More about me

"Their focus on the immediate leaves them with a low tolerance for procedures, routines, and anything else that stands in the way of immediate gratification. The combination of Extraversion, Sensing, and Feeling drives ESFPs to make each moment a successful interpersonal experience. They are very accepting of others and believe others should "live and let live." So strong is the need for harmony that they constantly tend to accentuate the positive, often employing diversionary tactics to circumvent a conflict. If an argument erupts, ESFPs may quickly start a conversation about something pleasant, hoping that the combatants will join in and forget their differences."

"In general, both male and female ESFPs are often misperceived. The spontaneity and immediacy of their nature (Perceiving) and their firm grounding in "what is" (Sensing) as opposed to "what can be" may make the ESFP appear lacking in depth, direction, or purpose. But this is not the case. It's just that their depth, direction and purpose are always interpreted in light of the demands of the existing moment. "I don't need a long-range plan if I make the most of what I'm doing right now," they are likely to say. It is precisely such sentiments that cause them to be perceived as shallow."

So that's why I never think my blogs are all that introspective or "deep". But I'm not really that shallow... it's just that my depth must be interpreted in light of the existing moment.

Somehow, this personality type seems to be serving me well here... since it's completely impossible to make long-range plans in the first place!

Internetting

I got quite a few things done work-wise today, so I spent a little time this evening on-line. One my friends had a personality test link on her blog... so I couldn't resist. I thought I'd see how much my Myers Briggs personality type has changed in the last little while - it's interesting to see how my personality type changes depending on the circumstances that I'm in!



Who knew I was such an Extrovert?! Here's what else it says about me, an SP (Creator):

"They are observant, experiential and primarily driven by sensation. They are flexible, aesthetically-aware, "here and now" people that, with hardly a moment's notice, will go where their senses lead. SPs naturally make an effort (with a realistic approach) not to miss an opportunity that may prove to be thrilling, pleasing or otherwise valuable. SPs are are laid back, open-minded and love to feel alive. They have a tendency toward athletics and anything that involves creating or crafting"

That's quite true of me, I think. But it also says this:
"ESFPs are cooperative, "here and now" people-persons that enjoy excitement and love new adventures. Because of their highly social nature, they are especially lively when they are the center of attention and hate being alone. ESFPs have a practical side that allows them to finish work efficiently and are often good problem solvers."

I don't really like being the center of attention, I don't think! It also says I should be an entertainer or a comedian! I am also the same personality type as Bill Clinton, Cathy Lee Gifford and Homer Simpson! Great company, eh?!

Maybe I'll have to take the test tomorrow and see if my personality has changed!

Mossy nets

As I was tucking in my mosquito net before climbing into my little cocoon of a bed, it suddenly dawned on me that I actually live in a place where I NEED to sleep under a mosquito net. I've always wanted to live in a place where I could have a four poster bed with a bunch of swishy fabric draped over top. And as I was tucking in my white gauzy mosquito net, which happens to hang from four lovely blue bamboo poles around my bed, I realized that I now have a four poster bed with a bunch of swishy fabric draped over top!

Funny how these little things that start to seem so normal here are really just little pieces of the puzzle that God's been building in me for a very long time! It's a good reminder that He does have a good plan and a real purpose for me being here at this time. And it's really fun how he uses my nightly ritual of tucking in my mosquito net to remind me of his care for me, even in the small details!

Speaking of God's care for us - we've had some really good meetings these past few days with folks in the Ministry of Education. We were supposed to meet with someone yesterday, and he never showed up, but we ended up meeting with someone completely different, who we had never met before. We had a really good meeting, and I was encouraged to hear him speak, as he really seems to know what he's doing. He's also really keen to see the local languages get used in school.

We also had a meeting today with another really keen guy who's working with the budgets and the planning committee within the Ministry. It's just really encouraging to work together with people who really seem to know what they're doing and who are gung-ho to get things implemented on the ground. Seems some people within the Ministry are really starting to wake up to the fact that the local languages are being ignored! Maybe me and Jackie's "broken record" routine about "mother tongue first" has started to be heard... or maybe God's just answering our prayers and starting to open their eyes and ears to the importance of language in education! Anyways, it seems like we're starting to make some progress, and that's really, really exciting!

