god save the queen!

and we're back...

it seems that my year-long blogging hiatus is up. i am returning to malawi once again, this time for a 9 month consultant contract with unicef and again i will do my best to keep updates

with all goings ons. so, let's get to it.

my travel route this time took me through the city of london. i was lucky enough to have a solid 10 hours in this lovely place where even the f-bomb sounds sophisticated and it's strongly advised to look left when crossing the street. my dear friend laura currently lives there and so i was blessed with a fantastic guide for this short visit. first

off, the underground (also known as the tube) was discovered to be quite literally UNDER-ground. i came to the full realization of this when i decided to take the stairs at the covent garde

ns stop. little did i know that my preference for

physical activity would end up with screaming thighs and an alice-in-wonderland-style-never-ending-winding-staircase-moment. about half-way up a wonderfully british, pre-recorded voice came over the loud speaker stating that this

staircase was 193 stairs to street level, the equivalent of 15 floors and it was "kindly advised to take the lift." bollocks, well at least i got in my workout for the week...

a walk to meet laura's boyfriend for lunch resulted in numerous relevant sights to be seen:

fuzzy hatted soldiers (of course)

changing of the guards at buckingham palace, a daily ritual that involves a fuzzy hatted band,

soldiers with guns, horses, and closing down traffic for a solid 10 minutes. all so her royal highness can sleep soundly (and eat, read, and whatever else she might do in that ridiculously large home...)

snarky americans paying their genuine respects to the queen bee.

big ben.

westminster abbey (complete with hunger strikers on the lawn, protesting all sorts of grievances)

and finish it off with a pint at a classic london pub. this one located inside the old headquarters for the former colonial power headquarters, back when britain ruled a large portion of our great earth. i found it fitting that i happened to stumble in to this particular pub as i am making my way to malawi, once apparently led from this very aptly titled building...

and now, as i sit jet-lagged and stinky in the international transfers waiting area at johannesburg international airport i am excited and ready for the challenges that await following my final short flight to malawi. i have been notified that i will be needed in the office this afternoon for a quick briefing and then will be heading out into the field on friday... whew, guess i'll be hitting that red earth running!

much appreciation for your attention, i will do my best to be slightly more consistent with my updates this time around but, in the words of my new, very polite londoner friends, PLEASE