Port Vila

Vanuatu must be the nicest Pacific island nation (although I quite enjoyed New Zealand - does that count?) There are good roads and everything seems to work pretty well ... they speak English and they have French chefs! What more could I want? It's pretty hot and humid but I'm used to that and after the dreary weather in Wellington - this is quite a change.

I'm here to work with the Vanuatu National Training Council - and some people from Samoa, PNG, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. From Sunday, I am facilitating a workshop to help develop vocational literacy courses in these countries. Before that I've got lots of meetings with people who work in skills development here. They've also arranged to take me out to a rural training centre - looking forward to that - I always enjoy meeting students and seeing how things happen in situ.

Go here if you want to learn more about Vanuatu!

Bangladesh

Arrived late last night in Dhaka after a long, long flight. I spent 8 hours in Changi airport in Singapore which must be the most beautiful and interesting airport in the world.I was last at this airport in 1988 so it's changed a bit! They really cater to transit passengers with gardens, massage and beauty services, kids playgrounds, computer games areas, free internet cafes plus the usual assortment of high-end retail. They even offer a free city tour – which I was going to take but then the weather was terrible and I got sucked into shopping! There is a butterfly garden and a Koi Pond garden both are full of orchids – absolutely stunning. Can't show you the pics because I brought the wrong camera cable L

Reading matters

One of my quiet enjoyments in my new life in Canada, is my journey to work on the West Coast Express train (which my dad says is so slow that it can't call itself an express!) It gently winds its way along the edge of Burrard Inlet and you can look across the water to the North Shore and see the mountains - snow-capped for about three quarters of the year.

When I reached the Waterfront Station today and climbed three fligths of stairs to the street level (thighs burning and lungs wheezing on a Monday morning!) I noticed something I'd never seen before - a book exchange box. it's such a wonderful idea and I was reminded that we saw them at every station on our epic train ride around BC ... yes, I know, I still owe you those stories! But what a charming, friendly thing to do - people leave their unwanted books on a shelf or in a box at every station and other travellers can exchange their books or just take one - for a small donation.

I was just thinking how well endowed we are in the western world when I was reminded that in Rwanda, there is still not even a single public library. My friend Paul who is a staunch Rotarian, told me recently that even thought they have made great progress, they are still trying to raise funds to build the first public library in Kigali.

You can read the full story here ... and of course, if you want to make a donation to help the Virunga Rotary Club in this fantasic effort, that would be wonderful. (Although I was a little disappointed not to see our names on the list of Founding Members even though we made our donation ... maybe Paul will fix that?)

I've just seen that you can support the fund raising effort just by making your next Amazon purchase via their search engine on this website. Go buy yourself books and support a nation to develop a reading culture ... made even more important now that Enlgish has become the official language and millions of francophonie are busy learning English.

Time to go home

Victoria Inner Harbour & Empress Hotel

Of course the sun is shining today and Victoria looks glorious - the sea and sky are blue, there are multicoloured flowers in the hanging baskets all through the harbour and downtown area ... everyone is happy and smiling ... there are street markets and entertainers and .... we have to go home!

As we speak, we are winding our way between the beautiful Gulf Islands of the Spirit of Vancouver Island ferry on our way to Tsawassen. It's great that they have internet service except that I'm supposed to be writing a conference paper, not writing my blog!

All in all, a lovely weekend of R&R - just what the doctor ordered. We've eaten too much, laughed a lot, had some nice walks and of course, enjoyed some unparalleled shopping! And I'm looking forward to having a few more weeks at home/in the office before my next trip - which is going to be Bangladesh - New Zealand - Vanuatu! Stay tuned for more travel news ....

Weekend in Victoria

John and I are spending the weekend in Victoria on Vancouver Island. We were here in June with the wrinklies and liked it so much that we decided to come back. There's lots to see and do - we especially like the BC Museum where we're learning all about the history of Canada and especially the First Nations People. It's raining today so that's probably where we will go - also to the IMAX theatre - I love those movies.

We are staying downtown near the harbour - which is really pretty. It's great to sit and watch the boats and the people go by (when the sun shines). The BC Parliament building is right here too - and at night it is all lit up - beautiful!

I've discovered there is also a cider farm so we might go there on our way back to the ferry tomorrow. Oh and of course there's lots of opportunities for retail therapy!

Make a plan ... come visit!

The Secret Powers of Time

My friend Sara, who lives in Sant Pere des Ribes near Barcelona, sent me this fascinating video. Made by Prof Philip Zimbardo from Stanford University, the presentation makes a case for why we need digital classrooms - but it is so much more than that. It gives a very different angle on cultural, social and religious responses to 'time'. This might sound unrelated, but the 'medium is the message' as McLuhan was fond of saying!!!

Check it out for yourself - The Secret Powers of Time.

Thanks for sharing Sara!

Early morning run

Early this morning I was getting my kit on to go down to the hotel gym to pound the treadmill – when I suddenly thought ... what are you doing? Why don’t you go for a run outside? It’s a bit of a no-brainer – early morning in Kigali is lovely, cool and clear and sweet-smelling, all earthy and green. I ran around the dirt rounds between the hotel and my old house, passing Harvey & Helga’s house and the place where Paul used to live. It was great to be outside in the cool sunshine (it’s going in to winter here) and get my runners covered in red dust.

I saw lots of children going to school and lots of children not going to school, hauling huge jerry cans of water or big bundles of wood for the fire on their heads. There were people everywhere (as ever) and several big trucks passed me, spewing vile diesel fumes. The biggest change I noticed from when I used to run these dirt roads – is that I was not followed by a gang of giggling and jostling kids calling muzungu, muzungu! (white foreigner). Maybe they see so many muzungus now that we are no longer sport.

I had such a great time, bouncing over the bumps and holes in the roads, trying not to slip as I ran down steep slopes with lose stones and just enjoying the feeling of being there – that I ran far too far and suddenly realised I was completely worn out – then I had to walk back! Now my legs feel like lead and I’m not sure how I got back up three flights of stairs to my hotel room. The joys of life!