My room

So I just thought that I should post a photo of my room tonight. This is the room that I painted, with the mossy net poles that I painted. Sheets are imported from Canada. The shoes were left by an American and grace my feet most days as I shuffle around the compound!

I call it the blue room. You can't really tell, but the desk that I stole from the guesthouse also has a blue top! It was sitting in the hallway collecting dust, and no one seemed to know where it belonged or who it belonged to, so I decided it would be a nice addition to my blue room!

And now, since Zane is already curled up on the bed, it's time for me to do the same!

Pictures

Well, I was going to post some photos of my new house and all that. But I realized that the cable to my camera is up in the guesthouse still. This afternoon, when Richard and Zane were all snuggled together on the couch, I wanted to take a photo of them... but I realized that my camera was down in my house. I think there are going to be a few things to get used to, not having all my stuff in one room all the time now! Today we moved things around in the guesthouse so that the room that is no longer my bedroom is now the office for 4 people! Yikes! It's still going to be a bit crowded in there... but at least I won't have to move my laundry pile every time anyone wants to use the printer!

Zane's having a great time biding his time between two houses. I think he got confused this morning, though. We fed him his breakfast at our house this morning. But then he followed me up to the guesthouse/office, and started crying for breakfast again. I think he forgot that he had already eaten! I've also had to pick 2 ticks off of him in the last few days. I think the ticks must hide in the longer grass around our new house, since he had never gotten a tick before we moved him down to this end of the compound :(

Anyways, hopefully tomorrow I'll remember to take photos.

Oh yeah, the Dinka told me that we have to slaughter a goat to bless our house. Then the move will be complete. I was just thinking that maybe we could invite them all over to our verandah for some tea and biscuits!

Still Alive

I'm currently sitting on my new bed, in front of my Black and Decker fan, enjoying the new paint sort of smells, and getting ready for my second night in my new home. Ah, I love having a house of our own already! However, I was quite lonely this morning as I was sitting on our verandah drinking my coffee. There was no one to talk to, as Jackie was having her usual Sunday morning shut-in. So I made up the excuse of going to find a banana in the guesthouse kitchen in order to go and find some people to say good morning to. It's going to take me a little while to get used to this new arrangement, I think!

Tomorrow we'll set up my old hoffice as a real office. Me, Wes and Jackie will all share my old room, and convert it to an office. That way, if someone wants to use the printer, they don't have to shove my dirty clothes bag off the bed to find a place to plant their computer! Yup, things are looking up around here!

I also just got back from watching the "Bourne Ultimatum" at one of the UN compounds! Every Sunday night they get out the big old projector and show a movie. You can even buy microwave popcorn from their import store :) Of course the movie was from some internet download or something, which was a pre-release copy so it had all the time stamps and "universal studies" stamped across the top of the screen the whole time. But I'm certainly not complaining about seeing a recent movie like this right here in this crazy part of the world! And the best part is, it's FREE! You just have to sign your name to the list at the UN. I'll write more about the eerily strange little UN village that I ventured into for the first time tonight for the movie!

For now, my nice firm foam mattress is calling me to sleep!

Top 10

Because I'm in the mood for lists, I thought I'd post my friend's list that he sent me. It's all in honor of my cat bite, which has healed quite nicely, if I do say so myself. Maybe you have to know Steve (the author of this list) to see the humour in this list, but it made me laugh outloud!

Top 10 Reasons to stay AWAY from your neighbor's cat.

10. The locals call him a Dinka name which directly translated, means "Psycho lioness"

9. You notice that he only licks his lips when he is looking at you.

8. You find him in the TV room late at night watching Jackie Chan movies and practicing his "moves".

7. Two words: Ra - bies !

6. You start believing the locals when they say that cat tastes like chicken.

5. The neighbor keeps coming to look for his cat while you are in the shower.

4. There is no number 4, the writer has gone for a ride on her broom.

3. You wake up wearing a tight-black leather suit, pretending to be Halle Berry

2.

1. At Sunday evening fellowship you start rubbing your head up against the shoulder of the guy next to you while meowing and looking longingly at his mandaze!

5 more things

My friend who writes "African Banter" reminded me that I hadn't actually finished my lists and tagged anyone for the next round of "meme". So he seems to have tagged himself, thereby saving me the trouble of putting any of my friends on the spot. I quite like some of his categories ... but because no one wants to hear about the meeting that I was involved in today (I STILL have a headache from it!), I thought I'd write another list.

