Past Adventures: Stories of Immigration
For many people, Bremerhaven was the gateway to a new life in the new world. © Laurel Decher, 2015. What did it feel like to go to America to make a new life? My family and I visited the German Emigration Museum in northern Germany. The museum is in Bremerhaven, literally “Bremen’s harbor”, so there […]
Welcome Aboard! Are You Ready to Make New Friends?
Train travel is always an adventure and sometimes you don’t have the words you need. A few years ago, we accidentally missed our train to Paris, then made some new friends, even though we didn’t speak the same language. Here’s the story for you, plus a few games to keep the kids entertained on your […]
Please Welcome These Giants Into Your Library
Giant Trouble: The Mystery of the Magic Beans is a hilarious romp for ages 9 to 12. It’s also a story about not feeling welcome. So many people are experiencing loss of their homes and their peace. It hurts. But loss and sorrow don’t win the Battle of the Beanstalk! Eleven-year-old William of Marigold’s ingenious […]
Meet The Giants: 7 Big Reasons to Welcome Newcomers
The Marigold Kingdom gets a giant surprise one morning when some visitors show up carrying giant signs. Read an Excerpt In this scene from Giant Trouble: The Mystery of the Magic Beans, eleven-year-old Prince William is testing the soup recipe in the royal family’s restaurant in the Marigold Kingdom. He has to know if his […]
6 ways rhythm helps us feel at home in a new world
New neighbor changes the rhythm of our walks. ©Laurel Decher, 2016. (1) Every culture has its own heartbeat. On the weekend, I practiced a new skill and had a sudden aha! moment about learning to adapt to a new culture by finding the beat. When I lived in West Africa for a year, the people […]
Spring is coming. Let’s not give up on hospitality yet.
Forest road in spring green with a blue sky above. Kottenforst, Germany. © Laurel Decher, 2016. Is Migration Our Lot? Lately, I’ve been wondering if migration is our natural lot and living peacefully in one place all our lives a rarity. Cranes are migrating and their calls remind me of spring. The current news shows […]
Hope for February: ESPERANZA RISING and Esperanza Spalding
Hopeful signs: Tiny snowdrops dusting the ground under giant trees bare of leaves under a gray sky. Kriegshoven, Germany. © Laurel Decher, 2016. Hope keeps cropping up . . . Hope keeps cropping up. In February things can look dark in the Northern Hemisphere, but the light always comes. I want to share some hope […]
The Power of the Silver Pen: Journals, Photos, and Collections Help Order Our Lives
Marie Kondo’s THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP explores the benefits of de-cluttering at a level I can’t attain but it reminds me that things help us find out who we are. The things I like and don’t like, need and don’t need, are like mirrors that reflect information back to me and help me […]
Collateral damage: What if there’s no one to vouch for you?
Collateral damage: Ruins of the Castle of Are (Ahr) built by Theodorich of Are around 1100 A.D. What would you do if you lost your identity? Or had no way to prove you were one of the “good guys”? A reputation is a thing you don’t think about until it’s lost. There are so many […]