It is another gorgeous sunny breezy day here in Mugumu. It's Saturday so I got to sleep in a smidge and enjoy another hearty breakfast with Laura and Tarik on the small patio of our home away from home, the Thompson Parking Hotel. "Thompson" as in the Thompston Gazelle and "Parking" because... they provide parking? …
Category: Travel
Saying So Long..
This week concludes my time in Arusha. The nostalgia is settling thickly over my time here. This feels very much like the beginning of the end though I still have much to look forward to. Next week I move to Mugumu for my much anticipated work at the Safe House, and then I get to spend …
Kilimanjaro’s Telling..
I finished the trip report, photos and all, of the trek my father and two friends made of Mt. Kilimanjaro this February and March. Check the whole thing out under "Adventures" on the blog menu, or right here: Kilimanjaro's Lemosho Route Trip Report!
Questions: The SST experience
Flipping through my SST journal from six years ago has helped to add some perspective to my current experiences in Tanzania. I'm actually impressed with my 20-21 year old self's analysis and introspection, and I'm surprised by the threads that run through that writing and my current experience. As I've stated before, I love questions. …
Safari Jnema!
I had the great pleasure of hosting my parents on their first trip to East Africa! For those who spend extended periods abroad, it is a great treat to have friends and family come visit the life we've made for yourself in a new land. (prepare for a long post and many photos...) My parents both …
Wired for connection..
"How does it feel to have internet access at your house? Handy? Too distracting? A nice balance?" - Jessie My goal for this trip was to write a blog post a week. I wanted to keep people updated without writing gobs of emails, and I wanted to spend intentional time on my writing. I had …
From point A to point B..
Daladalas are everywhere and they're cheep. But each mode of transport here has its pros and cons: For 5x the price of a daladala I can get to the town center on a bodaboda (paid motorcycle) in 1/3rd the time, with 10x the fun, 1/4th the walking, 5x the exhaust/dust, 1/7th the swetty discomfort, 4.5x …
To travel..
This week Johanna and I have journeyed to the coast with Vanja as she concludes her time in Tanzania and we travel after completing the semester at school. Starting in Arusha on Tuesday we drove east with a van full of friends to a beautiful desert oasis that the locals call the Hot Springs. They …
The Zone of Comfort..
Happy post Thanksgiving everyone! I had a delightfully traditional Thanksgiving. After a brief celebration of my housemate Kamal's graduation from an electrical school I joined Laura and Tarik for a deliciously American Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner was mostly prepared by the very funny and very hospitable Noah and Tricia Kaye who are EMM Missionaries new …
When you drink water, remember the spring..
...a Chinese proverb according to the internet. And a heady reminder that the water we rely on has to come from somewhere. Clean drinking water is a global issue even surfacing as a problem close to home in America. Flint, MI and our country's aging pipe infrastructure, the struggle (or battle...) at Standing Rock, ND …
Continue reading When you drink water, remember the spring..
Rays of Cobalt Blue 