Yes, today is the day and I have to say I’ve really enjoyed preparing for this. So many excellent blogs out there, I had a hard time whittling it down to just five. Eventually I just had to stop myself from clicking anymore links. I think I’ve found five excellent ones though. I tried to find blogs written by people from those countries rather than blogs written by immigrants to that country to get a real global feel. Finding blogs in English was probably the toughest part. Without further ado…

1. Restless Kiwi

Shona blogs from Auckland in New Zealand and describes herself as “A Kiwi girl with wanderlust” which immediately endeared her to me. She’s a journalist which would explain her lovely way with words. Just check out her post today about a phonecall from her landlord’s mother.

2. Gosu

Had to include this photoblog of beautiful images of African landscapes. There’s no information about the photographer on the site that I could find. Just amazing photography.

3. Chayyei Sarah

I wanted to find an Israeli blog that wasn’t a straight political one but which still gave me some insight into what it’s like to be living over there. Quite difficult to do right now which is understandable. Sarah describes herself as “An Orthodox Jewish thirty-something is living,playing, writing, and dating in Jerusalem” and I love her mix of topics. Today’s is a rundown of the childhood tv shows from the 70′s which made me smile.

4. Chookooloonks

Chookooloonks isn’t a blog I had to go looking for, it’s been a favourite of mine for awhile. Karen is “a wife, mother, writer and photographer” and she lives in Trinidad and Tobago. Her photographs are so beautiful it has put T&T on my list of places to see before I die. Excellent blog and far too many nice things to say about it to fit in this little space.

5. The Lost Hawaiian

I love this blog by Josie from Hawaii. Her latest post features a photo of her completing a San Diego Half Marathon and reminiscing about how far she’s come in the past year. I love her honesty and her humour and will be adding this one to my regular blog reads.

Now, I’m off to see what gems everyone else has unearthed…

*** not the actual tape but it looks just like this one.

My parents have an old BASF audio cassette tape with a collection of recordings of me at about two years old singing and talking and saying nursery rhymes. It was recorded on an old brown cassette player which was the height of techno-gadgetry back when I was a toddler. It’s funny when you think of all the modern ways there are now to capture your child’s every move and utterance. This generation of children won’t be able to get away from images and recordings of themselves at every stage of their growing up but back then that cassette was as good as it got.

Listening to the tape I’m struck by how much like Eve I sounded. I’m told all the time that she looks like me at that age but it’s strange to hear my voice from all those years ago and for it to be like listening to Eve. The thought that gets me the most though is that my first memories start somewhere in there. I don’t remember being recorded, but I do remember that brown casette player. I have hazy memories of some of the people I talk about on the tape and of being the flower girl at my aunt’s wedding just a few months later when I thought I was getting married to the page boy. It gets me because it means that any time now Eve might have her first memory.

It’s not like the other firsts we’ve already had…first word, first step, first tooth…for some reason it seems far more important. It’s as if everything up to now has been the warm-up because our mistakes won’t be remembered. So if we were to, say, accidently fall down the stairs with her, well it’s ok because she wasn’t hurt and she’ll have no memory of it. Not so now! Anything we do might become that first recalled incident and if we mess up then it’ll stick.

It’s as if we’ve just left the Ready, Steady portion of parenting and we’re into the GO!

The 31st of August (I can’t believe that’s just next week!) is one to mark in your Blogging diaries as it’s international Blogday. It’s a day when we’re encouraged to step outside our Blogging comfort zone and go international. From the Blogday site:

In one long moment In August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, Preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.

So, if you’d like to take part, do a little exploration this week of the blogosphere. On the 31st do a post linking to 5 new blogs with a little introduction to each one. Then leave a comment on those 5 blogs letting the authors know that you have recommended them. If you’re having trouble locating suitable blogs Global Voices is a nifty site to help you find some new bloggers from far-flung places. Or if you already know of a few gems that you’d like to let people know about here’s your chance to get the news out.

If you do take part drop me a comment and let me know, I’d love to see the blogs that people find.

For more instructions go to the Blogday site.

Overheard today in Dundrum Shopping Centre:

Two girls standing in A-Wear, one girl is telling the other:

“Look, all I can tell you is…I mean, I don’t know anything at all about your situation like, but, all I can tell you is: Do the right thing. D’you know what I mean? Like, I don’t know what the right thing would be, but, like, whatever it is…do it.”

Erm…thanks?

What do you mean I can’t have chocolate for breakfast!?

Oh the injustice of it all…you cruel, heartless woman!

Hang on…are you taking photographs of this?

Why didn’t you tell me? I would have done my hair…

Hello my public! Tantrum? Don’t know what you mean…