Amanda at the "Beep"

On the work side of life, I should report that I am now an employee of the Open University, UK http://www.open.ac.uk and am working in the BBC World Service Trust offices http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/. And… have returned to my maiden name of Coolidge.

I am working on the same project, TESSA (Teacher Education in Sub Saharan Africa), however my employment and location have changed. A few months ago AVU, African Virtual University, where I was working, was informed that the Hewlett Foundation (my funder) would no longer pay donations to the AVU as of September 1, 2007. So, my project had to find another home (good ole’ non profit world) and luckily that home is BBC World Service Trust and my new employer is Open University UK- the main partner institution in my project. This is a very positive move for me, so I am quite excited. I love the BBC offices because there is a real energy within the work environment. Plus it is pretty cool to walk into the BBC Nairobi offices every morning, see 10 flat screens tvs on the walls, and journalists/radio announcers doing their “thang”.

This weekend I went mountain biking in Hell’s Gate National Park and it was great! So beautiful- riding my bike next to zebra, baboon, and Thompson gazelle…. Unbelievable! I then met up with friends for sushi in the evening- good times!