Happy Blogday!

Being an organised sort, I tried to approach Blogday with a plan. Since the idea is to venture further afield than usual and try to find blogs in cultures different than your own, I decided that going by the continents was a good way to ensure a wide variety of Blogday blogs.

I know what you're thinking. There are seven continents but only five Blogday spots. I suppose I could have found seven blogs, but I didn't want the other kids to think I was an overachiever. Instead, in the spirit of searching out completely new experiences, I decided to neglect Europe and North America.

Asia. Singapore. My Very Own Glob {Curiosa Felicitas}
I found My Very Own Glob on Technorati. Written by Mr. Miyagi (also known as Benjamin Lee), the first post I read was about visiting a puppy shelter and even included a picture of an adorable bandana-wearing pup. That should be enough to recommend the site to anyone, but there is so much more here. Mr. Miyagi has a great sense of humour and a keen eye for the absurd, particularly in the form of poorly translated signs.

Australia. Adelaide. Fiona @ University
After finding Mr. Miyagi, I decided to randomly follow links for recommended-reads until I chanced upon a blog in Australia. It took about six clicks before I found Fiona @ University, which is pretty much what it says on the tin. According to her profile, Fiona is “an undergraduate student studying at the university where its obscene amount of tuition fee is not proportional to the quality of services and facilities students are getting sometimes.” I can feel Fiona's frustration in the first post I read and can certainly relate to it. When you're paying a lot and working hard for your education, it's demoralising to have lecturers who are not responsive.

South America. Lima, Peru. Klephblog
As much as I wanted to click randomly from Fiona @ University, the odds of finding an English-language blog from South America seemed slim. After fifteen minutes of clicking, I turned to Blogarama for help and landed safely on Klephblog. Cliff (or Kleph) is a freelance writer living in Lima. The blog is quite well-written and professionally presented. Definitely worth checking out.

Africa. Rabat, Morocco. The Cat in Rabat
I went with Google to find a blog from Africa and through a short series of clicks, found The Cat in Rabat. The first post I read was a business plan for getting rich from selling camel's milk as a virility aid for men. Ingenuity, humour, irreverence - what's not to love there? I suggest you hurry over and start reading the Cat before she gets rich quick and stops blogging.

Antarctica. McMurdo. Phil Jacobsen
A fascinating inside-look at life at McMurdo research station in Antarctica. I've been a tiny bit obsessed about the idea of life in Antarctica after reading an interview with a doctor who lives there and seeing March of the Penguins. Something about the unimaginable challenge of living in such an isolated and inhospitable place speaks to me. I'm not sure what it says to me, since I don't think I could hack the lightless winter and I don't like flying in good conditions, but there's an undeniable allure there. Maybe I can just live vicariously through Phil's blog.

And that brings my Blogday 2006 to an end. I hope you get a chance to visit my Blogday blogs and that you enjoy them as much as I did. If you're visiting here today because of Blogday, I hope you find a reason to be become a regular visitor.