A Dedication

It is a bit strange to pick up where I left off four years ago, when I was blogging during my study abroad in Cape Town. So much has changed since then, about who I am, what I can do, what I want to do. But in a lot of ways I'm right back on the same path. Exploring, looking at the world with open eyes and taking time to think about it.

But this time, I am writing with someone in particular on my mind and in my heart -- the lovely, caring, beautiful Tiffany Abner. Tiffany's recent, sudden passing has cast my travels in a new light. In short: with knowledge that most of what happens in life is out of my control. Death, for instance. Or the people I meet, and the ways that they change me.

Of course, Tiffany was one person who changed me, who heard and understood me at times when I felt particularly lost or disconnected in the past few years. She is someone with whom I could share anything and everything.

A blog will not come close to that experience, nor should it. But in the spirit of Tiffany's compassion, I am hoping to share on this blog a little bit of vulnerability, a little bit more of the big picture, how it's all fitting together in my mind. A little bit more of what I could have said to her.

All of this seriousness noted.... there will be plenty of light heartedness to come. Good things are happening, all around, all around. I've spent exactly 24 hours in Nairobi so far, and I've been smiling the entire time. My heart is bursting a little bit.