I was standing in the middle of a concrete bunker in Southern Oregon when I first heard it.

For those of you who are unaware, I headed to Oregon State University in the fall of 1999 as a pre-vet major. I was going to be a veterinarian. However, during the summer between my junior and senior year, that all changed.

I was interning at Wildlife Safari, a drive-through zoo similar to the San Diego Zoo, set up in the rolling hills of southern Oregon, where the animals have space to roam and the fences are hard to see. There were about eight of us interns, and we rotated taking care of the different animals. One of my favorite parts of the job was bringing the animals in at night, maybe because that is when I had the opportunity to see them up close. The small pride of lions was one of my favorites to bring in at night (but feeding the black bears was a close second!).

We brought the animals into smaller enclosures at night, and the lions’ area was basically a concrete bunker with chain-link gates and fences that blended into the scenery. To get them inside (because calling here kitty, kitty, kitty just didn’t work!) we would put the lions’ dinner (fresh meat!) in their indoor enclosure, open a guillotine gate, and they would come in, most of the time pretty easily. Each lion had their own separate space, and sometimes getting them in one by one was a bit tricky, but very much like a game. They went for their food immediately, no hesitation, no ceremony. Sometimes pretty vocal. Just lions being lions. We would stay in the bunker and make sure that they all ate.

One night, after the food was wiped clean, I was standing in the hallway of the bunker when the large male started to roar.

I don’t remember his name, but I remember exactly what it felt like. The females joined in. The other male joined in. And there I was, standing in the middle of that cement bunker, completely surrounded by lions and by their sound, and I could feel the vibrations all the way in my soul. I closed my eyes, and I could almost see myself on the plains of Africa.

It was one of the most incredible things I have ever felt in my entire life.

I watched the movie We Bought a Zoo this past week (Matt Damon, if you are curious), and it took me right back to that moment. And then, because my mind works the way it does, it took me to Benin.

Are you surprised?

The Drums

There is a sound in Benin that does the same thing to me.

I can’t remember the first drum circle that I went to. I certainly remember the one where I realized that my husband could dance! My parents were visiting Benin for the first time in June of 2007. As a gift to the village soccer team, my parents, along with donations from their friends in Fairbanks, brought new cleats and soccer balls for all the players. It was an incredible gift to the community. As a thank you, the team hosted a drum circle in honor of my parents. The bottle of sodabi (the local liquor made from distilling palm wine, think moonshine) was passed around, and I was more than surprised when my parents each partook in a glass! They told me that their room wasn’t far away, so why not? When in a small village in Benin! The drums started, and people started dancing, and then, to my surprise, my husband-to-be stood up and started dancing. I was shocked. He was so good! Although I really shouldn’t have been…it was what he grew up doing.

There is something about the drumming, singing, and dancing combined during a drum circle that takes me back to that same moment I had when the lions were roaring. You can feel the rhythms and the beats rumble in your soul. It takes you back to something early and essential, to the core of who we are as human beings.

I certainly don’t have the right words to do this experience justice. It’s just one of those things you have to feel all on your own.

And you will be able to.

The last night of every Hello West Africa flagship tour, we will take guests to a drum circle. I can’t wait to see people’s reactions. To hear what they reflect on afterward. I am so curious about what that moment will open up in people who have never experienced anything like it.

A Week of Incredible Conversations

If you missed last week’s newsletter, don’t worry, you didn’t miss one! I took a break. It was an emotionally difficult week for me (don’t worry, my family and everyone are just fine). I realized I needed to give my mind and body a break from the day-to-day hustle. And coming back this week, I feel 100% better. It is okay to slow down, and I’m so glad that I did.

Here is what I learned…things for Hello West Africa didn’t stop. Because of the relationships I have been building, things kept moving forward even when I wasn’t actively pushing. That was an incredible lesson, especially so early in this game of creating and operating a small business.

Although I didn’t write a newsletter or post much on social media, I did show up for the calls I'd previously scheduled. And those calls were extraordinary.

Dr. Suzy Ross

Dr. Suzy Ross is among the first to study transformative learning and travel. I heard of her work while finishing up my dissertation, but for some reason, I didn’t come across her research when I was working on my own literature review (my keywords didn’t match any of hers, I guess). If you’ve written a literature review, there is a point at which you have to stop looking. Trust me, rabbit trails are so easy to go down! We spent an hour nerding out about transformative learning and what happens specifically during that reintegration piece, what occurs when travelers return home and try to find their footing again in their regular lives.

We also brainstormed some ideas that got me excited. One of them was reaching out to the Peace Corps. My Peace Corps experience was excellent from the beginning. The preparation was strong. The in-country support was strong. Where it dipped, for me and for many others, was the reintegration when we came home. Maybe the Peace Corps would be interested in making that full circle: preparation, reflection, the experience itself, and then genuine support for reintegration back into life. That is a conversation worth having. (If anyone from the Peace Corps happens to be reading this, look out for an email from me in the next couple of weeks, or just reach out! I would love to chat!)

