<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></title><description><![CDATA[RSS Feed]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com</link><image><url>http://direct.ecency.com/logo512.png</url><title>RSS Feed</title><link>http://direct.ecency.com</link></image><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:52:36 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="http://direct.ecency.com/@jhimmel/rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Escapades during the Family Visit to Liberia]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dr. T, my brother’s girlfriend @Trang, captured the attention of many scurrilous youths. She taught them the Chicken Song, Do Re Mi, and several similarly savory sing-alongs. She also taught them a few]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/escapades-during-the-family-visit-to-liberia</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/escapades-during-the-family-visit-to-liberia</guid><category><![CDATA[liberia]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 01 May 2020 14:33:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/2gsjgna1uruvUrHuBkzr5CT7tQv8JkqhZ6F63KNKvBGZFuTDdhY8QU2aQiG6skXNtBhGSmKX7RJyUhmhzNF5yeDGyTJ18h2BJSeBFyLk6uTYo96W2T?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Sharing Families]]></title><description><![CDATA[My family and I returned to Liberia in February. Ma, Pa, Dr. H, and Dr. Le, as they were so lovingly referred to. They had long planned to visit me and airfare was locked in. We went ahead with the trip,]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/sharing-families</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/sharing-families</guid><category><![CDATA[liberia]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2020 14:14:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/hgjbks2vRxvf3xsYr6qQ7dm31DuBHGui8pKMdEVPxhLfEeEoVMPfUw4q5tsiJ662F63bRqn8mGxqkX8hKZAquZ546z?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Liberian Banking Crisis]]></title><description><![CDATA[Peace Corps withdrew all their volunteers worldwide some weeks back. This is a first in history, and the trajectory of the Peace Corps is uncertain especially as governments cut foreign expenditures to]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/the-liberian-banking-crisis</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/the-liberian-banking-crisis</guid><category><![CDATA[liberia]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2020 15:11:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/MG5aEqKFcQi6ksuzVh6JJptBJCL6eFwx2gvRnpcRhTRKgmTKc5WMfwDwnVLQZVX3SCUZDvx2a2M59ujyNgqfHt7GAcSHFZpUE?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Root must Touch Soil to Grow]]></title><description><![CDATA[Forming a new form of Volunteer Enter Kristen Grauer-Gray – our tireless leader. For half-a-decade she trained Liberian teachers on how to bring classrooms to life using local, affordable materials. She]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/education/@jhimmel/a-root-must-touch-soil-to-grow</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/education/@jhimmel/a-root-must-touch-soil-to-grow</guid><category><![CDATA[education]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2020 17:38:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.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?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[To the west we Wander]]></title><description><![CDATA[If you remember a piece of information from many months ago, phenomenal. If not; I and a baker’s dozen of volunteers were forced to move sites between school years as we were effectively inaccessible during]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/to-the-west-we-wander</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/liberia/@jhimmel/to-the-west-we-wander</guid><category><![CDATA[liberia]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2020 20:27:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/ChYr1cJZCH5KDQXy6W6erouWn9d4n2dk5wQCscidbMhfeeFCJPmjhN5KPPxADVTPETdEnaPcRCcc3JDbexefJJX9QLTovKNze1esNM3ibd66YsC9xKJ1BQdmdDLm32jZ9SDAVw7VEuEgTLdKtsQVvdDdVmYgbV3tvVxfoE39wrthaoKDtvkU6WF1rmXzna?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Here and There]]></title><description><![CDATA[Long post... lots to catch up on Begin Journal Entry Nails in the coffin. Buried, and final. Angel died last night. She almost reached 3 years old. Every day I spent with her, playing, trying to show her]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/here-and-there</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/here-and-there</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 20 Jul 2019 21:06:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/HNWT6DgoBc14riaEeLCzGYopkqYBKxpGKqfNWfgr368M9VRxhCiLo66ksQR2uZbjUUFWiHPUJ63bToNtC9aKrecMQxB274F9sGXKaDdJSMd8r2GnHfwR6VvDt6i?