just let it go.  But, I guess can also be sort of dramatic (I will promptly deny it if you ever bring it up).
Annnnnyway.
Love love love,
Meggy

Chili. (Lots of veggies, but not vegetarian. I added ground turkey)

What to do with leftover eggplant? Roast! Topped with goat cheese, toasted walnuts and balsamic.

Elfin Lake, Whistler

les cheveux

Fresh

Ah, September rolls around again.  As always, elusive summer passed by in a flash, although not uneventful.  Fieldwork in Accra, a brief lingering in France,  onwards to Ontario to properly cherish friends and family at two amazing weddings and feel all that ooey goo-ey home-y happy nostalgia.  Then finally back to the Canadian west coast to start up the ol' study engines (and reunite with beautiful outdoors...September in Van is a glorious time).  I don't know if it was the long hike at Elfin or the snappy chill of a dip in Alice Lake that has awakened me this weekend but I'd say I'm feeling up for it this time around...stretched, warmed up and ready to karate chop this final year of 'mastering' the fine 'arts' of natural resource management (nope, not a big deal).  On a more superficial note, I also decided to cut my hair in Tours when I was visiting my lovely amie Carolyne in her most charming city.  First time ever so short! And I've been enjoying it ever since.  Oh and guess what? My new home space has a backyard and an abundant little garden.  It just delights me.  I shall post a few pictures soon to share the simple awesomeness of these facts with whoever takes pleasure in reading these little love letters of mine. 

Accra Update - Photo highlights

Fried Tilapia at Gerry Fish Ponds in New Town, Ashaiman. Gerry is an Opinion Leader in his community and a fine friend! (It helps that he feeds me...) These are addictive. Texture like chips but tastes better!

This is Commando, the Chief of the Mona Monkey crew at Tafi Atome. You bring the banane, he eats first.

Just another adventure in the tro-tro. Gotta love window seats.

In Lebanon, Ashaiman. An old water reservoir and vending station.

Traditional Kente cloth and weaving in the Volta Region

Intricately woven threads ready for kente production

Mmm. This is Doris.  She lives not far from me in Kotobabi. She bbqs maize and I eat it with two pieces of  cooked coconut.  She will also dip it in salted water for you and hand it to you wrapped in paper (often some random aid report page) and I am  in love...

Labadi Beach, near Osu.  Fresh air, watermelon juice and Azonto dancing. 

Water Rapt . Accra Ghana

In two days, I am traveling 11817.41 kilometers...
To throw myself into learning
About the state of water access and community governance
In urban informal settlements in the Accra region of Ghana
For two months.

May 26th will be the day, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.  Landing in Accra on a Sunday afternoon.
But before then, sorting out what's left of my semi-nomadic life in Vancouver.  Finding special secret places to store the things I have managed to accumulate; my few prized possessions.  A bit like a squirrel.  Instead of acorns, evidence of my hunting and gathering boasts plastic lunch containers, David's tea, uncooked rice, and oh, oh! My shiny black rubber boots.  Reluctant to say goodbye to Bronko the bicycle - will be the last to pack up.  The fridge is once again almost barren, but for the cherries I splurged on with the excuse that they would bring me utmost joy and would make great picnic snacking.  I will leave my friends loft apartment on West 10th practically as thought never here...with the exception of orange gerberas planted in the blue plot I found, a couple of books from her impressive library likely in the wrong spot (a little disheartened that I didn't finish Eating Dirt or Nudge), maple syrup, tonic water, and probably the faint lingering scent of something I'd like to imagine as a cross between simmering ginger, vanilla body-wash and cinnamon apple spice muffins.  Ah, what a wonderful 3 weeks in the sweet exile of a spacious apartment! Let's hope that I have conjured up strength and endurance as one does in 007 wandering the halls collecting strange green boxes.

Back to Ghana.
What I can say for now - which is of course not exhaustive as I am no expert - is that Ghana is a coastal country in West Africa nestled between Ivory Coast and Togo.  Accra is the capital city and I will be conducting my fieldwork in the surrounding metropolitan region.  I am not focusing on water issues because it is scarce.  For example, Ghana is home to the largest reservoir in the world - the Volta River.  Yet, for several social and political reasons (rather than biophysical) - household potable water is not a given in many parts of the country.  More specifically, I am working in what you might call urban or peri-urban neighbourhoods that are also informal settlements, or 'slums' and known to face challenges of little or poor infrastructure and access to resources.  Many creative ways of distributing and retrieving water have emerged, one being in the form of small plastic bags called sachets sold privately by mobile vendors.

My curiosities have me talking with residents to find out how they describe their experiences of water access - and if I can - the politics of claiming access to water.  Then I'm hoping to formulate some smidgen of understanding of the impact of these experiences on sense of security, empowerment, opportunity, citizenship, and the like. 

....I have a lot of learning to do!
That said, it's certainly a privilege to be able to set down the research papers (if only temporarily...sigh) to get up close and personal with a topic that I truly believe needs some de-cluttering.  And well maybe I'm nuts but I'm going to try my hand.  I'm sure it won't be easy, but so many of the most lively and prosperous experiences are hard.  Destabilizing to the core, even.  Shaking it up so that we can see things that were clouded over before by comfort.  Feel things that were shadowed by numbness.  There is doubt and discomfort but I'm ignoring and suppressing it, it's such a downer.  Diving in to waters, depth unknown.  Woooooooo pun intended!

I am also very, very excited to say I have managed to plan a visit with Madamoiselle Carolyne Huber in her new quarters (Tours, France) on my way back to Ottawa.  I'll be in back in Canada early August and expecting summer to be in full swing in my hometown.  Til then - I'm off to Africa. 

Brand New

I am touched.  I moved out of my first post-family-home living arrangement this weekend.  And I feel lighter and liberated for so many reasons.  But what is truly amazing is that it was such a communal effort, and I honestly don't know that I could have managed it without my friends; a multitude of people who dedicated some part of their day or time or property to accommodate my transition. Call me a big sap, but that makes me feel like I could just cuddle up to the world it's so soft and wonderful.  Also I happen to be celebrating with a second glass of Merlot, so things are maybe a little more twinkly and rosy than usual.  I also got some field prep work done and found strawberries on sale so who really knows what is the true source of my happiness?  A mystery indeed.  I can't wait to pay it forward, that's all I'm saying.  When people are good to you, for no reason in particular, it's an inspiration! Thank you, thank you, thank you...it means so much!