I had the most beautiful ice cream cone the other day. The rain was just stopping, and the Kyoto street colors were accentuated by the wet. Red lanterns, dark wood, carefully arranged potted plants, flocks of bright umbrellas. As I savored both the green tea color AND flavor, I remembered...
Tooth Fairy Economic...
posted by S
The tooth hangs by a thread, flicking back and forth almost as easily and mindlessly as breathing in and out. If you ask him why he doesn’t just pull it out, the answer is quick and firm: “NO. I DON’T WANT TO.” H is on the verge of losing his second tooth of the trip....
CARNIVORE
posted by W
Last night, Dad and I went to an awesome restaurant called Carnivore. When you sit down, they tell you that there is no menu, the meal starts with soup and bread, then they hand you a metal plate that is burning hot, and then they start bringing the meats!!! The waiters keep coming to you...
M.W.I.A.
posted by J
My Wife Is Awesome … … for lots of reasons, including this excerpt from today’s World School...
Active Verbs
posted by J
A familiar flower blooming in the yard. S wrangling boys at World School table. A car drives by house, blaring music and message of a candidate for Kenya’s election. Said goodbye to young men yesterday. They are new friends who are taking strong steps in hard places. Sting of goodbye...
Recent HomeLife
posted by S
On the homefront, we have been digging in hard to school these two weeks, trying to make extra progress in math and also putting many of our experiences here into the context of geopolitical East African life. We are so thankful to Sam and Lynn for loaning us their home while they are away,...
In Any Language
posted by J
The woman in this photo was once on the verge of closing a profitable real estate deal in Nairobi’s Kangemi slum neighborhood. Her mind was changed, however … and the deal never happened. Instead, the property became the home for — and she became the Founder of — Akiba...
Sweet To The Ear
posted by J
Alex, Chi Chi, Christine, Pascaline, Fabian, Kizito, Queen, Mohiedin, George, Festo, Wadhaika, Jackson, Rebecca, Ezekiel, Purity, Dave, and I have been talking about STORYTELLING. Each of these mostly twenty-somethings are drawn in powerful ways to telling stories with words, in sound, or in...
Elbows, Armpits
posted by J
The US Embassy has gathered US citizens this morning at the Ambassador’s residence in Nairobi to talk through possible violence in Kenya’s upcoming election. It’s an information session to answer questions and talk through rumors, expectations, and plans. We’ve had...
Tessallation
posted by J
E started learning about TESSELLATION today in World School. I’m not sure how that fits in to 3rd grade mathematics … but, for you English majors like me, tessellation is the process of repeating geometric shapes seamlessly across a page. S dreamed up a family project this evening...
Football Hearts
posted by J
Some new friends competed in a raucous 9-on-9 soccer tournament over the weekend — playing for pride against friends and neighbors in a Kenyan election spectacle organized to promote a candidate running for a seat in parliament. Four of the men in this team photo are involved with...
Showing Up
posted by S
“Ninety percent of life is about Showing Up.” It is not the first time I’ve considered this quote, but today it hit home for me in a new way. At 7:30 this morning some folks from “REALL cycle” (Recycle Education Awareness Leverage Life) gathered for community...
Safari Redux
posted by J
I know it’s been many weeks since we were on safari … but we want to share this giant audio journey of our time with lions, elephants, hippos, vultures, hyenas, cheetahs, leopards, wildebeest, zebras, and the rest of Creation. It’s a quick-moving yet ponderous 15-minute epic...
Lent 01
posted by J
Looking and listening during Lent 2013. Laundry day for boarding students at Sonrise School in Musanze,...
A Hard Way
posted by J
Geoffrey says: “Today is a hard day.” I’m thinking he could mean any of a dozen things — hard because he lives in a Nairobi slum, hard because he supports himself, hard because it’s hot today, hard because we’re raking brush and debris and cut grass from a...
Led Together
posted by J
This was my view of E’s brief walk with a young man named Geoffrey this afternoon. Scenes like this have led to some great writing the boys have been producing in World School. I’ve given them some fairly broad topics to tackle about our recent experiences in Rwanda and Kenya...
Introductions and Ne...
posted by J
Our first meal in Nairobi, Kenya was in a living room inside a prison. Our host for the evening, J.M.A.N., works for Kenya’s corrections system … and lives with his family — along with most other families of prison staff — in a house inside prison...