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[To the Roof of Liberia]]></title><description><![CDATA[“I'm down at parking and the guy here says car is the way to go, should be 5 hours the way the road's looking," I relayed to Dan, a former US Marine who disarmed IEDs for a half-dozen years. “Alright.]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/hiking/@jhimmel/to-the-roof-of-liberia</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/hiking/@jhimmel/to-the-roof-of-liberia</guid><category><![CDATA[hiking]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 09 Mar 2019 17:45:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/vM1pGHgNcyCXUWJECrZbvn1NMPj1oFGUo3gYfF3NNPRD9ahBKm6ZSD6eqZ5UEatD2JxwzrHzQZtoAy5xxJv4DSMAhD2Lw8nviZo7EBAX7NEHVKTqPD8szPmWYpEdw6swBbV3AZL?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Culinary Adventures pt. 2]]></title><description><![CDATA[Round 1 – In the culinary corner, weighing in at 1 pound 12 inches, the most cliched crustacean in the ocean, the heavily armored Rock Lobster! Accompanied by his loyal henchman, Mr. Slipknot, the Slipper]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/squid/@jhimmel/culinary-adventures-pt-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/squid/@jhimmel/culinary-adventures-pt-2</guid><category><![CDATA[squid]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 09 Mar 2019 15:01:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/cyxkEVqiiLy2ofdgrJNxeZC3WCHPBwR7MjUDzY4kBNr81Qtwyf6NGi5SmUXhRr45G54YV9PM5yj4N81reTzFKDrfPsLWcXTzbNxo59evAJ3ebz2htFGhxf9bspfnenP9Q3x?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Culinary Encounters Pt. 1]]></title><description><![CDATA[Adventure is not excluded from the home – some adventures take place in within a 5-foot radius of the kitchen. Several culinary rendezvous have been nothing but adventurous. It all started with the boisterous]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/insect/@jhimmel/culinary-encounters-pt-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/insect/@jhimmel/culinary-encounters-pt-1</guid><category><![CDATA[insect]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 24 Feb 2019 15:52:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/TZjG7hXReeVoAvXt2X6pMxYAb3q65xMju8wryWxKrsghkMbL3crGcPuCwEwnWZBzKEf7gXEzSN2b885juDs8VrjM9xiTAK7fZWKeR4vdyGwjeWcDhz2Hyn2mmZvvxspTtbsNy5K8E7Tb6n?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[On the Scholastic Front...]]></title><description><![CDATA[To evaluate my 10th and 11th grade students I am employing Performance-Based Grading tactics – a favorite among Peace Corps teachers in small-to-medium sized classrooms. It is, in my opinion, a forward]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/peace/@jhimmel/on-the-scholastic-front</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/peace/@jhimmel/on-the-scholastic-front</guid><category><![CDATA[peace]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 20 Dec 2018 12:34:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/99pyU5Ga1kwqSXWA2evTexn6YzPHotJF8R85JZsErvtTWYDJ938YTUAGSRrfMzcUTzSBrQfunyAvmFh9gBzX4Ra4ZYLUQAHfGcturt6V78tuEZgAFLUNaEVMDbaTmotKVp?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Educational Entrance]]></title><description><![CDATA[At my school I am responsible for teaching 10th and 11th grade Physics as well as 10th grade Biology. My classes are not large – only 20 students in each. We meet in the afternoon as classroom space is]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/educational-entrance</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/educational-entrance</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 20 Oct 2018 10:29:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/vM1pGHgNcyCXUWJECrZbvn1NMPj1oFGUo3gYfF3NNPRD9b5wnpswEvaPVeESMgV1Lt5apMduBKEZ1EWgxQmy8XGpYz8jtuhRf72fjrEWcFmgZRYH7hse2Z42V1oryqezEBqM8i2?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Upriver for Reef]]></title><description><![CDATA[One quiet morning, my friend James and I went on a mission to harvest bamboo from a stand deep in the mangroves up River Trehn. He needed the reef to build a nursery for his newly procured cabbage seeds]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/upriver-for-reef</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/upriver-for-reef</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 11 Oct 2018 20:55:03 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/HNWT6DgoBc14riaEeLCzGYopkqYBKxpGKqfNWfgr368M9UUYhGhJYu11cg9ACKhgcCeFoBktbeP8qDhbghtAE4fApjChJMEVSu3BzdcK7WkWShs7fEpVNHuQFs4?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Standing Trainee, Sitting Volunteer]]></title><description><![CDATA[A week before arriving becoming the White Man in Grebo Land... Our final nights of training reunited us in the dorms of Doe Palace. We embraced the close quarters living in anticipation of looming loneliness.]