aepafrica

Hi there. I'm trying this out so that family and friends can keep up with me while I'm traveling. I love to travel and my heart is in Africa. My first trip to Africa was to Kenya eight years ago--can't believe it has been that long! Needless to say, I was bitten by the "bug" and fell in love with Africa. During my last year of undergrad, I applied to the Peace Corps and in 2001 was sent to Malawi as a Parks and Wildlife Extension Officer. I lived in a small village in Nchenachena on the border of Nyika National Park. This was a life-changing experience!

Most recently, I am a graduate student at the University of Florida in the Geography department. I am also the campus recruiter for Peace Corps. Last year, I was able to return to Africa on the Coca-cola World Citizenship Program and spent 3 months working with Mercy Corps in southern Ethiopia on their Conflict Prevention and Resolution program. It was an eye-opening experience that I enjoyed immensely. After finishing my 3 months in Ethiopia, I was able to return to Malawi for the first time in 4 years. It was an amazing experience and also a bittersweet one. I hope to return more often whenever I'm on the continent.

Ok, so much for the briefing. This summer, I'm heading to Uganda to do research for my advisor and start my exploratory research for my Masters. This blog will be a more detailed description of that. I hope this will be a way for the people dear to me to be able to keep up with me and know that I'm still alive. It's also a nice record for me since I'm terrible at writing my own thoughts in a journal. Perhaps one of these days I can write a book about my travels and experiences. Enjoy and feel free to leave comments. =)