Preparing to Go

We are about to set off on a new adventure in Africa! This time we will be in Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya working in math camps for local HS students and then we stay in Kenya to work on an African math initiative. We had been planning to return to Kenya this summer for a few weeks to see some of our favorite students from Bishop Abiero Girls' Secondary School before they graduate. Then, this wonderful opportunity came up to extend our visit to do volunteer work. The plan is to fly to Kenya on June 27 and then on to Ethiopia to help set up a math camp and work at the camp for two weeks in early July, and then hopefully have several weeks to see some of Ethiopia before flying to Ghana to prepare and teach a camp there. After that camp, we immediately return to Kenya to do a camp there. After that, if enough funding is secured to pay our living expenses, we will stay in Kenya until mid-December to work on a math initiative.

One of the wonderful aspects of this is that when we are in Kenya, we will be living only a few miles from Bishop Abiero School where we taught. It will be fabulous to see our former students as they finish up their last term of HS. Another wonderful aspect is that we will be working with our friend David who is not only a brilliant mathematician but is dedicated to helping African students develop important skill sets. And while we are in Kenya, we will be living with Giovanna, another friend from our prior time in Kenya, who is smart, kindhearted, enthusiastic as well as a very stylish Italian!

Like the other two times we have left family and friends for extended overseas adventures, it will be sad to leave. We will miss you all terribly and hope that you will stay in touch while we are gone!

One difference between this trip and the others is that we will not have the Peace Corps bureaucracy to drive us crazy and the Peace Corps safety net to help us if difficulties arise. We are already seeing some of the hassles of doing it on our own -- getting visas to multiple countries in a very short period of time (keep your fingers crossed!), arranging open ended plane tickets (impossible!), planning for medical emergencies (hope there aren't any!) The nice part is that there will be no 10 week boring and demeaning Peace Corps training sessions and no crazy restrictions about riding on piki pikis (motorcycles) and leaving our site without permission. We can be adults!