Kelsey Figone’s Amazing Blog

Some time ago we saw a post that  mentioned the book,  ” How to be an Explorer of the World.”  Not only was it a lovely book, but it prompted memories of all the ways Magdalena and I “explored the world” through our experiences and the experiences of the children in our school.
Sharing stories of our travels, our different backgrounds and the children’s vacations gave us numerous opportunities to study the globe….hear different languages and just have great fun.
Over the years, Magdalena and I have kept in touch  parents and children who attended our school. The Figone family has always held a special place in our hearts.. While the girls were still young, the family moved from California to Oregon, but we  continued exchanging many stories over the years.
Kelsey (the cutie holding her sister Alex in her arms)  began attending Malibu Infant/Toddler before she was a year old.  Kelsey is now in college and her studies include visiting, working  and doing service in  South Africa.  Many of her experiences are shared on her blog. We are able to see South Africa through her experiences on this amazing  blog.    
We  linked Kelsey’s  blog to our site so  you all may have the opportunity to share in this unbelievable adventure.  Since posting this blog, Kelsey has returned home to Oregon and on to many more adventures.  In one of her posts she expressed a hope to return to South Africa one day.  The photo shows Kelsey holding her youngest sister, Alex.  The sweet girl in the yellow shirt is Sommer. Sommer was also a student at LRS  for a number of years and she  just graduated from high school and is on her way to college and adventures of her own.  Alex is in high school and enjoying school and doing service as well.    The question is…where does the time go?

I’m still alive, don’t worry!

May 8, 2011 by figonester

5 weeks of ISP = over.

50 page paper = done.

I will be home in less than two weeks, and half of my friends will be gone in four days. Some people can’t wait to get home to their boyfriends, friends, or families, but – not that I don’t love you all – I don’t think I’d be heading home at all this summer if I didn’t have to get knee surgery. Kels (W.) has almost convinced me several times to stay and bum around with her for the next three months. We’d build a shack on the beach, fill it with books, and work for some NGO.

The past five weeks have been…incredible? Life-changing? Perfect? Are those too cheesy? I’ve worked at two different schools, taught and interviewed Zulu students, lived on the Indian Ocean in downtown Durban, lived alone with a rural family, had dinner with Lipuma and the Thabede family twice, went on a retreat in the Drakensbergs where I presented my ISP and hiked through the hills and had a braii and went to a bar with all my friends and the directors, and Tuesday I go to Cape Town. What more could I possibly want?

I am sad that I missed two important events, though: my sister Alex’s 16^th birthday, and my mom’s 50^th. Happy birthday you two!

It’s surreal that all the stress and all the academic part of the semester is over. It didn’t even feel like a semester, really – all my classes were essentially just exploring what I was curious about, wandering around South Africa and meeting different South Africans. I can’t believe I still have to attend another year of college where I’m stuck in a classroom. The only part that felt like real school was the last week of the ISP – I almost pulled an all-nighter before it was due, but I got 3 hours of sleep in the end. Go me.

Read more at…

http://figonester.wordpress.com/

Post By: Roseann Murphy