Category: Why

  • A Sanctuary in Amsterdam: Falling in Love with Begijnhof

    I turn at the American Book Centre, following the guidebook instructions. There are several other tourists there, standing before a heavy wooden door. One of them steps forward and opens the door. We pass through a doorway and a passage passing under the houses, and emerge in the absolute peace and calm of a hidden,…

  • Morning Through A Mosquito Net

    We woke up to the sound of drumming. We learned later it was a church group practicing. It was early. I remember so clearly. The taste of the air. The sounds. The way the light fell. The dusty ground. The bucket showers. Perhaps it was the fear, the excitement. Every sense heightened.     It’s…

  • A year ago

    I woke up this morning thinking about Fort Portal. Uganda and the DRC have been on my mind a lot lately. I can’t believe it’s been a year. Not that Fort Portal was exactly a year ago. Exactly a year would have been, let’s see, I think Kampala? Wow, early morning Kampala, trudging through the…