tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68303667194820649952024-03-05T08:32:03.734-08:00A Social SafariAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12201106733934666743noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830366719482064995.post-23427703406909590292014-07-13T04:06:00.001-07:002014-07-13T07:45:24.727-07:005 things I didn’t know about Ethiopia<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have never been the
most organized person. But moving abroad for 6 months is a big deal so I
decided to get serious and write out a list of “must do” tasks before I left.
Alongside buying currency and a first aid kit, one of the other things that
didn’t get ticked off the list was researching Ethiopia.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here are 5 things I
didn’t know before I came to Ethiopia (but wish I had)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">1. You have to give or take 6 hours</span></span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew in general
Africans take a slightly more relaxed view of time than we do in the West. No
bad thing. However after several very confusing conversations I learnt that
Ethiopia has a different method of timekeeping altogether. Their clocks start
at sunrise, which is around 6am. So when someone asks you to meet them at 4am
to discuss a project update, they actually mean 10am – a much more sociable
hour to hold a meeting. Ethiopia also has 13 months in a year; 12 months of 30
days and an extra month which mops up the remaining 5 or 6 days. That is why
people here proudly point out that Ethiopia has 13 months of sunshine. A travel
agents dream.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Cash is king</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I learnt at
business school I witnessed first-hand in Awassa. Our evenings were
characterised by trying to hold briefing meetings in the hotel in the pitch
black, as the lights would go off every 5-6 minutes. I’m told power cuts are
common*. This wasn’t ideal but we could live with it. Not so easy was when we
tried to check out of our hotel to find they didn’t accept credit cards, only
cash. Unfortunately the power cuts had also knocked out all of the ATMs in the
city. Driving around at 6am looking for working ATMs isn’t the best start to
the day. In the end we left without paying and one of the local World Vision Managers
had to come and pay our bill the following day.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. American is more widely spoken than English</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are several languages
spoken in Ethiopia, Amharic being the official language. So translators are
highly valued. There have been a number of occasions whilst out in the field when
I’ve asked a question only for it to get translated from English to American,
then American to Amharic and finally from Amharic into the local dialect. So
asking a farmer how many children he has can take a few minutes, and end up
with a Yes or No answer. I admit this says more about my lack of proper
pronunciation than the general populous, but I write as I see. Thanks to
Itzbeth, my VisionFund colleague, travel companion and English-American
translator I got through the first week.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">4. Ethiopians love coffee and REALLY love sugar</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I knew Ethiopians were
big coffee drinkers. Legend has it coffee was first discovered in the highlands
of Ethiopia. So it was no great surprise to find people drink a lot of coffee
here. In fact having launched a coffee business, <a href="http://aroamaah.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">aroamaah!</span></a>, last year this was
an ideal place for some “market research”! What surprised me was the amount of
sugar Ethiopians consume with their coffee. Typically coffee is served in very
small cups. Imagine buying a large Starbucks latte and dividing it between 8
friends – that’s about the size of a regular coffee here. Then imagine adding 5
or 6 large spoonfuls of sugar and you’ve got yourself a standard Ethiopian
coffee. Any dentists looking to set out on their own, this is the place to be.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. All taxi drivers support Arsenal FC</span></b></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I get a lot of taxis
in Addis. The roads here make driving in London look pedestrian. So I meet a
lot of taxi drivers and I am yet to meet one who isn’t an Arsenal fan. Some of
the drivers have very little English but can name the Arsenal starting XI from
the last time they won the league. Which says a lot for their memory as well as
loyal following! Now when I get a taxi I drop the names of a few famous Arsenal
players into the conversation and find I can save 20-30 birr off the fare.
Thank you Thierry Henry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">* I tried to post this
blog yesterday but I couldn’t. Apparently there had been a power cut.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12201106733934666743noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830366719482064995.post-21167558964089598192014-06-29T13:01:00.000-07:002014-06-29T13:01:17.693-07:00Getting out there<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">General advice when
travelling - take a few days to acclimatize. No more so than when you find
yourself at high altitude; and at over 2,300m Addis Ababa is the 3<sup>rd</sup>
highest capital city in the world. I had 24 hours.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Landing in Addis at 6am
on Sunday morning, I spent a day sleeping and taking in some “traditional”
Ethiopian culture such as lunch at the Beer Garden Inn in Bole. At 7am Monday morning
we were on the road. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was visiting a
number of field offices (or ADPs, Area Development Programmes) with Itzbeth, a <a href="http://www.visionfund.org/"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">VisionFund</span></a>
colleague from the US and my guide, mentor and travel companion for the week.