Rebecca Maffeis and the Group

The second call was a morning group call with Rebecca Maffeis and four other women. One who runs the Nautica Collective. One who founded the Travel Coaching Network. One is a creative consultant who provides social media and communications support. And one is a travel agent whose energy was so incredible you could feel it through the screen.

Out of that call, real things happened. I have a podcast episode being recorded on June 17th with Sahara, the founder of the Travel Coaching Network. My first podcast! I am so excited about that. And I am continuing a conversation regarding community and transformative learning with Lucy from Nautica Collective.

What I keep noticing about these calls is that I am just myself. I am not trying to impress anyone. I am genuinely curious about transformative learning and how it connects to travel, and that seems to resonate with people. Further signs that I’m going in the right direction.

Jake Haupert

My third call was with Jake Haupert, co-founder of the Transformative Tourism Council and now an official advisor for Hello West Africa. We had met briefly in Seattle back in March, but this was our first proper Zoom call, a chance to get to know one another better and talk through the vision of Hello West Africa, and of course, transformative tourism.

We talked about Hello West Africa and where I see it in five years. We talked about the Transformative Tourism Council’s certificate program with the University of South Carolina. And then Jake described what it was like to teach in an online, asynchronous program, and so many of the things he mentioned are all too familiar to me.

Of course, I have thoughts about online learning and how it could be structured to create a transformative learning experience. I have a master’s and a doctorate, both received fully online. I think online learning is an incredible way to learn, but the way it is currently done is almost an afterthought. Creating a truly incredible online course is actually harder than in-person instruction, because you have to manufacture the feeling that in-person instruction creates naturally. That takes more energy, more intention, and more design. Not less. But I suppose I should save this rant for the Learning Lens!

I will be meeting Jake later this week in Bellingham to continue our conversation. I can’t wait!

What’s Coming Next

I want to get all of the Hello West Africa advisors together on a Zoom call, everyone in the same virtual room, meeting each other, sharing ideas, and getting a clear picture of where the business is and where it is going. That is on this week's to-do list.

The Learning Lens goes out this Thursday. A reader sent me a Substack note asking me to recommend a book on transformative learning theory. The best answer I could think of was Joe Pine’s The Transformation Economy, released earlier this year. Outside of that, the knowledge lives mostly in research articles and academic journals, which is part of why I write The Learning Lens in the first place. I am putting together something that combines my story with the theory, with resources people can take away. Stay tuned for more on that!

Three goals to take me through the rest of May and into June:

→ Finishing up the homeschool year with my boys. → Continuing to teach about transformative learning and travel. → Raising the $300,000 in seed capital for Hello West Africa.

On that last one, I am fully confident that the $300k will be raised. Whether it is six people each putting in $50,000, or one person who believes in what we are building for the country, the community, and the people who will travel with us. Or maybe it is more of a community approach, I’ve thought about that too, maybe something here on Substack. I thought of the community aspect because of Benin and its culture of community. Many thoughts and many possibilities. I am keeping the door open for all of them!

What I’m Learning

Taking a break is not falling behind. It is listening.

I have spent a lot of time over the years trying to push through when my body and mind were telling me to stop. Last week, I didn’t push through, and things kept moving. Relationships kept growing, and opportunities arrived.

I am starting to believe that reflection, real unhurried reflection, is not a pause in the work. It is the work.

In My Free Time

We had friends over and went to dinner at a local Thai restaurant in our little town. The little town we live in has Dutch heritage, and the restaurant is located in a building that recreates the feel of sitting along a canal street in the Netherlands, including a little stream with koi fish (those I’m not sure you would find in a canal in the Netherlands, but they are a nice touch!). A wonderful place to have a meal.

I have been working on my Notion setup, which has gone through many iterations since I started using it for my doctorate. It is the hub where I keep everything running, and I am finally getting it to a place that actually works for me and the growing business. All my thoughts and to-dos have to live somewhere other than in my head.

The Percy Jackson books continue to be a highlight of my week, taking turns with the boys as we read through them. Written for teenagers, yes. But I am learning more about Greek mythology than I ever did in school, and I am not even a little embarrassed about it!

Back to the Lions 🦁

I didn’t know it then, but that moment in the cement bunker was planting something. A curiosity about Africa. A hunger for sounds and places that get into you at a level that words can’t quite define.

The drum circle in a Beninese village does that. The lions did that. And I believe that when our first guests stand in that village on their last night with us, something will happen to them that they won’t fully be able to explain either.

That is what we are building with Hello West Africa.

An experience that doesn’t end when you board the plane home. One that stays with you, gets talked about, reflected on, and shared, long after the drums have gone quiet.

Until next Tuesday,

P.S. — Hello West Africa is looking for aligned investors and Founding Supporters. If you want to be part of building this before the doors open, reply to this email and let’s talk.

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