Christinaswwworld Unlimited

Thank you so much to everyone for your encouraging comments on my daughter Christine's post . This one is written by 13 year old Thomas, my first born. The reader posed questions were really useful in helping him get started. Keep 'em coming! Hey everyone my name is Thomas, but some of you might know that, and i am 13 years old. I have lived with my parents in Uganda for ten whole years and we are just about ready to leave and head back to Brussels where i spent 3 years of my childhood. My hobbies are break-dancing just like my bro, drawing and reading. Sometimes if i am in the mood i will try to play golf. Two people from the blogosphere have asked me some questions: windmill asked: what role models do i set for my younger brothers? At first i didn't understand the question very well so i asked my mom, now that i have an idea of what it's about my answer is. Some of the role-models that i set for my younger brothers are completing my homework on time and not leaving...

This post has been contributed by my 16 year old Ugandan daughter Christine (actually, her birth name is Christina, like mine, but she's accustomed to being called Christine - which saves a lot of confusion around here.) As I wrote in my last post, Christine left boarding school last year. She has been living at home with us in Kampala since April. As a proud mom, I just have to mention that I only corrected one very small typo in what Christine gave to me to post - as I'm sure every reader will be, I am so very impressed with her writing style! (Bravo, my dear!) In Uganda, most parents take their children to boarding school because they believe it is the best place for them in terms of education. I’m not a parent but I’ve been in Uganda martyrs secondary school, a boarding school for about two years and while I was there I didn’t like it that much for various reasons you will get to know. What surprises me most is that some parents take their kids to boarding school as ear...

Although I have traveled, worked and/or lived in 46 countries and had more adventure in my life than you can shake a stick at, by far the most exciting experience of all has been the ordinary adventure of parenthood. I have always approached it with a sense of awe - but then again maybe that's because my kids are so awesome. Thomas at N's farm (Northern Uganda) Thomas is 13 now, and very excited to be a teenager. He was born in Brussels but has been raised since the age of 3 in Africa. He has lived in Uganda for most of that time, but also spent 6 months living with his dad in Ethiopia last year. In addition to English, he speaks good Dutch, moderate Frisian, and he loves studying French. He won the award for top academic achievement in his class when he graduated from primary school, and was also recognized then as cub scout of the year - both of these awards kind of blew me away as a mom, since Thomas is not at all presumptuous about his achievements. He's a polite and h...

During the last months of 2008, I was blogging to try collect some thoughts and wind down after 10 years in Africa. Relocating to Europe in April means there's lots to do now, leaving less time for blogging than I once had. But rather than stop blogging altogether (as I'd originally intended) I've had an inspired idea for how to continue in this space: I am inviting my kids to start writing about the experiences they want to remember from our time in Uganda. So stay tuned for the next phase of evolution at http://christinaswwworld.com - I'll still post occasionally too, but I for one am really interested to read what my kids have to say about their lives in Africa. Should be educational for all of us! I'll be introducing them to you in the next few posts....

We have come back to Lake Bunyonyi to spend Christmas - I am in town today to connect and say happy holidays before heading back out to the lake with more supplies this afternoon. It was a special treat for me to be able to participate in facilitating an " appreciative inquiry " process last weekend with about 40 households on the peninsula where my friend Wilfried is developing the Amasiko eco-tourism and youth training community development project . Women, men and youth were divided into groups and facilitated through the same exercises for discovering their own capacities, developing their own visions, and making mini action plans for change that builds upon what they already have. Then we combined everything to develop a vision for the village 5-10 years from now. It was my appointed role to watch all of the groups and identify what was working and not working in the communication process, and advise the facilitators on how to get back on track. The facilitators were wo...

The more we can allow ourselves to see and accept new possibilities , the more we will ultimately achieve. I had a really strange experience back in 2001, that I didn't understand very well at the time. I'd be lying if I told you I understand it all now; I don't know that I ever will. But all these years later not a day goes by that I don't think about it. It was one of the best worst experiences I've ever had. The only way I know how to describe it is that I had a vision. No, not the kind of vision you are encouraged by mentors to develop for your life or business plan, nor the kind of acquired visionary skill that gives really smart people an edge in the world. This was a bolt out of the blue - a crystal clear picture of cross-dimensional possibilities I hadn't considered before, dripping like Dali's clocks with a hope-filled intuition I could hear like a voice in my head that was speaking from the bottom of my soul. It was beautiful, exciting, and frighte...

When I started this blog, I told myself I would write here for 4 months. Now here it is almost Christmas, and the pArtY I'd planned should soon draw to a close. At the time there was a possibility we'd be leaving Uganda in December. Our departure date for moving back to Europe is now set for mid April instead. Meanwhile, some extra stuff to do came up - especially during this past month - which has meant I've not even been at the pArtY much lately. But wait! Don't go home yet! There's still so much to say! Then again, do I really want to draw this "winding down" process out any longer? I'm on the fence about what will happen here after the holidays. The thing I didn't expect to happen was the "community" part of blogging. I've been super active at a couple of online communities in the past - virtually addicted to them for the support they can provide to someone like me, far from home and grappling daily with the complex challenges ...