Now that I reflect on how long have been keeping a blog,
an online diary, and I have always said that it is a labour of love. There are days that I struggle to open the
laptop and put words on the screen. Not
because I don’t have anything to say, it is just a time intensive job and it
generally will take me a minimum of 2-3 hours to pump out an entry. Let’s see, I have written 629 entries on my
World Odyssey blog and I have currently 221 posts on my African blog so if I
base 2 hours a blog I have spent 1700 hours writing, if I divide that by an 8
hour day then I have spent 212.5 days writing.
It is nearly a full time job!!!
But I guess that is over a 3 year period so maybe a full time job is a
little over the top, what about a part time job, an unpaid part time job. Yes a labour of love indeed. The most asked question I get is how long are
my blog entries. I would have to say
that I write on average 3-4 pages, which is around 3,000 words and I try to not
write an entry longer than 4 pages as it is just a lot of words and at the end
of the day time is money and people are not going to read anything longer that,
heck I wouldn’t and it is my blog. I
always thought that I would take some time after my World Odyssey to read back
over my amazing adventures and you know what 12 months later I am still to find
some time.
My blog is hosted by Blogger and it has an amazing wealth
of information at my disposal. It tells
me the countries where my hits are coming from, what entries people are
reading, the search engines they are using, the words people are Googling to
have been referred to my site, referring web sites and even the browsers and page
views by operating systems that people use.
I’m not sure why I would need some of those statistics but I am sure it
is pertinent to people that advertise I am sure, but it is interesting all the
same. My most avid fans are from the
United States, followed by the UK, New Zealand, Germany, Canada, Russia,
Indonesia and Latvia (who would have thought).
It is a big deal naming a blog entry as you have to make it catchy
enough that people will want to click on the entry to read it and it can
sometimes take a few minutes and a few changes to get what I think is the right
heading for the entry.
So what were the top read entries of 2013?
Listed from number 10 down to the most read are listed
below.
10.
BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU ARE A SINGLE WHITE FEMALE.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/03/be-careful-when-you-are-single-white.html
I have always been a trusting person, with my life,
money, feelings and just about everything else I can offer. I consider myself to be a good person
morally, ethically and in general in all aspects of my life. After what I have been through and
seen the in the last 12 months has tested my boundaries and my belief in myself
and I would nearly call myself borderline gullible, which irritates me, as I
never in a million years would have called myself ‘gullible’. Ugh I hate that word. I have always been taught to use your
head and your gut instincts and if something seems too good to be true, then
generally it is. Being a single, white,
Mzungu in this town is going to be tougher than I thought.
I need to still be myself and at the same time just look
at each situation as it comes up, analyse it, process it and then make a
decision on what happens after that. I need to always be in control of my
own decisions and I know that they will not always be positive ones-I may have
to be tough, but at the end of the day when it comes to my personal safety, I
have no choice.
9.
CAN YOU HELP I AM FORMING THE MIRACLE BABIES.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/08/can-you-help-im-forming-miracle-babies.html
I met an extraordinary group of children that are stuck
in government red tape. So what is their
story? It all starts with a man called
Gilbert Juma Deya who is a Kenyan evangelist based
in Britain.
Deya runs an evangelist church in England where, among other things, he
claims that a couple incapable of having children can be blessed with offspring
if they pray hard enough. That’s not much of a shocking claim. The shocking
part is that Deya wasn’t patient enough to let the Divine do his work; and Deya
flew to Kenya, kidnaped, stole and bought children, and brought them back to
England. On the 21st August 2004,
police raided his residence of Archbishop Gilbert Deya at dawn. They arrested his wife and took away nine
children to the Nairobi Children’s Home.
In total twenty babies have been placed in foster care in Kenya after DNA tests showed they
had no connection to their alleged mothers in the UK. The sad fact is that no one is sure where the
miracle babies came from and none of the children taken from the Deya house
have been identified, the children's true parentage remains unknown. The Miracle Babies cannot be adopted out until
the case comes to court and Mr Deya stands trial for the allegations. The Nest has 11 of these children and I
decided to make The Miracle Babies Foundation and I proposed for 12
people/companies to sponsor a day out-one sponsor for each month. Just think about these children who cannot be
adopted out and are stuck in limbo as the babies and children around them are
given a chance with new families. If I
could help them to have some good memories in this chapter of their lives and
they are going to be stuck in their country, why not get them out and about to
see it.
8.
