This morning, thanks to some crazy previous guest, the alarm clock in my hotel room went off an hour earlier than my phone alarm. I woke up at 4am, lost in a king size bed. What kind of boat I was on and why it was so dark? Was I wrapped in the sail? And... Continue Reading →
Jomo Kenyatta Airport is close. Not a two-minute walk away kind of close, but an over-crowded birdcage kind of close. The halls of the international terminal are narrow and the ceilings low; the duty-free shops are small and have goods stacked in every available nook. The terminal follows the shape of a shallow semi-circle, so... Continue Reading →
I just got back today from a five-day trek to Mt. Kenya - twelve teens, three teachers and one doctor spent the week hiking to 16,000ft and back. Wait, this sounds familiar. Didn't you do this last year? Yep! But this year was a little different. This was the "Advanced Mt. Kenya trip." Instead of... Continue Reading →
When you are a teacher in the northern hemisphere, measuring a year is a tricky thing. For reasons perhaps best understood by 19th century American farmers, the academic year and the calendar year do not match. My friends in the Kenyan school system, which runs from January to November, have a hard time understanding this.... Continue Reading →
Last Monday I flew to the coast with seventy 12-year olds and eight other adults. "Sounds like a strange and twisted way to spend a vacation at the beach" you might say. If it had been a vacation, perhaps ... this however was school! Science class on the coral reefs, history class at the 14th... Continue Reading →
Question: what is the sum of the following? 46 relatives 36 friends (not counting kids) 24 planes 16 beds 8 states 3 bags 2 months 1 Lillis Answer? Joy. I know this blog has been silent for a long time. Life however has been far from quiet. For the last two months, I have wandered... Continue Reading →
Life is like … a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Page 76: “Some friendly bystanders help you and your friends roll the car back on its wheels and tow it to the nearest village police station. The helpful constable takes down the report, while your friends take pictures of the damage. Soon, the four of... Continue Reading →
I sat beside the dusty road and wept. I'm so sorry Where was the man on the bike? I wanted to tell him I'm so sorry I lifted my head from my knees - a crowd had begun to gather. Where had they come from? So many people so quickly in so lonely a spot.... Continue Reading →
FRIDAY At breakfast that last morning, I hardly recognized some of the kids. Boys who had hidden under sunglasses and snow caps now had gelled hair and clean faces. Some of the girls had traded their sweat pants for skirts and had dug out the jewelry. We boarded the bus a little after 9am. Though... Continue Reading →
THURSDAY That fourth morning on the mountain, I awoke to a chatty and eager group of kids. Little had changed in our circumstances. We were cold, dirty and still at 14,000ft - a long way yet from home - but the mountain was behind us. In the girls' bunk room, packing seemed to take twice... Continue Reading →
Of Wonders & Wanders 
Recent Comments