Whenever I travel, I always look for things to bring back to my family, boyfriend and sisters in my sorority. Yet when I returned from my most recent trip, I…
How One Woman Makes The Difference
“Be the change you want to see in the world”- Mahatma Gandhi There’s no telling what a week in Guinea-Bissau will bring. It’s been a truly thrilling one for me….
Guinea-Bissau: a Country Profile
It is going on a week now (two by the time this goes live) that I have been living in Guinea-Bissau. Between inspiration, amazement, loneliness and excitement, I believe I…
Make Your Own Net: Tips for Conquering the Unknown and Finding Adventure
Make your own travel safety net by getting prepared! Image from moneymagpie.com. As I write this, 9 days, 216 hours and 1,3140 minutes separate me and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa,…
A Week for Human Rights
It started off on Tuesday, November 8th as my local professional sorority, Kappa Gamma Chi, sponsored Emerson’s First Annual Amnesty International Write-a-Thon. Amnesty International is a global human rights movement,…
It’s All About Inspiration!
Funny the Way it Is by Dave Matthews Band (One of the most inspiring songs I know!) …10 weeks on since returning to the Western world and I’m still thinking…
Then and Now: Living in the Shadow of 9/11
10 years to this day. 10 full years have passed since the World, the US and New York city fell victim to extremist, fundamentalist, terrorist attacks…and where are we now?…
Rejection: More Than Just Classroom Antics
During my final week in Tanzania, something different happened in school. As our dalla approached the familiar building we could already sense something out of the ordinary. I felt very…
A Truly Tanzanian Day- Part 2
It was 8am on a Sunday morning in Moshi town when I woke up thinking I had drastically overslept and that everyone was waiting for me at breakfast. Well, I…
Coffee, Waterfalls and Italian Cuisine- Part 1
For my final weekend in Tanzania, a group of volunteer friends and myself decided to venture out to Moshi. Moshi is a relatively large town at the bottom of Mount…
The Real Life Lion King
….pink bottomed monkeys, tree climbing lions, grandiose babao trees, running giraffes, bathing hippos, dirty warthogs, laughing hyenas and all! There is no one person who would travel all…
Translanguaging
Another facet of Tanzanian culture that intrigued me was the art of the language: be it Swahili, English or Maa (the language of the Maasai tribe). The few weeks leading…
Back in Time
Let me take you back in time, to 2009 when I first experienced Africa. Since the sixth grade when I first heard about my high school’s Tanzania Exchange Program I…
A Day in The Life…
…of a volunteer in “the-middle-of-nowhere”, Tanzania. I’ve gotten to a point in my re-adaptation to the Western world where I can finally write about the amazing children I taught for…
The African Heartbeat
Music is a huge part of my life. Ever since I was a little girl I would play tapes at home and walk around the room dancing and singing along….