THE MOST BORING DAY ON THE TRUCK SO FAR.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-most-boring-day-on-truck-so-far.html
Travelling through the country of Guineas Bissau took its
toll on this day. It was Sunday today
and there was not a lot of traffic on the roads at all. This also helps
with the time taking photos of the bush taxis and interacting with them as they
normally pass us all day. The scenery also didn’t change and it was just
jungle and mountain road all morning. So going backwards, no waving, no
traffic, and no villages even and with the opportunities to take photos NIL, it
made for a very boring morning indeed. It probably was the best day to be
going backwards with lack of locals, meaning I wasn’t missing out on pictures
or waving, but gee it was hard. We only passed 2 villages in before
midday and we stopped at both of them to ask if they had bread to sell and the
answer was no in both. So lunch was looking more like a snack with only
the 2 baguettes to feed the hungry. The day picked up just after 12 noon
when we had to catch a chain ferry across the river. It was a LONG day to
say the least.
7.
OUT WITH THE OLD TATTOO IN WITH THE NEW.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/08/out-with-old-tattoo-in-with-new.html
It was time to finally take that final step of my
traumatic past, I am now ready and that final step involves changing my second
tattoo that I got in Ethiopia 18 months ago. I got the name of my
ex-boyfriend, and I know, I can hear everyone shudder and tut. I now know
the number one thing people should NEVER get tattooed is the names of people
that aren’t family members. At the time it didn’t worry me getting Zeme’s
name tattooed on me and I knew how crazy it was going to look to other people.
This tattoo was going to be with me till the day I die, but in a way I couldn’t
put into words why it felt so right, but it did at the time and it was like it
was my destiny which I know sounds corny but so be it, it was how I felt and I
had absolutely no second thoughts what so ever as I got the name of some-one
tattooed on my skin for life. Once I posted a picture of that tattoo on
Facebook there were a lot of positive comments and also a few reality comments
about putting a name on my skin, and my simple reply back was that if things
didn’t work out (it was never an option at the time) was that haven’t they all
seen LA Ink? I could get it changed into something else should I need to,
they can change tattoos to anything these days, which at the time I didn’t even
think I would EVER have to do and I LOVED the tattoo when I got it. I
loved the font and what the tattoo meant at the time. Needless to say,
life runs its course and things never turn out the way you planned and I now
have an ex-boyfriends name tattooed on my arm and nearly 12 months on after we
broke up, I am now ready to get it changed into something else. It is now
time to play my LA Ink card and today was the day.
6.
NEW LOVE BLOSSOMS-MY AFRICAN PRINCE.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/07/new-love-blossoms-my-african-prince.html
I have never been and will never be one of those people who
got so hurt in love that I have become a man hater, someone who gives up on the
sanctity of marriage or say that love does not exist anymore. Oh no I am
still a romantic at heart, I still believe in love and I had hope that one day
I would find that ‘special’ person that I would spend the rest of my days
with. Oh I’m not letting one bad apple spoil this crate that is for
sure. At the time it always feels like there is just one person in this
world to love and then you find somebody else and it just seems crazy that you
were worried in the first place. Life is too short to wake up in
the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right,
forgive the ones who don’t and believe that everything happens for a
reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let
it. Nobody said it’d be easy. They just promised it would be worth
it. Well I gave it a shot and 5 months
later due to circumstances out if both of our control my romance has come to an
end. They say “it is better to have
loved and lost to have never loved at all” and I have to agree with that
statement.
5.
GETTING INKED FOR THE 4TH TIME IN KENYA.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/07/getting-inked-for-4th-time-in-kenya.html
I wanted get a Kenyan tattoo to symbolise my move to my
new country but I had no idea on what I wanted to get and it was just on the
back burner till something grabbed my attention and then a few weeks ago
something did grab my attention. I was searching the internet for a
picture for my blog when I came across a picture that kept coming up that meant
Hakuna Matata (no worries). The second I saw the symbol I knew it was
exactly what I wanted. When I researched into it a little further, it
does mean Hakuna Matata in an unofficial and non-African way. It has
nothing to do with it being an African symbol as Swahili is not written in symbols. The symbol
I was looking at was made famous in a Korean movie called 200 Pound Beauty and
the symbol was symbolized as Hakuna Matata in the movie, as I haven’t seen the
movie I am not sure in what capacity and after reading what people replied
to in threads in chat rooms as to what it means (very little positive
comments from very negative people), anything you get can be translated into
what you want and I am happy to say it is the unofficial symbol for Hakuna
Matata and if I want to I can also say it is a treble clef, as I LOVE music
(LOVE) so it can have a double meaning to the one tattoo. So I have now been inked 4 times in 4
different countries and on 3 different continents with 5 tattoos and I am
pretty sure that I will certainly be adding more over time. I LOVE all my
tattoos, even the Zeme one and I have no regrets what so ever.
4.
