Author Archives: lornaofarabia

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About lornaofarabia

I am a teacher from Medford, Oregon. I currently live and work in Bangkok, Thailand.

The OAP and me

Posted on 23 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

With Alekka back in the states for the summer, this will be the longest time Andreas and I have ever been our own together without any of our children. We each already had kids when we met 29 years ago, … Continue reading →

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Alexandra Leaving

Posted on 22 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

(“Alexandra Leaving” is a Leonard Cohen song – one that he sang last night. Sigh.) I took Alekka to Heathrow this morning. She is off to spend the rest of her summer in Oregon with her sister and other assorted siblings … Continue reading →

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A new year and Old Ideas

Posted on 21 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

I’ve celebrated at least two other birthdays in London (#19 and #43), wonderful in their own ways, but this one (#54, yikes) was magical. Alekka has been my daytime sightseeing companion this week while Andreas attends an American School of … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, UK | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Henry VIII

Posted on 20 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

I’ve been having a grand time revisiting some of my favorite London places, but I  also wanted to see a few new sights in this glorious city.  When I posted on Facebook that I was planning a trip to London, … Continue reading →

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On with the show

Posted on 19 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

I am loving London right now. I’ve been here before, several times: 1978, 1981, 1983 (for a few months that time), 2002, 2011, 2012.  On my first trip I was an 18 year old with a backpack, a student Eurailpass, … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Kaldi’s

Posted on 18 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

Ethiopia is not only the cradle of mankind, it’s the birthplace of coffee. According to historian Antony Wild in Coffee: A Dark History, Lucy and her prehistoric friends might even have been chewing on the beans. Later, the first roasted … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Background, Food | 1 Comment

Moving along

Posted on 8 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

Just a month ago, the end of the school year seemed a point on the distant horizon. Now suddenly we have only a week left in which to accomplish what looks to be an impossibly long list of tasks. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat experience, Home life | Leave a comment

Put to the test

Posted on 6 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

The end of the academic year is upon us.  For ICS high schoolers this means what it does for students everywhere: finals. Da-da-da-DUM. ICS high school students are on a special three-day exam schedule this week. On Thursday and Friday, … Continue reading →

Posted in International Community School, Teaching | Leave a comment

The raw and the cooked

Posted on 2 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

It’s hard to believe 30 years have passed since fellow campaigners at Walter Mondale HQ introduced me to Ethiopian food at the (now, sadly, closed) Red Sea restaurant in Adams Morgan.  My first time there I fell in love with … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethiopia, Food | 4 Comments

The Elizabethan ruff of misery

Posted on 28 May 2013 by lornaofarabia

Our kittens Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (as Alekka finally named them, never mind that they are brother and sister) celebrated their 4-month birthday a couple of weeks ago.  Maybe “celebrated” is the wrong word, because what it meant for our kitties … Continue reading →

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