We had a World Vision vehicle and driver who for the next 5 hours expertly
negotiated pot holes, felled trees and stray goats. Leaving us to enjoy some incredible
scenery on the way to Awassa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was immediately
taken by Awassa. The tree-lined streets full of people, traders, market stalls
and Bajajas (tuc-tucs). The place is beautiful in a noisy, dusty, dirty kind of
way. I was very obviously not in London any more. Spent some time exploring the city with Itzbeth.
Walking along by Lake Awassa, the small bars and street food stalls gave a buzz
to an otherwise tranquil setting. We later found out the lake is known as the
‘love lake’, which explained the abundance of couples we passed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ucRHKoQcjRDGODdB0m7IXTlRrq7PBL142rZ6IQl1cNzqECthHS3JGEyEhjojXejTBqpVh0CA0UXk3BY1_qtekE_b2fHrpHXWPmwv94hrdpuOFDqMII5KWd35DHR1UmqqziunKZnapQY/s1600/20140505_160224" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9ucRHKoQcjRDGODdB0m7IXTlRrq7PBL142rZ6IQl1cNzqECthHS3JGEyEhjojXejTBqpVh0CA0UXk3BY1_qtekE_b2fHrpHXWPmwv94hrdpuOFDqMII5KWd35DHR1UmqqziunKZnapQY/s1600/20140505_160224" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lake Awassa aka the "Love Lake"</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What I like about
visiting new places is that everything is eye opening.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One evening in Awassa
I went out on my own for a walk early evening. Outside the cathedral was a
crowd of beggars. A woman called out to me with her hands held out. I walked on
at first, as its not encouraged to give money in these situations. She called
again and I looked at her, smiled and shook my head. In response she gave me
one of the biggest grins I’ve seen. Another stark contrast from London,
especially at 8.30am on the underground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next few days were
spent visiting the ADPs. Talking to the ADP Managers, Development Facilitators
and Community Volunteers, it was interesting to hear about the work they were
doing and how the technical approaches developed in Head Office were actually
delivered on the ground. With Itzbeth taking the lead, I was able to simply
listen and learn. It’s refreshing being in a situation where I’m not seen as
the expert or expected to have all the answers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We visited a coffee
farmer called Jomo, whose farm near Abaya was in a hilly forested region. The
4x4 could only take us so far, the last mile we had to reach on foot.
Struggling up a thick mud track we passed a group of boys playing with a
makeshift football. I joined in and before I knew it, the boys and half the
village, were following us up to Jomo’s farm. It was only later that we
discovered they were actually Jomo’s children, all 17 of them! It was
fascinating to see the farm and talk to Jomo about the challenges he faces and
his hopes for the future. Having set-up a <a href="http://aroamaah.com/"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">coffee business</span></a> last year
it was brilliant seeing first hand where the coffee beans start their journey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzI5JVww2ZckbGjqTDsVZZyONQp8biCgasYFaryx-R7CtHsei1wOWCJSespDgOEIamfM5uBEHSIYTpjCWPSRXAP_CgNQDzr2wiuyGfVJJMfv9GvWqhO_Jr_59rk4vEz5wr_krhSLSGWkg/s1600/20140506_145117" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzI5JVww2ZckbGjqTDsVZZyONQp8biCgasYFaryx-R7CtHsei1wOWCJSespDgOEIamfM5uBEHSIYTpjCWPSRXAP_CgNQDzr2wiuyGfVJJMfv9GvWqhO_Jr_59rk4vEz5wr_krhSLSGWkg/s1600/20140506_145117" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Our volunteer bodyguard on the way to a coffee farm in Abaya</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next day we visited
another ADP several hours drive from Awassa. One of <a href="http://www.wvi.org/ethiopia"><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">World Vision’s</span></a> key economic
development approaches are the formation of village Savings Groups. In a
Savings Group, a group of mostly women from the same village will save up to 10
birr (about 30p) every week. After 12 months they will hold a graduation
ceremony where each woman receives their share of the savings back. The groups
have their own committee, bye-laws and lending policies. We were fortunate that
as we were visiting another coffee farm, women from the nearby village were holding
their first graduation ceremony. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We spoke to the women, asking them why they joined the group and what difference it has made. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hearing of the impact being part of the group has had on their ability to provide for their families and childrens' education, and in turn what that has done for their own self esteem, was inspiring and really quite humbling.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ALvlQod4_3CKYoH7uygtp6wnx6zVdnhnfp-39xBqxA-wRDci9HBK_wPSlCgobp7xEes5xbUdp_nti3AolgYJlaRng75DtFrzTZJViOZsX91PdQrp6VIobpu6eRBIp4pM78DzORUTVtY/s1600/20140507_110443" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ALvlQod4_3CKYoH7uygtp6wnx6zVdnhnfp-39xBqxA-wRDci9HBK_wPSlCgobp7xEes5xbUdp_nti3AolgYJlaRng75DtFrzTZJViOZsX91PdQrp6VIobpu6eRBIp4pM78DzORUTVtY/s1600/20140507_110443" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Graduation Day at a Women's Savings Group in Quacha Bira</span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My time in Africa has
