Next morning our taxi driver from the night before was there right on time at 6:30 am to catch our plane for our short flight to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Unfortunately, the famous mountain was completely clothed in clouds, so we missed the view. Safely through customs, all bags arrived, we went to meet Amanda and Bill Batterson and their son Owen who were waiting just outside. They were very happy to have the suitcase full of […]
In 2015 my husband and I spent about a month in Tanzania, including transit via Dubai, UAE, and Nairobi, Kenya. I am publishing today and in the following days parts of my travel journal which I think provide an interesting look at other worlds that coexist with my Western one in Northern California. The sea of non-western humanity is remarkable to me. Many women in burkas, some of them in their formless anonymity also beasts of burden. A […]
My house looks like a big party went down, the blessing of lots of family members willing to come and stay awhile. But all good things do come to an end, and this is it. And someone gets to put things to rights, and that is mostly me. This morning, the first morning after everyone has left, there is tired Christmas deco, some of it just barely hanging on, fragrant pine needles that seem to […]
Monday in Paris was a very French day, at least the eating part. The children were tired, so Allie let them rest all morning. We met one of Allie’s students, Paula, and her husband Dave for lunch around 12:30 at Chez Gladines, a Basque restaurant in our little village of Butte aux Cailles that they wanted to try. All of these places are tiny, so moving 8 of us into a table with an infant […]
The day after I arrived in the US from nearly a month in Tanzania, I was helping my 3-year-old twin granddaughters brush their teeth before bed. My daughter said, “Wait a minute, let me get my phone, they use an app.” Sure enough, the little darlings get to choose a colorful character to brush their teeth along with accompanied by catchy music and a timer. This is not really shocking, it is fun, right? But […]
Waiting is a skill that you learn through practice. Perhaps there are some people who are naturally good at it, naturally patient, but most aren’t. There is probably no group of people on the planet less likely to be good at waiting than Americans. We are programmed early on to fill every possible moment with stimulation, and reduce to a bare minimum anything we can term “waste of time.” Produce, create, entertain, achieve, at […]
Steve and I sneaked in a few minutes late to the annual celebration of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia. The accordion player was already in full form. We tiptoed to our saved seats of honor, only to be warned away by a woman with permanently surprised eyebrows drawn on. “That place is for Mrs. Litfin!!” she hissed. We assured her Mrs. Litfin had directed us to these seats and sat down to enjoy the quasi- […]
A handful of quietness 