What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?: 30 Years of Misadventures in Africa

"What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?" is a collection of light-hearted tales that captures the exotic, bizarre, comic and even magical nature of daily life on the African continent. It is the author's tribute to the resilience, joy and adventurous spirit of the African peoples.


These unusual and sometimes harrowing stories are described in rich and colorful detail, reflecting the author's experiences in Africa over three decades. In these pages the reader will encounter villagers transforming themselves into hyenas, a remote tribe in Mali whose knowledge of the universe was given to them by ancient space travelers, a horrific Al Qaeda terrorist attack, a close call with killer African bees, pygmies who communicate with the trees, a nefarious arms dealer's private retreat and a host of scoundrels and rogues, as well as numerous misadventures. The book also gives a behind-the-scenes look at two vice-presidential visits (one with disastrous consequences) and chronicles the pitfalls of hosting a congressional delegation (CODEL).


Many of the earlier vignettes chronicle an Africa very different from that of life on the continent today; one largely disconnected from the outside world and heavily influenced by oral histories and story-tellers, superstitions, ancestor worship, the after-effects of colonial rule and the politics of the Cold War. The accounts in this book capture the flavor of those bygone times: laughs, tears, warts and all.

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What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?: 30 Years of Misadventures in Africa

"What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?" is a collection of light-hearted tales that captures the exotic, bizarre, comic and even magical nature of daily life on the African continent. It is the author's tribute to the resilience, joy and adventurous spirit of the African peoples.


These unusual and sometimes harrowing stories are described in rich and colorful detail, reflecting the author's experiences in Africa over three decades. In these pages the reader will encounter villagers transforming themselves into hyenas, a remote tribe in Mali whose knowledge of the universe was given to them by ancient space travelers, a horrific Al Qaeda terrorist attack, a close call with killer African bees, pygmies who communicate with the trees, a nefarious arms dealer's private retreat and a host of scoundrels and rogues, as well as numerous misadventures. The book also gives a behind-the-scenes look at two vice-presidential visits (one with disastrous consequences) and chronicles the pitfalls of hosting a congressional delegation (CODEL).


Many of the earlier vignettes chronicle an Africa very different from that of life on the continent today; one largely disconnected from the outside world and heavily influenced by oral histories and story-tellers, superstitions, ancestor worship, the after-effects of colonial rule and the politics of the Cold War. The accounts in this book capture the flavor of those bygone times: laughs, tears, warts and all.

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What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?: 30 Years of Misadventures in Africa

What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?: 30 Years of Misadventures in Africa

by Steve Wisecarver
What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?: 30 Years of Misadventures in Africa

What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?: 30 Years of Misadventures in Africa

by Steve Wisecarver

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Overview

"What Sahel Am I Doin' Here?" is a collection of light-hearted tales that captures the exotic, bizarre, comic and even magical nature of daily life on the African continent. It is the author's tribute to the resilience, joy and adventurous spirit of the African peoples.


These unusual and sometimes harrowing stories are described in rich and colorful detail, reflecting the author's experiences in Africa over three decades. In these pages the reader will encounter villagers transforming themselves into hyenas, a remote tribe in Mali whose knowledge of the universe was given to them by ancient space travelers, a horrific Al Qaeda terrorist attack, a close call with killer African bees, pygmies who communicate with the trees, a nefarious arms dealer's private retreat and a host of scoundrels and rogues, as well as numerous misadventures. The book also gives a behind-the-scenes look at two vice-presidential visits (one with disastrous consequences) and chronicles the pitfalls of hosting a congressional delegation (CODEL).


Many of the earlier vignettes chronicle an Africa very different from that of life on the continent today; one largely disconnected from the outside world and heavily influenced by oral histories and story-tellers, superstitions, ancestor worship, the after-effects of colonial rule and the politics of the Cold War. The accounts in this book capture the flavor of those bygone times: laughs, tears, warts and all.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781644382653
Publisher: Booklocker.com, Incorporated
Publication date: 11/20/2018
Pages: 134
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.31(d)

About the Author

Steve Wisecarver grew up in McMinnville, Oregon. He began his development career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal and served for 20 years as a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He ended his overseas career as Peace Corps country director in Madagascar and Kenya.

Table of Contents

PRISTS, TUMBU FLIES AND HEALTH HORROR STORIES

GERMAPHOBIA IN DAKAR

A SITE FOR SORE EYES: DIOURBEL

LE GOVERNEUR, HÔTEL BAOBAB FOLLIES AND GIANT RATS

MBAYE

ANIMAL HOUSE

BAR PONTY 1978

DRY FARTS, VULTURES AND GEAR OIL IN BISSAU

A CULTURAL DIVIDE

BEACH BLANKET BINGO IN NOUAKCHOTT

DOCTOR BERT

SOMETHING FISHY IN LAGOS

THE FIERY CRASH OF AIR SENEGAL?

A RACE FOR THE AGES AT THE HIPPODROME, BAMAKO 1984

GEORGE AND BARBARA COME TO BAMAKO

GOLD PIZZAS AND HYENA MEN

RUBBER BLADDERS AND GOING BATS IN KAYES, MALI

HIPPOS, PANTHERS AND COFFINS IN THE TREES

BUSTED IN BURKINA FASO

FLYING IN AFRICA ("RISKY BUSINESS")

SAND DUNE SALOON, YEMEN 1989

MARILYN QUAYLE, ECO-ARMAGEDDON AND

DIRTY DANCING

HOUPHOUËT AND YAMOUSSOUKRO: "SPLENDOR IN THE

(JUNGLE) GRASS"

MOUSSA, THE DOGONS AND SIRIUS B

JOURNEY TO NOUABALE-NDOKI NATIONAL PARK: ANTONOV ANXIETY, WILD TURKEY AND TALKING TREES

A PROGRESSIVELY BAD DAY IN NAIROBI

OL PEJETA RANCH HOUSE, 1999

THE CODEL FROM HELL

FULL CIRCLE

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