In 1974 my father, a professor of British and African History, took a sabbatical year to do research in Kenya and teach aboard “World Campus Afloat,” an earlier version of Semester at Sea. He took my mother and young brothers along for the adventures.

Here they sit in the Nairobi train station, waiting in the dark for an early morning ride to spend a weekend with a retired American priest on his countryside farm. In a letter about the trip, my mom wrote, “We got up at 4 AM to get the train at 5 AM, but it didn’t arrive until 6 AM (sunrise 6:30 AM). They let us wait in the one room station, which had one kerosene lamp and I felt like we had stepped back 100 years in American history.”

I love the combined tone in this picture of casual family adventure and formally poised preparation. Here she sits, ready for whatever may happen as she shows her children the diversity of the world, and yet legs are crossed, hat in place, stylish luggage carefully stacked.
It reminds me of the times, before I was born, when the world was opening up so much to those who were willing to venture into it, and yet a standard for proper dress and behavior was still upheld. ~shared by @corneliaiv