joy and trouble

A huge blacksnake, maybe 6 feet long, coiled and motionless on a tree. The secret language of porcupines: yowling, mewling, and complaining like a baby animal. Descendants of Malian kings. Two hours making a contract with a student, only to have it broken in all but the most technical sense because "I'm me, every day, 100%" - which apparently means talking shit about everyone else. Learning bits of French and Haitian Creole. Stories about Montparnasse and Bamako, soccer and football and the beaches in Ghana. Adolescent romanticism. The most beautiful views. Sleeping outside under a full moon, river and mountains shining below. Another blacksnake. A weird guy who found a huge turtle. "I want to go home, and I'm not going to change my mind" - "Ok, we'll talk about it more at camp:" at camp, "I don't want to go home anymore." Learning break-dancing moves. Standing on my head. Being back in my wilderness family. Yoga on a ridge top. A bear, 20 feet away, walking along like we weren't even there. Climbing a rock face and being first to the top, so other people got inspired to go again. Mac and cheese with nutritional yeast. More than you ever wanted to know about adolescents' bathroom habits. Five kids want to go back for two weeks. Facilitating the hell out of a group conversation for an hour and a half. The sweetest group journal. "When you go to Mali, you can stay with my father. He will do everything for you. You can go to Timbuktu with my uncle. He goes every time." Insight and recalcitrance. Signing a kite. Plans for a dinner, soccer games, popsicles. Venison on the grill.

"Can I come back next week?"