Our landlord texted us earlier this month. She wanted to see how we were doing and ask us to look into something at the apartment. E messaged back that we would do that when we got home and added, “Just returning on the S-Bahn from the airport, back from a trip to Kenya.” Her response was quick: Kenya?? Kenya in Africa? We told her yes, and sent a couple photos. We like our landlord a lot. Her reaction was amusing, but, when I think about, not so surprising. It’s kind of a big trip to drop casually into conversation. We travel pretty often, and we really only keep our immediate…
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Can’t see the forest for the baobab trees
I don’t have much to say today. It’s a sad, bad day and I’m tired and scared and in shock. I’ve been avoiding the news and social media. I set a goal for this month to help me start writing again. I’m trying to post a photo and write a couple hundred words on this blog every weekday in November. Today is a weekday — a sad, bad, weekday — but a weekday nonetheless, so, here I am, writing a post about baobab trees. The thing that struck me most about baobab trees was how solitary they are. The climate they live in is dry and their root systems are…
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Once in a Lifetime
I’ve been home from Senegal for about a month now, and I still haven’t written anything about that trip. Instead, I’ve been helping my mother move, reading novels, running daily, working part-time at the Museum of Science in Boston, and generally trying to be a good and happy person. My 3-week trip to Senegal feels like it was years ago — but isn’t that just the way of it as we grow older? Time speeds up and events slip into the distant past at a horrifying rate? Anyway, it’s about time I wrote something about Senegal. Let’s start with: It was fantastic! I mean, look at this photo of me…
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This Time Next Week…
I’ll be in Senegal! I’m spending three weeks traveling around this West African country and visiting my friend, Kristen, who is volunteering with the Peace Corps there. Kristen and I have been friends since high school, and I’m excited to have her show me around the country she’s called home for the last year and a half. Neither of us speak Senegal’s official language (French), but she’s fluent in Wolof (the language of Senegal’s largest ethnic group) so I’m going to be relying on her quite a bit during this trip. We’re planning to spend some time in the village where she lives and works — I’ll get to meet…
