Bewhere your feet are,I’m told.Yet as the plane sweepstoward Kisumu, rifted valleybelow, universearound, descending towardhome,I find my mindresting notin Kenya, but justwhere my feet are:air,among clouds,at the shelter far away,that place of refugeto whom life has entrustedviolence,with the little boywho thrashed angry,body consumed with ragebigger than bones,as he looked to the sky, wonderedaloud‘what do cloudsContinueContinue reading “to be divided/whole”
Tag Archives: home
hellos and goodbyes
A close friend sent me these words from Dr. Miriam Adeney yesterday, saying they reminded her of me: “You will never be completely at home again because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.” ThisContinueContinue reading “hellos and goodbyes”
inconclusive
A week and some odd minutes ago, I was landing at Indianapolis International Airport, walking through the same entrance terminal to terminal B that I walked through 6 months previously, that time ‘departures’ this time ‘arrivals’. Since then I have filled my days with pots and pots of coffee, chunky sweaters and wool socks, naturallyContinueContinue reading “inconclusive”
coming home
Walking home, it’s sunset. I meander down the road in the cool breeze, hear enlivened Wolof all around me, greet familiar neighbors. When I reach Papa he happily greets me, makes a joke about my favorite song, tells me so like family he’s going to the gym and will see me later. I walk towardContinueContinue reading “coming home”
this all feels connected
Written 21 September 2013 My second day in my homestay was September 11. I mentioned this to my Papa, who said: “this is a big day for your country. This day changed your home.” Today, my friend Caroline was over at my house and we were flipping through channels and found the documentary, 102 MinutesContinueContinue reading “this all feels connected”
she wakes up at six
So, here’s something. I told my host family I like to wake up early (which is true) and told them I usually wake up at six (which is not true, but I said it because I felt bad that I overslept the first morning). They were very impressed, as my host dad wakes up atContinueContinue reading “she wakes up at six”
it’s leaving time
It’s that time again… I’m off on another adventure! This Sunday afternoon I will jump on a plane that will take me (via a few stopovers) to Dakar, Sénégal in West Africa where I will be living, studying, and working for six months. My bags are packed (I have a thing about being hyper-prepared wayContinueContinue reading “it’s leaving time”
preparations
The following reflections were written over the past few days while I was enjoying the morning light by the lake at my family’s cottage in Northern Michigan and gathering my thoughts as my departure date for Sénégal (September 8) draws nearer. The compilation paints a pretty accurate account of where I am right now: aContinueContinue reading “preparations”
on such an anniversary as this, 2013
written August 14, 2013 On such an anniversary as this. Three years ago today I boarded the plane taking me to Kenya and to the discovery of myself. On this anniversary, I am thankful. Thankful for the immense honor and gift it was to live alongside, to learn alongside, my Kenyan family at such aContinueContinue reading “on such an anniversary as this, 2013”
transition(s) and adjustment(s)
In many ways, my life and its surroundings are in transition. In many ways, my life is just smoothing out after eighteen months of constant transition. A list I’ve been making as I reflect on adjustment(s): 1. This is the first time I’ve at all slowed down since before I left for college. Really, sinceContinueContinue reading “transition(s) and adjustment(s)”
confidence in ‘senses of place’
I’ve been feeling self-conscious recently about how much I talk about or bring up my time in Kenya. I worry that I have become the “well, when I was in Kenya…” girl. Potentially this is manifesting itself because three fourths of the junior class at my school just returned from their various study abroad experiencesContinueContinue reading “confidence in ‘senses of place’”
not an ‘if’ question
Somehow, impossibly, I am in Nairobi and in 7 hours will begin the 3-plane, 22-hour journey home. By 7 AM this morning we took our last breakfast with the family, said goodbyes at the airport, and gone through our first of many, many security clearances. By 11 AM we had flown to Eldoret, then toContinueContinue reading “not an ‘if’ question”
callie daniels-howell 