5 Things I'll never wear again:
Um, wait, this is a hard one. I mean, look at where I live?! I'd probably wear just about anything again, if it's relatively clean and doesn't make me sweat too much! I'm famous around here for running around in blue tie-dyed mumus. I mean, really, I would wear just about anything, except for:

• A bikini (I think I've seen photos of myself wearing one when I was, like, 4 years old or something)
• Anything that's more than 50% polyester
• Turtle necks. I still don't like things around my neck unless it's a beautiful scarf!
• Those shirts that attach around and snap between your legs. What was the purpose of that in the first place?
• Those pants (or trousers for you Brits) that had the stretchy elestic on the bottoms which went under your foot. We used to wear them with slouch socks over top.
  

Yup, that's about it. I'd still pretty much wear anything, if it happened to be clean(ish) and be practical for the climactic conditions :)

Random Thoughts

A few random things today:

• When I was out and about this afternoon, I found a new drink. It's a peach drink, with bits of real peach in it! It tastes like the juice that you get left over at the bottom of the can of peaches. It's pretty nice. I chose it because I was dying of thirst while I was driving around in our truck with no A/C on the dusty roads. Here's a picture of the can.

• Richard also fixed the pipe on our neighbor's house. This is the state of the brass pipe from the water after being on the water pipe for less than two years. The salt and minerals in the water just ate through the whole thing! I fear for my insides, but Jackie says I don't have to worry because I'm not made of metal.
  

• I had the joy of unwrapping a brand new refrigerator today! Wow, I've never had a new fridge before. I own half, and Jackie owns half. We haven't decided yet who owns which half. I'm just getting really excited because it has a freezer section that should yield ICE CUBES! Wow. I'll keep you posted on the status of the ice cubes.
• We've been so blessed by our nieghbor, Rob. He's a Mennonite, and is just one of those handy guys who can do anything and everything. He's been so great at helping is get some electrical sockets in the right places, and hanging our mirror in the bathroom and all sorts of things like that.
  

• Tomorrow we get to go to a UN meeting all day - we're going to attempt to figure out how the UN does their "sector plans" for 2008, and see if we can't get some funding for some of the mother tongue literacy projects that we've got planned for the coming year! UN meetings are always interesting - you never quite know how it's all going to go. I might even get a pad of paper to write on, and surely I'll get a bottle of water. Oh yeah, the actual work that we'll be doing should be interesting, as well :)

And some real work

And lest you think that it's all just play around here...

I also went to a meeting at the Ministry of Education the other day. It was held in a tent in the courtyard of the government offices. That's their new "board" room. Very posh with their plastic tables and chairs. Lawn furniture doubles as office furniture, even in government offices, in this country! At least you know that you'll always have an equally uncomfortable chair to sit in no matter what meeting you end up in!

The meeting was very interesting - I won't go into all the details, but I have to say that it gave me some very good insight into how the Ministry goes about planning things and how they work! Of course, those meetings are always wonderful times to network with people, too, on various issues. And we got to sound like broken records again, talking about mother tongue and the importance of the use of the local languages in education!

The meeting was also worthwhile because I did get a free can of Coke and an icy cold bottle of water to sip whilst the meeting was taking place. Poor people who come to our center for meetings - the only thing they usually get is a glass of lukewarm salty water from our borehole!

Shopping!

Since we have almost completed the painting in our house, and things are actually starting to look like a real "home", we thought we'd better go to the market and pick up a few things that were lacking. One of the things that I got was a nice bit of fabric with which to make curtains. While the pickin's were slimmer than they were before I left, I found the most beautiful piece:The blue, I think, is going to match so perfectly with the blue shelf and my blue square on the wall. I really like the butterflies and the sort of flowery pattern... beautiful and feminine, yet certainly not over the top in flowery-ness. And it was only $5 for 3 meters. (Fabric is the one and only thing that is cheap here!) And the colors will go so perfectly with everything else in the house, I think. I even have a blue bed! Actually, blue is the only color the beds come in. It's a nice bed - metal frame with nylon strings for the part that you put your foam mattress on. I'll take a photo of that set up tomorrow, too.