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/standing-trainee-sitting-volunteer</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/standing-trainee-sitting-volunteer</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 03 Oct 2018 20:35:45 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/HNWT6DgoBc14riaEeLCzGYopkqYBKxpGKqfNWfgr368M9UMeB3y7MTM1ynYEfPzMgQyjiQJTehCZLG77wFyGnkC1tun3bUHxw1TFLVj7fM5NY8MBUtdujw8V9hg?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Spicy Welcome]]></title><description><![CDATA[Driving to site in the all-terrain Land Cruiser was a bumpy two hours during which we drove through two streams and over one by way of a wood-plank bridge. It was quite engaging; tactically racing over]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/a-spicy-welcome</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/a-spicy-welcome</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 29 Sep 2018 21:04:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/HNWT6DgoBc14riaEeLCzGYopkqYBKxpGKqfNWfgr368M9Ub2BwNHrSh9amUc9nGrb8YgiDTPuTyL4Ah9GMkL6dq1zokmUdR6Hr6i1sr2QW111Ew5KPhUezFv9Wn?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[On the Pepper Coast]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Sunday morning after America's independence day, we grouped into cars to roll downslope to the coastal capital city of Liberia. Monrovia it's called - named after James Monroe, the founding father]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/on-the-pepper-coast</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/on-the-pepper-coast</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2018 17:21:09 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/C3TZR1g81UNaPs7vzNXHueW5ZM76DSHWEY7onmfLxcK2iQWnWNdFSAuwvN8chYBxJgb5orr45gTQh9MwhHM1WArvznjhgE3iPmGRYzfarYztWm7A4DodkK8?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The honeymoon month...]]></title><description><![CDATA[… smells, temperature, noise, interactions. Life is fresh, exciting, and waiting to be explored. Time here is already moving fast, but each day brings a new scene or friend. My inaugural blog post was]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/the-honeymoon-month</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/the-honeymoon-month</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 05 Jul 2018 12:50:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/D5zH9SyxCKd9GJ4T6rkBdeqZw1coQAaQyCUzUF4FozBvW7DJ62fn9DF3zTdu99eAvaimQsjGPMf2TjPdyFKbDYFbgVy3G1HVWpyexAhTgyWVAiBKMR7D87iJRVnA9xNRqkTWJS?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Green living all around me #ThursdayGreen]]></title><description><![CDATA[Liberia's capital city of Monrovia sees the highest rainfall of any in the world. These rains cast inland to feed some of the greenest scenes I have known. Here is my entry for #Thursdaygreen.]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/thursdaygreen/@jhimmel/green-living-all-around-me-thursdaygreen</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/thursdaygreen/@jhimmel/green-living-all-around-me-thursdaygreen</guid><category><![CDATA[thursdaygreen]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 21 Jun 2018 16:58:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/HNWT6DgoBc14riaEeLCzGYopkqYBKxpGKqfNWfgr368M9Wbc6QeTo9dUTNwwnQ8ad4xJXhWdmgoaqSgJwfCgGThYQddLe7RjwQrid13gv2DSwSiKZeDTee62cCe?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Children of Sinyea]]></title><description><![CDATA[In the village of Sinyea, Liberia - a kilometer north of the blooming Phebe Junction - the young children have no reservations and few obligations. Stiff cement homes are set in the verdant, overgrown]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/the-children-of-sinyea</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/the-children-of-sinyea</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 19 Jun 2018 10:25:51 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/HNWT6DgoBc14riaEeLCzGYopkqYBKxpGKqfNWfgr368M9Wbc6QeTo9dUTNwwnQ8ad4xJXhWdmgoaqSgJwfCgGThYQddLe7RjwQrid13gv2DSwSiKZeDTee62cCe?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item><item><title><![CDATA[Here it begins… Peace Corps Liberia]]></title><description><![CDATA[6 Degrees North of the Equator in the West African country of Liberia. 24 hours of flights for 27 months in the unknown. Luggage checked and expectations set: 50 lbs on the dot and 45 fellow volunteers]]></description><link>http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/here-it-begins-peace-corps-liberia</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://direct.ecency.com/africa/@jhimmel/here-it-begins-peace-corps-liberia</guid><category><![CDATA[africa]]></category><dc:creator><![CDATA[jhimmel]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jun 2018 22:42:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://images.ecency.com/p/C3TZR1g81UNaPs7vzNXHueW5ZM76DSHWEY7onmfLxcK2iPQ6hq4Pmh1AwpxPQAKoJFRJAj9tFQZurPkbDWdR16JW6imRdczRW36ocmeMVmHZDLqYNv4JVk2?format=match&amp;mode=fit" length="0" type="false"/></item></channel></rss>