At the risk of seeming like one of those people who trap guests in the living room for hours at a time to show slides of recent travels, I do want to take you to the Barkhur Market and the Sera Monastery in Lhasa for just a bit. The Barkhur Market is too much to take in in one stay. Stalls upon stalls of fruits, … [Read more...] about Day in Lhasa, part 2
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A Day in Lhasa, Part 1
May 21 [in Lhasa] Altitude headache, slowed, slowed responses, and if I move too fast or even walk upstairs a general bodily feeling that I've just done a bad. But it's worth it. The mountains are incredible. They look like eternity. And I can see Potala from my room. I'm eager for this day. We will go to the outside … [Read more...] about A Day in Lhasa, Part 1
Re-visiting My Visit to Tibet
Six years ago today I flew to Chicago from Cedar Rapids. I was such a new international traveler that I had never been to the international terminal in O'Hare. My first worry was could I find it. I did find it--and was on my way. I have been thinking this spring that it would be fun to get out my journal and re-visit … [Read more...] about Re-visiting My Visit to Tibet
City Chickens
There are so many reasons to tell you about this new book City Chickens (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Christine Heppermann, just released two days ago: 1. It's non-fiction (one of the main topics of this blog)--the story of a woman who lives in Minneapolis and runs a shelter for abandoned, lost-- or found-- chickens. … [Read more...] about City Chickens
Frankenboy — A Boy With Heart
Last fall I visited Johnson Elementary School in Cedar Rapids to talk with some students about their experiences of bullying and do some writing about those experiences. We planned to send the writing to composer Rob Nassif who had been commissioned to write an opera about bullying. Well, he's done it. And a couple of … [Read more...] about Frankenboy — A Boy With Heart
Out and About: Arthur School
On Wednesday, Snowflake Bentley, the chiru, and Grandmother Bryant, Bizzy Bones, that hiking, banjo-strumming Granny, and I went to Arthur School in Cedar Rapids for the day. And we all had a great time. The students--about 360 in all--were lively and enthusiastic about books and stories. They keep journals and write … [Read more...] about Out and About: Arthur School