THIS SOCIAL BUTTERFLY EXTENDS HER WINGS.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/03/social-butterfly-extends-her-wings.html
I have waited for 4 weeks to be able to attend a meet up
and then I have 2 on the same day. So yes the saying is true ‘when it
rains it pours’ but I just cannot explain how good it felt to have a plan and
to get out. I had no idea where any of the events were, I didn’t know
anybody at either of the events but with all that aside I was looking forward
today. This is what I have been waiting for to get my social life started
here in Nairobi………This social butterfly has extended her wings and it is the
BEST feeling in the world. I was lucky
to meet a great bunch of people and you know what even if they were all duds
(they weren’t) but if they were I would still feel like a bazillion dollars as
I had got out, met strangers, travelled to places I hadn’t been before and I
got OUT! BUT I was blessed with nice people and I know that I will see
them again in the coming weeks. Thank-you, to all, for making this a
great day. I have said it before, it may seem small and trivial to some,
but these small things in a new environment mean a lot more than words can ever
express.
3.
PATTING ELEPHANTS AND KISSING GIRAFFES.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/03/patting-elephants-and-kissing-giraffes.html
My first Australian guest arrived yesterday. Cris
is a ‘travel industry’ friend and we met each other quite a few years ago on a
famil (travel agent holiday) to Hawaii and Maui. Due to the nature of the
business and her job we would see each other up to 4 times a year and at work
functions and a firm friendship ensured. It is one of the many
friendships that I have where you don’t have to be in constant contact with
some-one but you can always pick up where you left off and it was great to have
a guest in my apartment to have a laugh with and fill in what has been happening
in my life. It was a day filled with a visit to the Masai Market, the
Elephant Orphanage, the Safari Walk at the Nairobi National Park, the Giraffe
Centre and an amazing day topped off with dinner at the most famous restaurant
in Nairobi, Carnivore. It was a long
entry this blog but it didn’t seem to stop people clicking on this entry.
2.
TWO DAYS OF RELAXATION IN LABE.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/11/two-days-of-relaxation-in-labe-as.html
I was left to my own devices for 2 days. My laptop
was charged, so I got that out and headed to the alfresco restaurant to type
until my computer went flat, which it did around 11.30am, so I headed back to
my room and I was a little sleepy, so after putting the laptop on charge I had
a nana nap, because I could, till 1pm and my computer was all charged again, so
I went back to the restaurant for lunch, which was lasagne and a coke and typed
again until my computer went flat again at 3pm and then I went back to the room
to charge it again and set up Sian’s IPad and started to watch the TV series
House of Cards. It is a White House based series, which I do enjoy
watching, up there with The Fixer and West Wing. Each one is 50 minute
duration and one episode turned into another, and another and another until I
had watched 4 of them before dinner!!! Where did the afternoon go?
I was able to fit in a tepid shower in amongst all that and headed to dinner at
7.30pm, with my charged laptop to complete my last blog to be completely up to
date!!! You beauty!!!! Dinner was pizza again and this time I went
for toppings that reminded me of the pizzas I used to eat with my mum every
week from our pizza place in Darwin and when it came out it tasted just about
the same as well, it is like an Aussie without the egg. It was
delicious. So I typed until 9pm and then back to my room to continue
watching House of Cards. In the end I watched all 11 episodes getting to
bed at 2.30am this morning. Well it is a good show, what can I say! Day 2 I was sure was going to be the same
routine! I am not sure why this blog was
so popular as it really had no informational interest at all but it ranks as
the second top read blog for some reason.
THE MOST READ BLOG FOR 2013
1.
WHY DO AFRICAN FLAGS ALL HAVE SIMILAR COLOURS.
http://berniesafricanodyssey.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-do-african-flags-all-have-similar.html
It was a simple question and I would never have guessed
that it would be the most clicked on blog entry for 2013. And I am talking 10 times the amount of the
closest clicked blog. Well it is good
for my stats and I think it is an entry that will always have clicks and I see
I am not the only one who was interested in asking the question. I had noticed on previous occasions that a lot
of African countries use the same colours in their national flags. In the
truck, Sam has the nine flags of the countries that we are travelling to and it
made me ask the question on why do they all use the same colours making their
flags look very similar. Well during the Scramble for Africa, Ethiopia
was the only African country beside Liberia that retained its sovereignty as a
recognized independent country, and was one of only four African members of the
League of Nations. Ethiopia then became a founding member of the UN. When
other African nations received their independence following World War II, many
of them adopted the colours of Ethiopia's flag, and Addis Ababa became the
location of several international organizations focused on Africa.
So that is a wrap on the top 10 blog entries of 2013.
Thankyou to all the people who take the time to read my
meanderings, comment and support me through the tough times. I am blessed to have people all over the
world I can call friends and for this I am eternally grateful.
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