It's so exciting to see things actually coming together into place. We even bought some silverware tonight so we can eat over there :) We spent a ton of money in the market, but, what can you do? While we really have very little stuff to fill our house, there is still a certain amount of stuff that you need in order to function. Thankfully, we were able to buy most stuff from a family that was leaving Uganda to go back to the UK a few months ago. They had quite nice taste, so we bought all their dishes and kitchen stuff - quite a deal to get it all second hand. That really saved us a lot of money, and we got much nicer stuff than we would ever be able to find around here.

And what did Zane do the whole time we've been sweating away to get our house ready?
He just sort of took over my old bed! Too bad that bedroom's going to be turned into a real office! I'm dropping the Newfie "h" off of my "hoffice" and it's going to go back to a plain old "office". There will be three of us sharing it as an office, though, so that will be different... but at least I won't get lonely!

Just another Manic Monday

There's another song I know all the words to. Manic Monday by the Bangles. I also know all the words to "Walk Like an Egyptian" and a selection of other Bangles tunes.

It was a pretty crazy Monday, actually. Yesterday afternoon we discovered that there was no electricity going in to charge our back-up electricity supply in the computer container where the Internet routers are located. So that led us on a wild goose chase to learn all about 12 volt batteries, inverters and power supplies. There's no end to the things I have to learn around here! Whilst clamouring around the container and following various wires to different sockets and circuit breakers and inverters and UPS units, two Ugandans came knocking at the gate. Seems the 40 foot container truck that's packed to the gills with stuff for our house and the offices and the guesthouse had arrived... but was stopped at the customs point on the WRONG side of the Nile Bridge.

So, just as I predicted, just before the time came for the evening fellowship group, we had to deal with our truck! Thankfully, one of the guests in our house (who stays with us so much that he's becoming like family) knows a little about UPS systems, so he was able to rig up some extension cords to at least get our Internet going again until we can figure that whole thing out.

And Jackie and Wes went off to the Bridge to try to clear our truck out of customs. Because neither one of our extended cab pick up trucks are exactly legal to drive at the moment (that's a whole 'nother story!), they all had to go off in Jackie's little Suzuki. Well, this Suzuki only has space for 4 people, and even for 4, it's a bit of a stretch! So one of the taller Ugandans stayed with me in the guesthouse. So there I was, entertaining a Ugandan trucker. I mean, not entertaining a Ugandan trucker, but at least trying to give him enough water and bread to keep him happy!

Our fellowship group starts at 5:30 pm, and by that time, it was pouring rain. So I got the dining room all set up with the chairs, got the tea all set out and everything... just in time for Wes and Jackie to come back without the truck. Seems they didn't have the right stamp to get the truck, and they'd have to go today to get the right stamp from the right office so that the truck could be cleared through customs.

So Jackie went off to take the Ugandan back to the truck, so he could spend the night with his buddies. We gave them a jerry can of drinking water (which they said was too salty!), some bread and some money for dinner.

Fellowship was good. One of our neighbors shared about how God cares about the details - even things like how I found a hinge on our junk shelf which was exactly the size of hinge that he needed to finish building his dog pen yesterday. Our other neighbor (the doctor who kept me alive during the cat bite saga) shared from Psalm 139, about how God is everywhere, and he knows even our very thoughts before we even think them.

And there I was, worrying and stressed about this silly truck. How good it was to be reminded that God is in this situation too. I sometimes find that I get distracted by these practicalities of life here - nothing is easy or straightforward, and that distracts me from the fact that yes, God is even in the details that make absolutely no sense to me! All I need to do is trust Him, and seek to know Him more in all situations!

Plus, I was feeling much better after the fellowship because a whole bunch of us went out for Chinese food! Imagine, real Chinese food here - it's a brand new place that just opened up, and 10 of us swarmed the place last night. It was amazing. Sweet and Sour Pork was my favorite dish. Pork, you say? Yes, pork. Real pork. In this country. Pork. And made into a lovely sweet and sour sauce with pineapples and everything. Wow. We were all very impressed. And in the end, two of our friends refused to let any of us pay anything - they covered the entire bill! Wow, did I ever feel blessed!