only just started but I’m excited about what the coming months have in store. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More to come soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ben</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12201106733934666743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6830366719482064995.post-13753387406419629842014-06-02T14:02:00.000-07:002014-06-02T23:30:26.844-07:00A long way from London<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly a bit of
background and to clear up any confusion from the title of the blog. I am not actually sunning
myself on safari with a group of friends. Although that would be nice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what am I doing? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After almost 5 years working
as a management consultant in London with PwC, I decided to take 6 months out
to follow my growing desire and calling to work in development and social
impact (hence the ‘Social’) in Africa (the ‘Safari’ bit). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been talking
about doing something like this for a while, but it’s always been the wrong
time. I’m too busy right now and taking time out will affect my career. I
realised these were excuses not reasons. They helped me justify taking the easy
decision of carrying on doing what I was doing rather than making the bold
decision to do something different. Looking back it does not seem a particularly bold decision after all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So now I am just
starting out, working in Ethiopia for the first 3 months
and after that…watch this space!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCD9I9sUKSEKtHkUFDW_y0NxPkAP_3mRbwOfRMGzw5OlDZpfSOlSUuY1Kvv-7XoHwcbfhH9W0ch5MAucUL2B1av9Pxa7Ox6qXxPHaNpp1NDnP9a6n3UcngK0mE-qNjC5NgoJNUHaoNJo/s1600/Sunrise2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqCD9I9sUKSEKtHkUFDW_y0NxPkAP_3mRbwOfRMGzw5OlDZpfSOlSUuY1Kvv-7XoHwcbfhH9W0ch5MAucUL2B1av9Pxa7Ox6qXxPHaNpp1NDnP9a6n3UcngK0mE-qNjC5NgoJNUHaoNJo/s1600/Sunrise2.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My first
African sunrise and my first ever blog post</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why Ethiopia?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I knew I wanted to
work with social enterprises and in microfinance. But I had no idea where to
start.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having studied
business and spent all of my working life in professional services, I am a big
believer in the potential of markets. For me market-based approaches represent
the best way to truly transform the lives of people living in poverty. It empowers
people to change their own futures rather than depending on the generosity of
others. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX33nJQn9XA1Xdx9IBtbPmRUoo7ZgCGegCT0oEm1xEMimHvl_upWLjjfJik0rsJwyjX3nPbwvJF4_Y-8Ru-qbMKc6u_O2jWfl9y-T-_91yOnuv5iGVDdQT_uIZ0JlfVnh0hF2QGLvBjE/s1600/John+Drayton+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjX33nJQn9XA1Xdx9IBtbPmRUoo7ZgCGegCT0oEm1xEMimHvl_upWLjjfJik0rsJwyjX3nPbwvJF4_Y-8Ru-qbMKc6u_O2jWfl9y-T-_91yOnuv5iGVDdQT_uIZ0JlfVnh0hF2QGLvBjE/s1600/John+Drayton+quote.jpg" /></a></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">John Drayton
the founder of Ashoka puts it best</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is either coincidence, or as my <a href="http://www.htb.org/"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">HTB Church</span></b></a> connect group will tell
me, by design that I ended up starting out in Ethiopia. In short I met the CEO
of a client whilst interviewing for a consulting project, then bumped into him
2 months later at a talk on Social Impact investing where over a beer I made an
off-hand comment about being interested in microfinance. He just so happened to
be best mates with the CEO of an MFI and was having lunch with him that
weekend. Several emails and a coffee later and VisionFund International found a
role for me supporting their economic development projects in Ethiopia.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A bit about VisionFund…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.visionfund.org/"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">VisionFund</span></b></a> is the
microfinance arm of <a href="http://www.wvi.org/"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">World Vision</span></b></a>, a large Christian humanitarian relief and
development organisation. Their mission is to improve the lives
of children around the world living in poverty. They are the largest children’s charity
in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So here I am in Addis Ababa, swapping Banks and Black Cabs for Coffee Farms and Bajajs.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This blog is my way of
keeping a record of my time in Africa; the people I meet, places I see and the experiences,
conversations, challenges, lessons, thoughts and mistakes I make along the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My objectives scribbled on the back of a receipt<span style="color: red;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On a final note…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A mention has to go to
my good friend Polly who is on her own amazing adventure in Doha, and shares
her experience and musings on her blog <a href="http://followyoursunshine.blogspot.com/"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;">followyoursunshine</span></b></a>. I love the
name and it gave me the inspiration to start my own blog. If I have half as
many interesting encounters to blog about as Polly, I’ll be happy.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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