I loved maps as a kid, and the map of Africa seemed to me the most mysterious and magical of them all. I always wanted to go there, to live, to travel, to dream, to see who I would become in such an interesting place. Who could ever be bored in a land where an elephant could go walking by your tent? When I was ten years old I pointed to a spot in East Africa that said Mt. Meru, and decided I would live there someday.
Growing up and going to vet school and getting a job and all of that occupied a few years between this decision and actually living in the town of Arusha, Tanzania, at the base of Mt. Meru. As an undergraduate at Michigan State I discovered the African Studies department where Swahili classes were offered, and I fell in love with this beautiful language.
By the time I finally arrived in East Africa for the first time I had two years of classroom Swahili under my belt, but nothing really could have prepared me for the reality of being in Africa, of making African friends, and the brilliance of their smiles when I tried to speak their language. How could I have known that the immense African sky was like no other sky I had ever seen, and that if you greet him politely in Swahili the guy selling oranges might take you home to have tea with his mama? Or that the herbalists at the market have a secret compartment in the bottom of their tables where they keep the love potion? It was so far beyond maps and Swahili classes my head swam. It was then that I discovered the big difference between making plans and being there. Of course everything takes planning,  but it's really not that difficult.

   Souvenirs     Amor di me Alma     If I Loved You

What is really tough is overcoming attitudes and fears and comfort zones, and responding to people who ask, "Why on earth do you want to go to Africa? Isn't is dangerous? They don't even have pizza, or flush toilets, do they?" On the other hand, there have been many people - friends and family - who have been intrigued, and have come to visit and travel with me in several African countries, as well as New Zealand, Belize and Europe, and my own experiences have been the richer for it. Perhaps the single greatest influence in my travel career has been working with the School for International Training, as the Academic Director for college semester abroad programs for American students.

I once read a quote from a stuffy British travel guide that adventure is a sign of incompetence. With proper foresight, schedules and good planning, everything should go perfectly smoothly. I think they're right, and I hope I never become that competent.

I prefer a quote from an old grandfather on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean: "Ukitoa hadithi, nitakujua." If you tell me a story, I will know who you are.