June 14, 2013 3

When in Tanzania…

By in something new., World Vision.

I will be a happy person two weeks from today — I will have come off climbing a gigantic mountain with no less than all my limbs still attached, 10 toes and fingers, and nothing bitten by frost. Colin will be arriving in Tanzania, I’ll drag myself out of relaxation mode to grab him at the airport then it’s all daisies and roses from there on out (or giraffes and mojitos).

Until then I play to be only mildly happy and filled with dread since the 19,000+ foot mountain is still in front of me and not behind.

Enjoy my tweets until then :)

My last instagram from Auckland -- for a MONTH!

My last instagram from Auckland — for a MONTH!

@Mom – here’s my/our schedule….

Thursday, 14 June: Depart from Auckland where I will hypnotize myself into a slumber that will last all 19.5 hours of my flight ahead.

Friday, 14 June (same day because I’m back in time now): Spend 5 hours in Dubai taking in the sights (of the airport). Arrive in Tanzania in the evening lonely and slowly filling with dread.

Saturday, 15 June: Maybe have a small sleep-in. Meet with VisionFund Tanzania, World Vision Tanzania and our climbing guideman for all the updates and to cross our Ts. Rest of the team shows up (by show up I mean I’ll be picking them up at the airport) in the evening.

Sunday, 16 June: Hang out day Meetings and other stuff like security training, child protection certification

Monday and Tuesday, 17-18 June: Going out to a community supported/funded by World Vision child sponsors and donors in New Zealand. Pretty sweet because each of our Kilimanjaro climbers are personally supporting a microfinance entrepreneur who they will meet in person on these days.

Wednesday, 19 June – CLIMBING DAY 1: Drive to the Rongai Trailhead at the Nalemuru Gate, 7,217’/2,200 metres at the entrance to the forest on the northeastern side of the mountain. From here walk –> gradually ascending through the forest to Simba Camp which is just clear of the forest at 8645’/2,635m. Total walking time on this day: 4 hours.

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June 10, 2013 2

There is a mountain high enough

By in convictions., something new., World Vision.

If you were going to *start* hiking mountains, which mountain would you choose for your first adventure?

  • A. Mt. Eden (Auckland, New Zealand)- 643 feet
  • B. Mt. Rainier (Seattle, Washington, USA) – 14,411 feet
  • C. Mt. Kilimanjaro (Arusha, Tanzania) — 19,341 feet

The correct answer is *not* C. And still, I have non-refundable tickets to Tanzania for this Thursday with my name on an itinerary list to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro next week.

I was at the gym the other night taking a brisk walk on the treadmill in my new hiking boots. Not your typical gym attire, I know, but desperate times (and rain) call for desperate measures. I’m just below that tipping point before your walk is fast enough that it forces you to jog. I’m sweating, reading a magazine I actually bought as a gift for someone else. There is an older man on the rowing machine beside me. I’m a little jealous and placing a bet against myself that that he could order off the senior citizen menu, without being carded, at Denny’s — and what I would give for a $3.99 Grand Slam at this exact moment.

Then I remember that I’m hiking a mountain in 10 days… with a couple of Olympic medalists — rowers, in fact. Reality check: I’m also “training” on the treadmill in my hiking boots because I’m trying to break them in before  a brutal 40+ hours of hiking that will be right in front of my face very soon. I’m that person… that you’d likely never see at the gym because real hikers walk outside.

There is a mountain high enough | Lindsey Talerico-Hedren #KiliChallenge

Mahe’s car that I (weirdly) took a pic of the other day during a team photo shoot.

I learned on Wikipedia tonight that Mt. Kilimanjaro has the 4th highest peak in the world. It means “mountain of greatness” and for damn good reason. It’s the world’s highest free-standing mountain and Africa’s highest (regular?) mountain. Only 41% of those who attempt the climb actually summit due to “considerable discomfort, shortage of breath, hypothermia and headaches” (Wikipedia, you don’t mess around). It’s considered one of seven natural wonders of Africa. Wonder-ous, I think, because it’s a double-edged sword of beauty and crazy. It’s also a volcano and “could erupt again”.

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May 13, 2013 6

Dear Malawi

By in life., thoughts on humanitarian aid., World Vision.

When I’m not busy sleeping or indulging in in-flight entertainment as I fly over a particularly large piece of ocean, I can be bothered staring or reflecting. Sometimes there is no difference between the two. I have voted this flight from Johannesburg to Sydney the second worst flight pattern I’ve ever taken for distance and length of time (12:00 hours). It’s second only to the reverse flight pattern I took on the way here: Sydney to Johannesburg (14:20), longer if your plane wants to relax on the tarmac for awhile (15:40).

I’ve got another 10:15 hours to reflect and stare a bit before I pray myself to sleep. Here’s what I’m thinking about…

Two weeks is really no time at all in the scheme of life. But when it’s happening, when I’m having about two dozen memorable moments every day, it feels like I’ve gained an eternity’s worth of experiences.

Visiting Malawi is weird on your psyche because everything moves fast and slow. Time is not such an important concept as commitment, or dedication. Same as efficiency is not is of such importance as tradition, and perfection to beauty. Dear Malawi, you are not like New Zealand or the U.S. in any way but one: There are people who make all things happen. Thank you for gifting me these amazing people who made my two weeks beautiful, wonderful, incredible.

Lipiri ADP team

Dear Malawi | Lindsey Talerico-Hedren

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May 5, 2013 8

Recipe for breaking the cycle of poverty, as I saw it

By in another witty life lesson., life., World Vision.

