It's Christmas Time

I am in the States for a 2 week visit at Christmas and it is already flying. I arrived 9 days ago and leave in 5 days. It is always a balance of seeing friends and family, enjoying a vacation and resting and stocking up on things to take back to Uganda. So far I think I have managed to do all these things and thought I would post some picture highlights:

Here my mom and I are in the city to see the King and I at the Walnut St Theater, so good! We had a whole city day with the lights at Macy's, Reading Terminal Market and shopping in the city.

Food! I always need to pace myself when it comes to Stateside treats and there is so much good stuff at Christmas. The pretzel, M&M and chocolate trio is one of my favorite Christmas treats that I have already made at two friend's homes.

Of course, seeing my cute nephews and the rest of my family. I am looking forward to more time together with everyone as we celebrate Christmas and our extended family visits next week.

With that I will say MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, may this season be blessed for everyone with time for rest, reflection and time with loved ones.

Layovers

I am back at the Amsterdam airport for another layover. This time I will be visiting the States for two weeks of Christmas vacation, which I am very excited about! This layover is about 7 hours, long in terms of staying at the airport, but not long enough to go in to the city. Flying back and forth from Uganda to the States so many times has given me the chance to have more extended layovers several times, taking advantage of stopovers to see Europe and North Africa. I thought I would post a few pictures from my more extended layovers (to pass the time on this relatively short one) and share some memories.

In July 2008 I had about a 12 hour layover in London. My friend Rachel, who had lived there for a year, recommended the small town of Richmond, an easy tube ride from Heathrow. It was quaint, sunny and a perfect stopover.

Some of the scenery around town. I do remember feeling awfully tired and falling asleep on the way back for my flight, but still enjoyed getting out of the airport.

In June 2009, I extended my layover to 3 days in Amsterdam and toured around the canals, museums and various sites. Highlights were the Van Gogh Museum, the walkable and bikable city and the Anne Frank museum pictured below:

This was especially memorable to me because I had just reread her diaries, so seeing the actual house where they were hidden made it seem so real. Highly recommended.

In May-June 2010 my parents came and met me in Paris! Here we are in front of the Louvre:

This was an amazing trip- being in Paris and getting to be there with two of my favorite people. I loved so much about this trip- the food, the language, the beautiful city. A few highlights were the Rodin Museum and a trip to Normandy. We stayed in a place fairly close to the Eiffel Tower:

In May 2011, my most recent long layover, I went to Morocco to visit friends, Keely and Kevin. This was my first time to North Africa and found it so different than East or Southern Africa. Here is a picture from one of my favorite experiences there:

I got henna on my hands, while enjoying traditional mint tea and snacks. While the henna stung a bit while getting it, it was beautiful and lasted about 3 weeks. Keely and Kevin were great hosts, showing me all around Casablanca. Here are Keely and I are front of a mosque (the third largest in the world) after a tour:

I feel very blessed to have all these opportunities to travel and see all these interesting places. So, you may wonder where will my final layover be? I am planning to visit friends in England and maybe squeeze in one other place, to be planned. I am not sure there will be another time in my life I will get to travel so freely so I hope to take advantage of these last trips.

For now I am looking forward to the travel to the States for the next two weeks. Sometimes going directly there is best when there is Christmas, family celebrations, friends to see and only two weeks to of time!

Debriefing

It is officially the last week of the semester here, students have been taking exams, I have been grading away and certain events, like the big USP farewell dinner, have taken place. Tomorrow we leave for "debrief" with the students- 4 days of discussing their semester and preparing them for returning to the States. There are sessions on what they have seen, learned, and how they will process and communicate all this to family and friends. Usually it is a positive time that allows for good reflection and preparation, along with some fun and the inevitable goodbyes.

I looked through my pictures and realized I have almost no pictures of debrief even though I have been there at the end of every semester. I think it is because it is a lot of sitting around and talking, not usually the most picture-worthy times. (Although there is usually one final group shot.) We are always in Entebbe- near the airport- at a guest house run by some very tolerant nuns. The one picture I found was this:

This photo was taken right before departure last year and we had to clear out the student's rooms (their flight was at midnight or some ridiculous hour). This photo represents the chaos of getting 30ish people to the airport at the same time with a semester's worth of stuff. A few things to notice- a luggage scale laying out, an open brownie container, a wrapped up mosquito net and me in the mirror. My luggage is mixed right in there, with one of my bags open, maybe I was still packing??