And then today, I helped get Wes and Jackie out the door to the next government office where they were attempting to get this stamped letter that we needed. Getting out the door to any government office requires an awful lot of preparation - gathering copies of any bit of paper that we have with any kind of official stamp. The more stamped documents you have, the better! And take multiple copies of everything, since everyone you talk to will want a copy of it.

While they were gone, I hosted the prayer meeting for the remaining folks here. We sang a few songs, and then one of the translators here read from Jeremiah 1. What a great passage of Scripture, and such a timely reminder. I completely relate to Jeremiah - who am I to do anything great; to be "appointed over nations" (vs. 10)? I'm too young, too inexperienced for this whole adventure! But God really convicted me again... he's the one who called me here, so he will put his words in my mouth at the proper time. He will use me to do his work, and what a comfort that was in the midst of these crazy challenges!

We had a good time of prayer together. I like these guys so much. It's just good to sit around and pray with them, and then chat over tea afterwards. They have so many good stories! And really, it's only when we sit together and take the time to talk that I find out how I really can help them and facilitate the work that they're doing in Bible translation.

Anyways, after the prayer time, Jackie and Wes came back... still no truck.

So we had lunch.

Then they went back to try to get the paper stamped again. The guy with the rubber stamp had been gone to a funeral all day today, though. So come back tomorrow. Hmmmm... meanwhile the truckers show up at our place again. And we have to tell them that they need to stay here for another night, with their truck on the wrong side of the Nile. Of course, they weren't too pleased about that. But we offered them some lunch and a shower, and their moods were much improved.

But we still didn't quite know what to do. So we waited. The truckers waited.

And lo and behold. A little while later, Wes came driving in Jackie's little Suzuki... followed by a 40 foot container truck! I have no idea what he did or how it all happened, but all we could do was praise the Lord that our truck was allowed to pass without the permission of the man with the rubber stamp!

Then we really switched into high gear. All hands were on deck to get this truck unloaded so these poor guys could go back to Uganda!

Of course, it wasn't without incident. Two of our truckers got injured in the unloading process - one stepped on a nail and another ripped his toe-nail off. So Jackie and I had a good excuse to excuse ourselves from the unloading process for a few minutes, and went to play community health nurses. So funny to get these strong young men to put Dettol disinfectant on their wounds - it really stings, but they were trying to be men about it! I just provided the supplies, but they ended up actually applying the Dettol and bandages to each other. Seems they both had ticklish feet, too, so they were both sitting there in the verandah, giggling like little boys as they grimaced in pain and tickled each other's feet! Really, quite a sight to see! I don't know what it is with these 20-something year old East African men - they love to giggle!

Phew, finally, we all got back to work and got this truck unloaded!

Tomorrow, perhaps, Jackie and I might actually be able to unpack enough stuff to start moving out of the guesthouse!

And God is still in the details - if we had gotten the right funding for our Ministry of Education workshops that we've been working on, we would have been in a completely different city today, teaching the first day of a two week workshop... and leaving no one around to take care of the truck or the truckers! So maybe the lack of funding was really a blessing that we didn't quite see at the time.

Man, this became WAY longer than I intended it to. Sorry, but kudos to ya'll who read this far!

More 5 Things

Before I go make my lunch... I'll continue with my 5 Things lists:

5 Songs I know all the words to: (This is really hard, because, well, I know a whole lot more than 5 songs!)

1. I DO know all the words to INXS's "Devil Inside".
2. Anything by U2, except for on the Discotheque cd. I don't like that one. I know all the others though.
3. Since it's Sunday, I guess I should mention that I know a whole lot of church songs. I had to memorize all the words to "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" in Grade 9, and I still know it! But I know a lot more contemporary stuff, too! Anything from Caedman's Call and Jeremy Camp, or Casting Crowns, or Mercy Me or Steve Bell ... those are my "church" songs these days when I have my own little church service on my own.

Man, this one is too hard. I can't narrow it down. So I'm stopping with three. Maybe after eating some lunch I'll be able to think more clearly!

Cross Country Skiing in Africa?

Just a funny that I thought I'd share...

I was sitting in church this morning and I noticed that the guy who was snoozing next to me was wearing a very nice pair of leather cross-country ski boots. Very nice solid leather, lace up boots... complete with the square toes and hooks for the skiis! I'm sure he had no idea what the shoes were for, but perhaps thought the square toe thing was kind of funky.

