Away a Long Time

Well, it's been a long time since I've last posted here. I do intend to get the posts back up and running, but I have had a lot of changes going on recently, and keeping up with my own life has been quite a bit distracting. This weekend, I will be heading to Grand Junction, CO for a conference where I will be presenting at two workshops, and trying to build connections for IRI. After that, I will be coming back home, and, with luck, be able to catch up with myself again.

Some of the ongoing events that I am working with include:

• The recent acceptance of my PhD application in Intercultural Education (hooray!)
• Making class selections for the program in August
• Weekly youth programs focusing on cognitive development and critical thinking
• Preparation for the Grand Junction Trip
• Rebuilding the IRI website (we should have a new site up in the next few months)
• Preparing for a training trip to the Philippines and Hong Kong
• I will be in the Philippines for several weeks in May
• I will be in Hong Kong for June and July

In short, I'm keeping busy. I didn't intend to stay away from the blog for so long, and I can't say when I will resume regular posting again, but I do intend to get things up and running in the near future.

2015 Tour 1 - Complete!

Well, it looks like I've finished running around for now. The next trip isn't scheduled until July, so I have a few months to process things and work on other projects. I'm still recovering from the travel (I just got in yesterday), so to make up for last week and give you something to look at this week, I give you a picture of my route for this tour:

Stage 1 - The March Route:

Thanks to Google Maps for the Image

If the image is too small, the distance covered was approximately  3500 miles or 5633 km. I was able to visit several of our supporters and friends, and it took about two and a half weeks to cover. I stayed in Broken Arrow for about a week and a half before taking off again, which gave me a bit of a break. Then came stage 2:

Stage 2 - The April Route:

Thanks again to Google Maps - you are quite useful.

This trip covered about 1800 miles or 2900 km. I stayed in Lewistown for about a week, which was the longest stay of the trip back. The entire trip took about 2.5 weeks, with the Lewistown stay counted in.

The grand total distance covered for the trip was about 5400 miles or 8690 km. Yes, I know the numbers don't all add up correctly, but I'm estimating and rounding a bit. The basic idea is there. That basic idea being that this was quite the long haul. 

In addition to the distance traveled, I had to get the car repaired twice along the way, and I still need to get the AC fixed (it broke down somewhere around Denver). It turns out cars don't like being driven over 5000 miles in two months. Overall, though, it was a great trip, and I'm glad I was able to go. Thanks to everyone I got to talk to and stay with along the way, and to everyone who pitched in and helped me out with various (mostly repair) expenses. Y'all are great. (What? I went to Texas on this trip, I can use "y'all.")

Planning, Planning, Planning

We are working on our scheduling for 2015 right now at IRI, and it looks like I will be traveling quite a bit during the year. If anyone happens to be in the areas I will be visiting, and wants to talk about our work, they are welcome to contact me to see if we can meet.

The current (verified) plan is:
Feb. 2-5 - Casper, WY*
Mar. 13-15 - Grand Junction, CO
April 12-17 - Lewistown, MT

Meetings still in planning include:
Broken Arrow, OK - Early March
Alaska - July
Hong Kong - Fall 2015

We are also hoping to schedule some stops with our friends and supporters to give personal updates. If you have any interest in arranging meetings with me or anyone else at IRI, you can contact us at: info@insiaghtagentsofchange.com.

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*Edit: this is actually 3-6. My mind was off a day, apparently.

Traveling 'Round the West

So...an entire month without posting a blog. Nothing I can do for it now, but apologies on the lack of update last month. As the title suggests, I have been traveling around the western U.S. visiting potential partners and giving explanations/updates about what we are doing in Mozambique and other places. Instead of summing up the trip verbally, which would mostly consist of "went to X, talked to So-And-So" over and over, I have a map of the trip, with some of the locations marked for your viewing pleasure.

The Great Western Tour:

Here's the fast key:
A/I)   Torrington, WY
B)     Winslow, AZ
C)     Globe, AZ
D)     Anaheim, CA
E)     Bakersfield, CA
F)     Ashland, OR
G)    Cottage Grove, OR
H)     Spokane, WA

Final travel distance: 4163 Miles

Still Here

While I have not posted in quite a while, I am still around. I've been traveling quite a lot since Alaska, and should be settling down back in Wyoming next week. I plan to post more once I get a break from running around, but until then:

• Alaska was great - as I mentioned earlier, the people were very friendly and we were well-recieved
• Following Alaska, I traveled to Texas by way of Oklahoma and Illinois - I was able to meet with several friends, and speak about the work we are doing. Overall, a good stop.
• After Texas, I spent about a week and a half in Bakersfield speaking to various groups and contacts. I also got to spend a few hours with friends and family in the area.
• To conclude my runaround trip, I have recently been visiting people in Colorado and Wyoming. We still have a few speaking engagements before heading back to Africa, but most of the long-distance travel is over until then. 

The short summary is that interest in the seminars is increasing, and we may have opportunities to put on seminars in Alaska, California and perhaps Texas and Colorado over the next year or two.

Our Vice-President and co-founder, Doug Berry died earlier this month. We had to split our traveling group so that some of us could attend his funeral, while the rest of us continued our scheduled meetings. I am sorry I could not make it to see his family, but I know he wanted us to continue to raise interest in the work we are doing, and hope that I was able to honor him by doing so. He will be missed.