I don’t much follow recipes. It’s how come my brownies always turn out extra chocolatey, my 12-muffin batch into 17 , and my spaghetti sauce hints at cinnamon.

I save a lot of recipes though. I recently took 14 photos of recipes from a single cooking magazine on a friend’s coffee table. As if I don’t have the internet. But I never follow those recipes to a tee. Measurement, so over-rated.

Recipe for breaking the cycle of poverty | Lindsey Talerico-Hedren

Typical of my camera roll.. 13 recipes after I deleted one I didn’t think I’d like. Most stoked to try the lemon melting moments.

This is probably why I think a recipe for eliminating poverty is a melodramatic notion. So what you’re telling me is anybody anywhere can follow this recipe; So long as they measure the ingredients and mix them correctly, poverty… poof!? Okay, cools. Can I also catch a ride to work on your unicorn? Sweet as, mate.

So, poverty… a slightly more complex than baking a cake. Schooling taught me this. Work shows me this. Malawi confirms this.

Since Wednesday I’ve been visiting World Vision area development programmes (ADPs) around Lilongwe, Malawi. No matter the village or the ADP the scenery can be described as this: Slim red dirt roads, dried corn rows, sometimes sunflowers or tobacco fields. People travelling alone on bicycles. Children walking from I don’t know where, or where to. Clusters of brown brick houses with straw coverings for a rooftop, maybe the size of a single car garage but for a family of up to eight.

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April 30, 2013 0

Too thinky to sleep straight

By in another witty life lesson., convictions., life.

…

3 am anxiety issues | Lindsey Talerico-Hedren

It gets light out early in the morning in South Africa. PSYCH! It’s just the airport lights across from my hotel. 3am, not asleep, I’ve updated my blog instead.

This doesn’t normally happen to me.

It’s 3:45 in the morning. I’m in Johannesburg. I tried sleeping; not happening. Maybe it’s the new-place-different-country-not- my-bed thing. Anyhow, so I’m up. I’m writing. These are 3 am thoughts, unfiltered (because I’m hoping I will be too sleepy to actually edit them in 30 minutes from now).

I like to pick fights with my husband when I get really anxious. Some people might call this a problem; I call it a gift – as in, how gifted am I to recognise my own faults, gee whizz! It’s such a gift, in fact, that I have it boiled down to a formula: If something goes wrong and stays bad, then it is his fault. If something goes wrong and turns good, then it was my fault (both the wrong and the good).

Here’s a typical situation: Two nights ago we went to go see a movie. Earlier that afternoon we stopped by the theatre to buy tickets (my idea) so we could 1) make sure the movie didn’t sell out, and 2) ensure we get good seats. I put those prepaid tickets in the cup holder in the middle console of the car – the cup holder closest to the driver’s seat, right? So we pulled back up to the movie theatre later that night, in a different car, and guess who forgot the tickets?! Totally… it was him. Luckily I carry with me my innocent-accidentally-lost-our-tickets face and mouthful of A-game persuasion with me whenever I’m out on the town. A little chat with the chick at the ticket counter and BOOM—new tickets issued for free. = situation my fault.

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April 11, 2013 2

You are what you eat, what you dream, and what you read

By in another witty life lesson., life.

I am what I read | Lindsey Talerico-Hedren

Even as the saying goes, I think there’s more you can tell about a person from what they read than what they eat.

Take, for instance, the person who reads self-help books, and what kinds of self-help books. Last night I read the first chapter in a book I bought a year ago with a title that includes “for people who can’t stand positive thinking”. That probably tells you a little bit about me.

My husband reads books with terms like “leadership” or “God” in the title. That probably tells you a little something about him.

Consider the person who reads mostly mysteries. I actually have no insightful comment about this kind of person other than to say they probably also watch CSI… and have thick skin.

I choose my books based on three critical factors:

1. Leisure-ability. Reading must be leisure, not homework, in the same way watching movies is entertainment.

2. Big-screen potential. Book made into movie? Totally.

3. The promise of a love-story.

There really is only one genre of reading, I’ve found (but am open to new suggestions), that ticks all three prerequisites: teen literature. Teen lit whereby I gain an impractical perspective on life and a unique insight into the pre-adulthood emotional sea of unconditional love. Some people balance the food they feed their brains with the Discovery Channel or The New York Times or biographies of Anne Frank and Steve Jobs. I turn to teen literature.

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March 14, 2013 0

Digital dance parties never go out of style

By in marketing., social media., technology.

If given the choice between attending a pre-determined really lame party or a hanging out past bounce-rate time on a dreadfully boring website, I’d pick the boring website any day of the week. Maybe because I’m that geeky and spending time home alone surfing the web sounds just borderline “social” enough to be booked in my diary for Friday night.

Probably more likely because I can leave the website quicker than I can the party. “Social obligation” time is cut by 99% online; If I’m not into it, I’m out with one click. No need to give the party-host an extra hug or make up an excuse about starting work early tomorrow. I just leave.

And if this doesn’t epitomise the issue of attracting and retaining web traffic, then I don’t know what is.

Your website, like a good party, needs to follow some general party rules if it’s going to be one where your guests stick around. Pre-made, frozen, from-a-box nibbles and random selection of party guests isn’t going to cut it, and you’ll find your (potential) customers will be planning their escape route from the moment they’re in the door.

My post on 5 excuses your website gives supporters a reason to leave is up on Probono Australia today. Not-for-profit or not, your website is your most valuable piece of real estate. Use it to host the best party possible.

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