So as I was sitting there sweating through the service, I was thinking of my Rocky Mountains... ah... and I smiled to myself and thanked God for the beauty of creation, both here and at home!

Who needs IKEA?!

Today we started our renovations in full force. A kindly neighbor came along first thing this morning and asked, "What shall I do?" and we kept him busy all day. It's SO nice to have handy people around! The first task I asked him to do was to make a closet for me. Between a bookshelf that I scavenged from the old store room and some scrap wood that was lying around, I have a complete built in closet set up! I'm pretty impressed with it, thanks to my Mennonite neighbor Rob. Who needs Ikea when we have someone like Rob around?

We did lots of painting, and Jackie and I took a trip over to Victor's store. The guys in there treated me like I was their long lost sister - handshakes all around! I don't think they get too many white women in there looking for hardware! We got some funky stretchy string to put up some curtains with, some more paint, a mirror and some other bits and pieces. Things are really starting to shape up in there! We repainted the bathroom, as well as the kitchen cabinets. Here's the bilingual education coordinator hard at work. I think we found the only shower curtain in town, and it just happens to be blue, to match the blue paint that they sell for bathrooms! Like I said, they don't have much choice in color, but at least they bring in the shower curtains to match the only color of paint that they have :)
I also painted a wall in my room, which is a very odd wall, but it sure does look nice now. I also have a bit of a splash of color, as I painted another odd bit of wood in my room the same blue of the bookshelf, which is also the same blue as the bathroom! At least everything is co-ordinated! Wes looked at me like I was nuts when I started painting this big blue rectangle on my wall... but Jackie and I think it's quite artistic, actually.

We also got some curtains hung - we have yet to go to the market to get the cloth that I want - for the time being we're just using the cast-off curtains from the guesthouse. They fit perfectly, and will do until we're able to go to the market and borrow a sewing machine. But I'm sure it will be easy to find fabric to match the blue.

It was really quite a lot of fun getting everything all scrubbed and painted and looking pretty. I'm really looking forward to getting our stuff and getting moved in. We still haven't seen the truck that's coming up with our stuff... we expected it yesterday or today... but it's nearing 10:30pm, so I doubt it will come today. Knowing our luck with the delivery of stuff, it will come just as we're sitting down in the compound for our church service tomorrow evening... oh well, at least that means we might have a few extra hands to unload!

I just turned off the generator, and all of the little bugs are now very attracted to my computer screen... which means it's time to shut it down and snuggle under my sheet... except without any fan, it's going to be a bit of a warm night. There's not a breath of air moving!

Arm Update

I'm healing quite nicely, just in case anyone is wondering about my arm. Dr. Chris still looks every night at my arm, and each night now, he's very pleased. We all went out to our favorite restaurant to eat fried chicken tonight, and we both started looking at it during dinner... but then we decided to wait until we got home for the nightly consultation! My arm was even healed enough to play darts after dinner. And I was SO close to coming in second... my fellow Albertan beat me by 10 points. Oh well. I'm on the mend, and that's the important part!

5 Things...

My big sister "tagged" me the other day in this thing called "meme". So that means I'm supposed to answer a bunch of questions... which are actually pretty good questions to think about. So since I loved my big sister, and I've always wanted to be just like her, I thought I might actually answer the questions, just like her! I should have answered the questions before I read all the answers to her questions, though. Even though we live incredibly radically different lives, we're still sisters, and we're a bit more alike in some ways than it might appear on the surface!

So Carla, this is for you :) By the way, you can read my big sisters blog here. She's always been so amazing - so calm, so peaceful, so in love with Christ, which keeps her and her family so "down to earth" (I mean in a really good way!). I still admire and respect and look up to her just as much as I did when I was 5, even though I sure haven't done things the way she has in her life! But I hope that I can do my own things with as much love and integrity and passion as she does.

