Yep, that’s a hyena.
A furry,
spotted,
hungry,
hyena.
And yes,
it crept up my spine,
towards my head,
to devour raw meat from my hand.
I grew up in the suburbs outside Philadelphia, PA, and that has shaped a lot of who I am. After that, it's been quite the back and forth, but I have steady been an east coast girl all my life, on three different continents.
For a year I taught English as a second language to all ages while learning Portuguese in Bebedouro, a suburban town in Sao Paulo State, Brazil.
Next, I taught middle school language arts in inner-city Philadelphia and lived in Roxborough, a neighborhood of the city. During this time I received my M.Ed.
I resigned from teaching to pursue my life dream of serving in the Peace Corps. Living in rural Ethiopia for over two years as an education volunteer enriched my life in many ways, and I loved sharing my experiences.
Returning home I excitedly moved in with my husband (then boyfriend) to a small town. It took some adjustment living in a rural area, but this changed my life for the better. After teaching English for 14 years I needed a change, so I resigned from education to pursue writing.
