On Saturday I took some visiting friends out to an elephant orphanage. These elephants are rescued by Kenya Wildlife Services when the mothers are killed by either poaching or natural causes. Hand-raised by humans, they get the opportunity to develop many talents. I think that the South African World Cup and FIFA officials should consider... Continue Reading →
Last Saturday I hosted a photography exhibit at my apartment! A photographer friend of mine has been in Nairobi for a few months on a short internship, and we decided to put up a show of his pics. In just under a month of planning, we went from a collection of 15,000 raw digital images... Continue Reading →
My head exploded in the middle of the night and loosed a swirling vortex of longing and doubt so strong that it swept me out of Nairobi and dropped me on a lonely Mombassa beach. I spent 36-hours under a palm tree, the Indian ocean lapping at my toes. I took no camera so have... Continue Reading →
I have been without a car for almost a week. Nothing serious - just some nasty clunks and rattles that had to get sorted out. And I am certainly not complaining - it has been lovely to ride with friends and not have to maneuver the traffic myself. All of us teacher-types go to and... Continue Reading →
I finally finished the 5th-grade composition project - finally finished compiling all of the songs and putting them on CDs for the kids. The project made me smile so often that I decided to share a few of the songs with y'all. Below are my three favorites. Before you listen though: a word of explanation.... Continue Reading →
My dad came to visit this weekend. One of the things we did was go through the 10,000-odd photos he has on IPhoto and try to organize them - combine events and delete duplicates. In the process I found a few treasures. Here's one from when I was 4 or 5 years old. We lived... Continue Reading →
Hope is powerful. Like gravity, or magnetic fields, or water - it keeps our inner world centered, pulls us in new directions, seeps to the dark and crowded corners of our minds washing away the mess of lies and doubts that we accumulate. Hope is silent too, like the first blooms of spring - you... Continue Reading →
SCENE 1 (The Chorus Teacher is sitting in her classroom typing at her computer. The Drama Teacher enters holding a script and seems close to tears.) DRAMA TEACHER: Hey. Ellen is sick. She called from the hospital. CHORUS TEACHER: Oh no. (Furrows her brow) What are you going to do for the show tonight? Are... Continue Reading →
Last October, in my post on change and the wind, I mentioned a little umbrella tree that I have in a pot on my balcony. For over a year it has survived without growing an inch. I would water it regularly and turn it occasionally so that it could catch the sun from a different... Continue Reading →
The sun shone bright, and a warm breeze filled with tantalizing scents blew across the playground. Classrooms buzzed as students scrambled to put away the tools of learning and be the first outside for lunch. As I pass a third grade classroom, I hear a shout. A young boy has just seen the lunch table... Continue Reading →
Of Wonders & Wanders 
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