Anyways, that's just a little kudo for my sister... and now the rest is all about "meme":

5 things I like: (besides friends and family) (I love a lot of the things my sister loves, too... but somehow, I feel a lot more superficial in the things that I love!) (and the things that I love seem to change by the hour):

1. Having a nice hot, soapy shower with lots and lots of lovely smelling soaps and shampoos after you've been really dirty. I love it when you can actually SEE the dirt running down the drain!
2. My wonderfully shiny and smooth cat, Zane, when he snuggles up against me and pretends that I'm the most important person in his life... this usually only happens when he's hungry, but hey, I'll take all the love I can get!
3. Beautiful things. Shiny beads in all sorts of colors, beautifully designed fabrics, paintings, photographs, people... I guess this is a bit of a broad category. But I just love well-designed things that have been created well. My sister put it a bit more eloquently on her own list, but it's exactly the sort of thing I like. But our tastes differ a bit, I think.
   
4. Fonts. I know, it's kind of a weird one, but I love fonts. I've read entire books on font styles. I love it when different fonts are used creatively and yet effectively. Fonts are not always used effectively, and that bothers me. Comic Sans is something I do not love. Berlin Sans is one, among many. that I do love.
5. Learning something new and really having it "click". I love the feeling I get when I really "get" something... either something simple like how to prevent my toilet from leaking, to something a bit more profound, like how God shows his love to me. I also love it when I'm able to be a part of helping someone else learn something and really having it "click" in their minds, too. It's such a great feeling seeing the little "lightbulb" suddenly go on when you're teaching!
6. Bags. Backpacks, purses, wallets, bookbags, shopping bags... anything that is not plastic (though I did see a really cool book bag made from old plastic grocery bags crocheted together!). I love bags, especially ones that come from far away places. My two favorites are at home for safe keeping at the moment - one is a leather purse which is identical to the one my dear friend carries around from Ethiopia and the other is a red book bag from Jerusalem that my mom brought for me. At the moment, I use a lime green striped bag that I got on the coast for $5 and a wallet that I got several years ago in the Philippines.
   

5 Things I was Doing 10 Years Ago:

Um, gosh, that would be 1997... wow, a lot has changed in 10 years.

1. I was at Capernwray Bible School in England and Austria. I was away from my family, away from everything that was familiar, and for the first time, almost "forced" to step up and take responsibilty for myself! It was an amazing experience to have that year away from all "normal" life to focus on God, His Word, and figure out all those things that 20 year olds need to figure out for themselves! I still have dear friends to this day that I met at school there.
2. I traveled around Europe between semesters with my parents, as well as with friends. I saw so many cathedrals... and loved every one of them!
3. Starting to realize that maybe I would end up overseas long-term. But I was fighting it, 'cause I didn't want to be a "missionary". I thought that being a missionary meant being completely out of touch with the world and carrying all your stuff around in a plastic shopping bags. I had to add #6 to the list of things I love - bags. Because 10 years ago, I didn't know that you could be a missionary and have great bags for all your stuff, and have high speed internet access 24 hours a day!
4. Working at camp. I loved camp. I wasn't really the camp kind of personality (ie, the outgoing, funny type), but not all the kids at camp were the camp kind of personality. So I sort of felt like I had to be there for the quiet awkward ones, 'cause I could relate to them. And I know that God used me to love some kids who just needed a bit of love that summer.
5. I was also in my second year of university, which was alright. I didn't really have as much fun as most people seem to have in university, but I loved writing papers! And I loved getting those papers back with A's on them :) I started to embrace the fact that I was a complete geek, but I was happy being a geek and doing way too much research for every paper I had to write!

OK, one more list of 5 and then I think I'm finished... at least for tonight! Congratulations for reading this far...

5 Favorite Snacks (oh, not a good thing to think about in the middle of the night in a place where I can't really get much on the list that will follow!):

1. Popcorn (that one I CAN get here... sometimes, for a price!). With lots of salt and lots of melted margarine. The only kind of margarine we get here tastes just like the "butter flavored topping" they put on the movie popcorn at home! Yum yum.
2. Potato chips. Again, not available here. They can be Pringles or the regular old chips. Plain, salt and vinegar, ketchup, sour cream and onion, cheesey... mmmm.... chips.
3. Saltine crackers. When I was at home, i ate a handful of saltines every night before bed. I started eating the multigrain variety because I thought they were healthier or something. Man, what I wouldn't give for a box of saltines...
4. Baby carrots. I can eat them by the bagful, especially on road trips.
5. Fresh mango slices with vanilla yogurt. Mangoes CAN be bought here when they're in season (2 times per year. Vanilla yogurt isn't available, but the plain stuff is, and with a little sugar, it's passable...)

