Mt. Kilimanjaro
The last thing I did in East Africa before coming home was climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I hiked with James and Sam (the volunteers from Tanzania) as well as three of my college roommates (Nico, Lloyd, and Mitchell). Spending 5 days on the mountain catching up and soaking in the views was the perfect way to cap off my 9 months abroad. The hike was not easy, but we all made it. Altitude punished most of us at least a little along the way. Headaches, loss of appetite, and horrible sleep were our friends, especially as we neared the summit. I learned that instant coffee was a miracle drug for counteracting these symptoms and actually felt pretty good by the time I reached Kilimanjaro’s peak.
We were Team Simba (Team Lion) and earned every bit of the name during our summit attempt. We woke up at midnight, ate a small meal, and started for the top. We were one of the last groups to leave and could see headlamps of other groups dotted all the way up the mountain. Edward, our guide, asked if everyone was feeling OK. After hearing a few yesses he put us on a 4-hour death march, passing every other group but one. Supposedly, it’s the fastest he’s ever gotten a group to the top. The views were incredible, but it was too cold to stick around for long. We made it down the mountain that day, pushed on by the thought of pizza, milkshakes, showers, and a real bed.
June
After about 30 hours of travelling I was back at MSP airport. I was questioned in customs for about an hour before I was finally able to meet my parents outside the airport. We went straight to Chipotle for burritos. Next stop, Coldstone. Seeing home for the first time in 9 months was a strange feeling. I unpacked all my things that night and by the end of the week was completely back to normal life in the US.
Later that month, and I was back out of the country. The entire Lipke family spent a week fishing on Lake of the Woods in Nestor Falls, Canada. I rode up a day late with my cousins Brent and Grace (all 3 of us were at Winstock the night before) and was once again searched at the border. I must be on some sort of list. The days were filled with fishing, shore lunch, and games in the evenings. At one point I held the title for biggest fish, but Andrew one-upped me a couple minutes later (34.5-inch northern vs. 36-inch northern). It was super fun for me to see everyone after so much time away.
To wrap June up, I got to celebrate the marriage of Ryan and Jo Houseman.
July
I spent another week on the lake in July. This time Elephant Lake with family and friends in northern MN. No fishing, but lots of yard games and cards. The group’s favorite card game of the trip was Exploding Kittens (bad name, great game). I also got to do some water skiing. I wasn’t sure I would still be able to get up on one, but after a couple failed attempts I had it.
During the rest of July I stayed busy on the weekends. I had a bachelor party for Riley Berg, the MN Yacht Club Concert, and a very long run over the 4th.
August
On the 1st of August, I moved into my Saint John’s Prep School apartment. It took about an hour to be completely moved in and settled (I didn’t bring much). I spent the rest of the day grocery shopping and making a bunch of breakfast burritos. They ended up being my main source of food for the month and actually tasted pretty good.
A couple of days later, I was reunited with Kilimanjaro climbers Nico and Mitchell for the Brewhouse Triathlon. We formed a relay team that I headed off with the swim section. Last year we took 2nd place at Brewhouse. This year we came in with a chip on our shoulders and left with the gold. Beating our rival team was a wonderful way to spend the weekend.
The next weekend saw another big meeting of the Kili-Climbers, this time in Bemidji with the entire crew. Riley Berg, a close college friend, was getting married to his high school sweetheart Kinley.
The rest of the month was dominated by getting all of the boarding students moved in and ready for school. So far I’m loving it and really looking forward to spending 9 more months here!
A story from my first week on the job:
I knew I made the right decision to work here after something that happened during move-ins.
A 10th-grader from China had hopped on a plane alone and arrived in Minneapolis 20 hours and 2 layovers later.
After landing at MSP, she learned that all her luggage had been lost.
This was her first time in the US and she didn’t know a single person here.
Her reaction to losing everything she had brought with her was unbelievable.
She calmly accepted what had happened and then quickly created a short list of things she would need to buy while she waited until her bags were found.
I’m living with a very special group of kids.
They are smart, kind, resourceful, and mature.
I’m excited to learn and grow alongside them this year.
I don’t plan on writing many entries for the blog this school year. I’ll start upping the frequency again during my Summer 2025 travels.
In the meantime, I have started writing a short weekly letter. Each letter features 3 things that I stumble across during the week. Things like quotes, ideas, recommendations, or interesting things that I learn about. If you’re interested in that, you can sign up here.
Thanks for reading!