One thing I have been thinking about lately is what kind of debrief I will need from life in Uganda. If we give our students four concentrated days for 4 months...should I plan on 9 times that? Or maybe processing with them each semester will help. Recently a speaker was telling our students about his adjustment after living abroad and said it takes double the amount of time you were away to readjust to your own culture. That scared me a little bit- that would mean 9 years for me!

I have been able to be back in the States often while living in Uganda and would like to think that will help with adjustments. However, as we say to our students, visiting is not "reentry". Right now I associate the States with vacation, special treats and seeing people I miss. That is definitely how I am viewing my upcoming Christmas trip next week. I don't think this is a very accurate picture of daily life, so that will be a mental shift for me.

I'll end with a fun photo from last semester's farewell dinner. We all had semi-matching outfits made from curtain fabric (very Sound of Music-esque). This gives a good idea of how I feel at the end of a semester and the fun our staff can have together:

My year in books

Just the knowledge that a good book is awaiting one at the end of a long day makes that day happier. -Kathleen Norris

Anyone who knows me knows I am an avid reader. Thanks to my librarian mother, books have always been a daily part of my life. In Uganda, this is especially true- there is not as much opportunity for various forms of entertainment so I read a lot. A LOT. I average about a book a week and keep track of them on a website called Good Reads (that other people are signed up for but never use, ahem!). One thing about Good Reads is it gives you recommendations based on what you have read, so according to the website I like Historical Fiction, Memoirs, and Classics which I would say is pretty accurate. So, if you are interested in similar genres feel free to pass along any book ideas!

My brother, who blogs here: jonesabode.blogspot.com , usually does an annual music review which I always enjoy and introduces me to new music. So I thought I would do similarly for books since people often ask for recommendations. These are books I have read in the past year, not necessarily published in 2011 (although a few have). I will list my top 5 books I have read in 2011 and then some honorable mentions of books I have really enjoyed.

My top 5 (in alphabetical order by author) with my reviews:

1. Island Beneath the Sea

by Isabel Allende

I read this on vacation in Maine and was totally engrossed by the story of the life of Zarite, initially a slave in Haiti and then a free woman in New Orleans. This is historical fiction at it's best- learning about a unique time in history along with characters that make you care.

2. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

The incredible true story of Louis Zamperini, who was an Olympic athlete and POW for much of WWII. Reading this book makes you realize what humans can endure and overcome, and the writing is excellent.

3. Never Let Me Go

by Kazuo Ishiguro

This book is a novel about people living ordinary lives- their schools, relationships, jobs. Except their lives are far from ordinary because of their life circumstances- I won't give it away but the gradual understanding of the reader and the characters at the same time is well done. The writing is strong and moving and there are specific scenes I can remember well, despite having read this early in the year.

4. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

by Eric Metxas

This new biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is dense with lots of facts about his life, excerpts from his work and letters, along with insight from family and friends. An incredibly thorough, convicting and amazing read it helped me to see Bonhoeffer in a more personal way, making his death all the more poignant.

5. The Night Circus

by Erin Morgenstern

The most recently published, this book tells the story of a magical circus and the people involved with it over many years. A total "escape" book but one that brings in elements of different time periods, along with fascinating characters. I read this on our rural home stays, and it was just the right book to pass the time with.

Finally, a few more books that I really enjoyed this year and would recommend to anyone: Bel Canto and State of Wonder by Anne Patchett, Field Work by Mischa Berlinski, Justice in the Grass by Diane Temple-Raston, The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain

I am finishing out the year reading And The Ladies of the Club by Helen Hoover Santmyer, a 1200 page epic following a group of women through their lives. I am about half way through and will see if I can finish before leaving for the States in 10 days! And I have already picked my Kindle book for Christmas travel- Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks (another author I really like). Again, let me know if you have any book recommendations or are looking for any!