Friday, March 25, 2011
Despair vs. Hope
If you are interested in Africa,may I suggest that you take the time to read this excellent article. Indeed, it is a continent marked by hope.
What a Month!
I arrived in Dar es Salaam late on Friday night -- and barely slept because of the heat (and it really is not that hot).
I'll drive our new (used) community car to Dodoma today (6-8 hour drive) and get ready to re-enter the life of the school tomorrow.
What a month away it was. I had a brief chance to visit with my family (wish I hadn't been so sick). I had a chance to catch up with good friends (ditto re: the sickness regarding some of those visits). And I had a chance to update friends of the high school on our progress and introduce the high school to some new friends. Folks have been generous in our regard, and for that I'm very thankful.
I'll drive our new (used) community car to Dodoma today (6-8 hour drive) and get ready to re-enter the life of the school tomorrow.
What a month away it was. I had a brief chance to visit with my family (wish I hadn't been so sick). I had a chance to catch up with good friends (ditto re: the sickness regarding some of those visits). And I had a chance to update friends of the high school on our progress and introduce the high school to some new friends. Folks have been generous in our regard, and for that I'm very thankful.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Blade
The Toledo Blade is my hometown newspaper. I was interviewed while I was visiting home, and this is the result.
Not everything is accurate, but what's not accurate makes a better story. (For instance, it was not the head of the order who called me at 6:00 a.m. but rather the man in charge of our little corner who was visiting Rome and called me).
Thursday, March 10, 2011
"Our Vocation Is to Travel..."
Those are words from the holy founder of the Jesuits, Ignatius Loyola. I'm glad there is more to the quotation: “Our vocation is to travel throughout the world and to live in any part of it wheresoever there is hope of the greater service of God and the good of souls.”
Why am I glad for the complete quotation? Because I'm not feeling as if my vocation is to travel. This trip has been grueling, never spending too much time in any one place, no opportunity to really visit. That said, I have so appreciated the opportunity to talk about SPCHS/OLQP and the response of the people who have been at the events. But it has been a whirlwind, starting with a wonderful evening at my friends Chip and Mary Jo's home, where I had the chance to catch up with some great folks from my time at U of D Jesuit HS; then on to Toledo where I had a chance to briefly visit with my family and had the opportunity to talk about our project with Toledoans (and get interviewed by columnists at the Toledo Blade and Catholic Chronicle).
The Toledo visit was followed by a stop in Cleveland, where I spoke at a luncheon (which gave me a nice chance to visit briefly with my dears friends Jerry and Sue Schroer and Linda Schlageter. I also had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Barbara and John Schubert about their experiences at Loyola High School, Dar es Salaam. I arrived in New York last Friday. My friends Christopher and Rosario Baldwin could not have been kinder in my regard, hosting an amazing evening at Astor House, where they introduced me to 50+ friends of theirs and gave me a chance to talk about to Dodoma. It was a spectacular evening.
And here I am in Chicago, where I spent time with some teachers from the Chicago-Detroit Province who will be with us in Dodoma this summer. In a few minutes I'll be leaving for the Union League Club, where I'll speak to benefactors of the province.
And tomorrow I leave for LA. Whew!
Why am I glad for the complete quotation? Because I'm not feeling as if my vocation is to travel. This trip has been grueling, never spending too much time in any one place, no opportunity to really visit. That said, I have so appreciated the opportunity to talk about SPCHS/OLQP and the response of the people who have been at the events. But it has been a whirlwind, starting with a wonderful evening at my friends Chip and Mary Jo's home, where I had the chance to catch up with some great folks from my time at U of D Jesuit HS; then on to Toledo where I had a chance to briefly visit with my family and had the opportunity to talk about our project with Toledoans (and get interviewed by columnists at the Toledo Blade and Catholic Chronicle).
The Toledo visit was followed by a stop in Cleveland, where I spoke at a luncheon (which gave me a nice chance to visit briefly with my dears friends Jerry and Sue Schroer and Linda Schlageter. I also had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with Barbara and John Schubert about their experiences at Loyola High School, Dar es Salaam. I arrived in New York last Friday. My friends Christopher and Rosario Baldwin could not have been kinder in my regard, hosting an amazing evening at Astor House, where they introduced me to 50+ friends of theirs and gave me a chance to talk about to Dodoma. It was a spectacular evening.
And here I am in Chicago, where I spent time with some teachers from the Chicago-Detroit Province who will be with us in Dodoma this summer. In a few minutes I'll be leaving for the Union League Club, where I'll speak to benefactors of the province.
And tomorrow I leave for LA. Whew!
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Snow
It's snowing here in the D. School has been cancelled at U of D Jesuit.
It cannot be blamed on the snow, but I've already had a mishap with my rental car -- I managed to knock the mirror off the passenger-side of the car last night as I was parking it in the community parking lot. This is my first accident since I was 16 years old. Even with all the challenges of driving in TZ, I was accident free. Feeling foolish.
It cannot be blamed on the snow, but I've already had a mishap with my rental car -- I managed to knock the mirror off the passenger-side of the car last night as I was parking it in the community parking lot. This is my first accident since I was 16 years old. Even with all the challenges of driving in TZ, I was accident free. Feeling foolish.
Upendo
Love.
I arrived to Detroit last evening and have already had a bit of personal drama -- I managed to take off the rear-view mirror on the passenger side of a rental car. Coming into the parking lot of the the Jesuit residence at U of D Jesuit High School and Academy, I didn't see a protrusion from a pole at the gate. This was in part due to the exhaustion caused by such a long trip, I think.
My departure from the SPCHS was very moving -- you would have thought that I was going away forever and not for just a month! Sister Beatrice surprised me by serving for breakfast one of my favourite dishes (a favourite among the Wachaga -- a soup made with goat meat and banana); then the students at their morning assembly had a representative give a speech, and then they presented me with a thoughtful chess set and very kind card. I asked them to give me another "safari njema" gift: to sing one of their favourite songs, based on the "love is kind" passage in 1 Corinthians 13. Here is their version sung in honour of the Our Lady Queen of Peace Foundation; it was filmed on the third day of their orientation.
I arrived to Detroit last evening and have already had a bit of personal drama -- I managed to take off the rear-view mirror on the passenger side of a rental car. Coming into the parking lot of the the Jesuit residence at U of D Jesuit High School and Academy, I didn't see a protrusion from a pole at the gate. This was in part due to the exhaustion caused by such a long trip, I think.
My departure from the SPCHS was very moving -- you would have thought that I was going away forever and not for just a month! Sister Beatrice surprised me by serving for breakfast one of my favourite dishes (a favourite among the Wachaga -- a soup made with goat meat and banana); then the students at their morning assembly had a representative give a speech, and then they presented me with a thoughtful chess set and very kind card. I asked them to give me another "safari njema" gift: to sing one of their favourite songs, based on the "love is kind" passage in 1 Corinthians 13. Here is their version sung in honour of the Our Lady Queen of Peace Foundation; it was filmed on the third day of their orientation.
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