16 months later

To my few loyal followers - you may have wondered what happened to me over the past 16 months....


I left Kampala at the end of June 2010 arriving back in Canada just in time to surprise my good friend Tara at her wedding.  Photos from that wonderful reunion can be found here.  It was great to catch up with life-long friends.  Over time we have moved further apart geographically but the closeness between us remains.


The adjustment to Toronto life definitely had its ups and downs.  A lot does change in a year.  One thing that struck me was how busy everyone is (myself included) and how many competing priorities there are.  In my time in Kampala there was never a great need to plan ahead to make social plans - I generally met my group of friends each weekend and we made our way around Kampala nightspots - I definitely do miss those people, that time and those places.  It took a lot of time for me to recognize it but I now remember to make plans with those people that I want to see - sometimes we plan four weeks in advance!


Work has been good - I am still with Right To Play and I now work with our corporate partners.  I am pretty fortunate to get to go meet with people and tell them about the work that we do.  I have days when people hear about it and their eyes just light up - those are the really good days.


The reason I have started my blog back up is I am about to undertake a new challenge - running!  I have been given the opportunity to train for the 2012 New York Marathon in support of Right To Play.  The training has just begun.....and I am by far the weakest runner in the group.  I do wonder if I will make it through the year.  I figure if I keep writing about it and let everyone know I am working at it I won;t be able to back out.  (Especially after a significant investment in running gear from lululemon.)


I have just over a year to get from 8km to 42km  - my goal is to run the whole thing and if i could do it within four hours it would be incredible...though the time might be a bit ambitious for me.


I also am relaunching the blog today as I head back to Africa!  This time I am headed to Mali but just for a week.  I will be accompanying Adam van Koeverden and Clara Hughes on a field visit (supported through the funding we receive from CIDA).  I am so honoured to have the opportunity to travel with them and to share what I am sure will be an incredible experience.  I have told Clara about my learning to run and I will head out on the streets of Bamako with her (though I will be shocked if I am not lapped numerous times).


Stay tuned for stories of my latest African adventure and the long journey of running that is ahead of me.