Between Here and Benin
Dr. Debra Kouda is building something she's been afraid of for seventeen years. A cultural immersion travel company in Benin, West Africa. This is what that sounds like, in real time. debrakouda.substack.com
- Indexed pieces, last 90 days
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- Aug 7, 2026
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- Jul 10, 2026
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🔥 The people who are not afraid of fire (opens the original)
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The smoke came up with the wind from Spokane this week.Growing up in Alaska, smoky skies were common during the summer months. Sometimes the smoke was intense (like in 1999 when breathing inside felt the same as breathing outside). Obviously I’m not a fan of the smoke, but I’m so thankful that nothing close to us is burning. I can’t even imagine what it is like for those who have lost so much in southeast Washington. Despite the haziness a few days ago, I decided to take a long walk anyway, hopi
Africa Wanted Me (opens the original)
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I should have started this journal the moment that I found out that Africa wanted me…That was the first line of a handwritten journal I kept as a senior at Oregon State, before and during my internship at the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia. I applied on November 15th, 2002. I found out on January 21st, 2003, that I got in. Was I ecstatic? Obviously. I started writing in the journal two weeks later.My parents were thrilled for me and also made it clear that they were not going to pay
📬 My dad handed me a folder of emails I wrote in 2003 (opens the original)
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I know it’s been a hot minute since you’ve had a newsletter from me. Can you believe I’ve been writing these for almost six months? Yeah to me! 🎉Maybe I just needed a bit of a break. Or maybe I wanted to reflect on where I’m taking this little newsletter. Or maybe I was just hunkering down and doing the work I’d been putting off for Hello West Africa, and now the Kabolé Research Lab (more on that later) - or maybe it was a combination of all three.Yep, I’ll go with that 🙂I finally finished the p
🗞️ I started getting the newspaper delivered... and it led me somewhere I didn't expect. (opens the original)
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About two weeks ago, I started getting the newspaper delivered.Remember the newspaper?I mainly got it because I love doing the crossword puzzles, especially the NY Times. Yeah, I know you can do them on the computer, but there is just something about doing it on paper. But here’s what I realized, and what I love, about reading what’s happening in the world this way.It doesn’t adapt what it shows you based on your viewing history.You get to see a little bit of everything, whether you like it or n
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