#1: Gambier, Ohio, USA

leah na twiga = "leah with giraffes" in Swahili, which is also about the extent of my Swahili. I discovered the word twiga (="giraffe") over winter break and have been enamored with it since. That's the only reason for the silly title of my very first travel blog.

I'm going to be in East Africa all summer - I leave from Columbus, Ohio on 10 May and return to the States 23 August. I will be interning at KEFRI (the Kenya Forestry Research Institute) and doing some IFRI (International Forestry Resources and Institutions) work while there as KEFRI is a collaborating research center. I'll be making a trip to Kampala, Uganda to deliver software on behalf of IFRI, and perhaps will be able to visit other centers as well. I also plan on doing a fair bit of traveling while I have the chance. So there's a quick summary of my intended summer adventures. I don't really know what to expect because I've never been to East Africa, and also because the specificities of my internship assignment will be given to me once I'm there. We shall see!

Anyway, I decided to create this blog at the prodding of some friends. I thought it would be a good way to keep in touch - I never have been one to write group emails and it is annoying to tell the same story fifty times so I'll share here when I can.

Right now, though, I'm at Kenyon, sitting in Middle Ground with Ben and Brian. They're the ones actually working since I finished my finals yesterday evening and then drove here straight away. I'm halfway done with grad school, alright. I'll be hanging out here for a few days before going home to Kentucky on Friday, buying some last minute items, doing some final packing, visiting friends, and chopping my hair. Then I'm back to Columbus to fly out Tuesday morning. I still haven't fully comprehended this, I think!

Anyway, I just thought an introductory post was in order. And since this wouldn't be my blog unless it included music, have a song:


The Veils - The Stars Came Out Once the Lights Went Out
I quite like everything about this song except the music video, so you get the lame photo slide show video version. Anyway, I've been listening to this song quite often during the past two weeks and it helped finish off my semester playlist, so there you go!

Finally, at Brian's insistence (he's the other one not truly concentrating):

You get to see my hair before it's chopped.

Ta!