Yes, it's true

I’ve been neglecting my blog again. I have however been fairly active on Facebook, so if anyone is on Facebook and not currently my ‘friend’ I will happily accept your ‘friend’ request.

I just returned to Mombasa after spending a month in Minneapolis visiting friends and family. It was a great trip, in large part because my fella Anit accompanied me. It was fantastic (and significant in terms of our relationship) to introduce him to my friends and family and to show him where I grew up! Minnesota came through with plenty of snow and enough ‘warm’ days to convince Anit that it is not a completely uninhabitable place. We even walked around Lake Harriet one afternoon – and broke a sweat!

I’ll be moving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania the first week in February. I’ve accepted a position as an In-House Consultant (basically a junior consultant) with Economic Development Initiatives, an economic development consulting firm, and will be starting on February 4th. My initial contract is just four months, but from what they’ve told me, I’m optimistic that my position will be extended. I feel like I’ve been in limbo since finishing grad school and so I am really excited to get back to work! If anyone’s interesting in taking a look at the types of assignments I’ll be working on, their website is http://www.edi-africa.com.

Well, I feel like it would be wrong to sign off without acknowledging the scary things that are happening in Kenya right now. For those of you who haven’t been following the situation, the country held presidential elections at the end of December and it’s generally believed that they were rigged in favour of the incumbent, Mwai Kibaki. Ever since election officials announced the results, there has been violence, rioting and looting. Most of the violence has been concentrated in the Central and Western Provinces of Kenya. While Mombasa (in the Coast Province) has remained fairly safe, it’s been hit hard economically as hundreds of people who work at hotels and other business that depend on tourism are losing their jobs. What’s most concerning is it doesn’t appear that either political party is willing to sit at the same table with the other to forge a way forward.