What I have been...

Reading: (anything in the last 5-7 years about the region, it seems very little has been wrote)
I will also be keeping a Reading/Resource list here on the header and will update it regularly. Please let me know if you have any suggestions!!

Books

• Love, Life and elephants: an African love story by Daphne Jerkins Sheldrick - Very interesting account of growing up in a very exploitative family in Kenya at the early 19th century.
• Monique and the mango rains: two year with a midwife in Mali by Kris Holloway-
• Senegal by Elizabeth Berg- lovely little book with a ton of simple to understand information, looks like a kids book but packs a punch
• Tales of a female nomad: living at large in the world-50-somethign divorcee who on a whim goes to Mexico for 2 months, then after finalizing the divorce goes back to traveling full time. As a children's book writer she has a great eye and insight to the cultures she travels through.
• The boy who harnessed the wind by William Kambwamba:  Teenage boy from Malawi that makes a windmill with bike parts and garbage to bring electricity to otherwise very barren existence.
• Kin to the Wind by Moro Bohn: Traveling on the cheap, non-existent budget. 

Websites:
What Happens When You Live Abroad
Glimpse: Stories from Abroad and the Matador Network
Rita Golden Gelman's blog


Blogs from other Peace Corps Volunteers

• http://lizjordan.blogspot.com/
• http://kathleenbarclay.blogspot.com

Watching:
Youssou N'Dour: I bring what I love-
Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma

Ted Talks (on Netflix or Ted.com)

•  From Poverty to Progress

Researching:
French language and specifically french African culture
Packing lists and how to pack (I am bringing 2 bags-Kelty pack bag & Chrome messenger-total of 106 liters and a camelbak)
Water Quality & filtering
Nomads, ex-pats, and the like

Any other suggestions??