So many emotions were running through me. I was on a happy high. We just finished our last day of training and earlier that day, we completed a Walmart run to grab last minute odds and ends before our trips aboard and of course my $17 purchase didn’t seem like it would be enough. We […]
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I sat on the porch over-looking the school yard. The primary students were all outside shrieking and laughing, enjoying their morning break. The air was cool, yet heavy; clouds moving lazily overhead, barely able to hold the weight of the moisture that they were carrying. I breathed in deep and long, enjoying the mountain air […]
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I was awakened from my Sunday afternoon nap by a call from my caretaker, Aki. He informed me that I am to meet him at his home immediately because in less than 30 minutes, we are to meet with the chief of Akwadum! Still disoriented from my nap, I jumped out of bed, heart racing, […]
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As I walked outside, I heard the grass crunch under my shoes. The wind blew against my skin and I felt my hair lightly brush against my cheek that was warm from the now fading Texas sun. As I sat on the ground, to look out over the hill, I snapped a leaf of sage […]
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In this line of work, it can be difficult to measure what your work is actually supposed to be. You get dropped off in a village and despite your preparation, you have no idea what you’re doing. In addition, you are expected to create some measurable outcome when realistically there are very few ways to […]
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It has been three years since my team of AgriCorps Fellows set out for our training in Texas – a whirlwind of adventure ensued over the following year and has kept me swept up in travels since first being recruited to AgriCorps in the spring of 2014. After completing my year of service […]
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Usually the night before a big event with my students, like most teachers or FFA advisors, I am up worrying and worrying…hoping that the next day will go well. Hoping that I remembered to do everything, call this person, remind this person, print that, or purchase this, hoping that people actually show up. I can […]
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Standing there in a group of Booker Washington Institute (BWI) FFA leaders and alumni, I looked off in the distance in the direction of our FFA students who were laughing, yelling, and running around while playing ultimate frisbee on the football field. It was after our FFA End of the Year Program and the sun […]
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I wake up every morning with a similar routine not worrying about getting caught in a net of some sort. I stumble out of bed, I feel the soft carpet under my feet as I make my way to the kitchen. I turn on the lights without ever wondering if they will stay on. Fix […]
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“Welcome! Welcome to Liberia!” This is a greeting that I heard many times during my five-day stay in Liberia to visit my son, Nathan, and his wife Anna. This was inevitably followed by a Liberian handshake; which involves a normal handshake, followed by a thumb grip, and ending with our two hands clasping with fingers […]
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