A Christmas Surprise

by | Dec 20, 2010 | Stories

Many of you who read this site knew my trip was coming to a close. I did not announce it here, because I planned to surprise my mom before Christmas (she reads this site, but does not know how to use twitter or facebook). I got home last night and here’s what happened:

Future of the Site

I am very excited about what is going to happen with this site in 2011. I’m going to continue sharing music and stories from my time in Africa. I will also remain faithful to my promise of consistently delivering the most cutting edge camel drawing techniques. What’s on the agenda travel wise?

  • Road trip from New York to Arizona
  • A trip south of the border
  • Back to Africa

Of course, none of this is set in stone. I will be trying to make money with a variety of means. Some of these I will talk about here, others in the email list (sign up on the right somewhere –>). As of now, none of them involve dealing drugs or selling my body.

For now, I will be getting caught up with a lot of things I still have not posted from Morocco, Mali, Cote D’Ivoire and even Ghana. To everyone that has sent me emails, comments, and camels, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. If you have not sent me a drawing of your camel or you are confused about what I’m talking about, read this post. And then send me your camel. I am almost at 50 camels, which means another $50 will be donated to Partners in Health.

Cote D’Ivoire Update

Faty and David, who I stayed with for nearly a month, are safe. I have been talking to them daily. Shelby Grossman has a good update on the situation here. Major American news outlets have done an absolutely terrible job reporting on the crisis.

Here’s to 2011 starting with a peaceful resolution in Cote d’Ivoire.

24 Comments

  1. Skott and Shawna

    Welcome home Phil!!!

    Cool video – it reminded me of when I surprised my folks coming home a few weeks early from Austrailia….awesome!

    Have a great Christmas – we will keep following you.

    All the best in 2011.

    Reply
    • phil

      Hey guys, thanks a lot! All the best to you as well !

      B well, Phil

      Reply
  2. Maureen Brady Johnson

    Tell your mom that is exactly what I would have said…but I have a “crying gene” and after the Holy Shit, I would have started to cry. Great surprise! Thanks for sharing…
    mbj

    Reply
    • phil

      She was borderline crying. I was worried about a possible heart attack more than anything.

      Reply
  3. McRoommate

    Yay!!!! So glad you made it back safely. When you coming to visit?!?! I didn’t see “trip to DC” on your agenda.

    Merry merry christmas! And lots of love.

    Reply
    • phil

      Trip to DC is on the agenda. It will probably happen one month from now. Get ready !!!

      Reply
  4. Honza

    I pulled the same upon coming back. Took her 3 days to recover though, she really really did not expect me to come home already and was a bit shocked…

    Protip: don’t do it to people with heart problems :p

    Reply
  5. Honza

    Realizing now that my first post might come across in the wrong way – she does not have heart problems. It just took several days for her to get used to the idea of me being back after several months =)

    Reply
    • phil

      Haha, yeah the same is happening for me. Agreed, not a good stunt for someone with a pacemaker.

      Reply
  6. Ayngelina

    South of the border, as in Mexico? I started my trip there and I fell in love with it. The food is sooooo amazing. very jealous!

    Reply
    • phil

      Possibly. I will keep you posted. I would love to go and food is for sure one of the reasons!!

      Reply
  7. Brendan van Son

    Exciting stuff man… maybe you’ll be able to someday inspire us to also draw giraffes and lions?!

    Reply
    • phil

      Brendan, slow down. Vicunas are next. Then llamas and alpacas.

      Reply
        • phil

          HOLY SHIT. I have never seen a guanaco before but just googled it. Wow, thanks for turning me onto them.

          Reply
  8. Jessica the hedgehog

    Welcome home! And what a sweet video! It reminds me a lot of when we surprised our parents after our RTW trip too. 🙂

    Let us know if you make your way up to the Boston/Cape Cod area. It’d be cool to grab a drink together and learn camel drawing from the expert himself. 😉

    Reply
    • phil

      I may indeed be in Boston at some point. Would love to meet a few hedgehogs and draw some camels over a beer!!!

      Reply
  9. Sofia

    Awesome that you filmed it!!
    Last year when I came back from 8 months traveling I arranged with my mum to surprise my dad on his birthday on their weekend trip to Budapest. He thought I was still in Asia. It was so much fun surprising him at his hotel in the morning pretending to be “room service”, I’ll try to do it again some time, perhaps with my mum next time 😉

    Reply
    • phil

      Ahhh nicely done with the room service!!! Yeah, I plan on making this a regular thing now. It was a lot of fun.

      Reply
  10. Sally

    Aww, cute video. I was thinking of doing the same thing — surprising my family when I come home in January before I move back to Asia in February. But, it’s physically impossible for me to keep a secret. Plus, I need a ride home from the airport.
    Have fun at home!

    Reply
    • phil

      Yeah I know all about your inability to keep a secret after you told Wes I was behind all of the camel harassment. It’s ok though, I still love you.

      Reply
  11. Sally

    YOU NEVER TOLD ME THAT IT WAS A SECRET. (But, yeah, that wouldn’t have mattered anyway).

    Reply
  12. Jill - Jack and Jill Travel The World

    What a sweet surprise! Sad to hear that your travel has come to an end, but it sounds like you’ve got a big plan for this year. Looking forward to hear more about your adventures. And I’ll try to send you a camel drawing… or have you got 50 yet?

    Reply
    • phil

      Thanks Jill!! I do have 50 camels, but I would love to see your rendition, I will include it in one of the forthcoming camel wallpapers! Thanks for commenting! B well, Phil

      Reply

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