Hmmm, funny, everything I like on this list of snacks is either salty and crunchy or orange. Weird.

It's after midnight and I've been painting and breathing in paint fumes all day... so I'd better go to sleep now.

Where's the closest IKEA?

Life here isn't only about cat bites and other wild creatures! Today, after finishing off helping to layout and design and check a Dinka calendar, Jackie and I put on our IT hats and went and figured out why the Internet wasn't working in our new house. Seems some creature had gnawed away at the fibre optic cables. I hope that pesky rat hasn't developed a taste for fibre optics... we changed the new cables and powered it up... and voila. Wireless internet again. It's crazy how many times we've had to change these cables in various places on this compound over the past several months! At least we're getting good at it!

Once we had the Internet going, we hauled over our cleaning supplies and started with a fury on getting our house ready to move in! There are quite a lot of things to be done, and in some ways, it feels like we're going backwards in the level of renovation and niceness of that house compared to the level of niceness in the guesthouse. But with a little elbow grease and some help from who ever happens to come along, I think we'll be able to whip it into shape quite quickly.

My first task was to finish the second coat of paint on my bookshelves, which I salvaged from the old store house. The bookshelf belonged to someone from our organization 30 years ago, and they kindly left their bookshelf in the store house when they evacuated here in the early 1980s. So I rescued it, and I know it will be put to very good use!

When I went to the one and only hardware shop here to buy the paint with Richard last weekend, the choice of colours was pretty limited. There was army green, lime green, white or blue. Guess what I chose?! I took this photo after the first coat, but it's already pretty bright blue! At least it will brighten up my room. I'm actually thinking to get some funky cloth from the market to make a sort of curtain on the ftont, which will help keep some of the dust out. Plus, the fabrics here are SO beautiful! I can't wait to go shopping for that. I also need some curtains for the windows, so I'll also get some fun African print for that...


Here's Jackie and Sunday in our new living room.
A little sparse yet, but hopefully our truck will come tomorrow or the next day with a bunch of furniture and house bits that we've bought from various people in Uganda who have left to go back home.

The house has been renovated and a lot of work has been done on it. but it still does need a lot more work. So I started one project today! I'm repainting the kitchen cupboards:
Sunday likes being in photos, so she's in a bunch that I took of our house today! So here I am, a bilingual education and literacy specialist, hard at work: (if you look closely just under my elbow on my right arm, you can see the extent of the cat damaage.)
Actually, it's a lot of fun getting this house ready. I just wish that I knew more about electrical wiring, plumbing and carpentry! Because there are some serious issues that a simple coat of paint is not going to fix... but I'll do what I can for now.

But man, what I wouldn't do for a good old spree at IKEA, or even Home Depot! Oh the things I could do with some of that stuff! But as it is, we're probably going to end up with a set of plastic patio chairs around our kitchen table and I'll have to get pretty creative to find a way to hang my clothes... I guess I've finally found a hobby! I'm sure home-development could be more than a full - time hobby!

Cat bite update

FYI...

I've been making nightly visits to the doctor (since he just lives across the parking lot in the same compound - so amazingly handy to have the ONLY qualified doctor in the entire city living across the parking lot!) to show him my wound. Last night he seemed thoroughly relieved that the infection was going down. He admitted to me that he was a bit worried about it. The red swelling did not go outside of the boundaries that have been drawn on my arm in purple Sharpie. Of course, all the local folks who work on the compound are quite worried about me, especially since I keep appearing with new lines drawn on my arm. They think my skin is rather odd anyways, and then when they see it all red with purple lines all over the place... they get a little worried! Especially all these Dinka guys who see themselves as my caretakers, somehow. Perhaps they just want to make sure they get a share of the cows that come once they get me married off...

Anyways, the swelling and the redness is going down, so the antibiotics are doing what they're supposed to be doing. Tonight we had a little discussion about rabies, but I think that since Scamper has been vaccinated, it's ok, and I don't need to rush off to Nairobi or Europe for any treatment. I hope. Anyways, there's always a slight risk of crazy things happening here in terms of health and hygiene, so I do appreciate any prayers that you might have for the quick healing of my arm!

I feel like such a dork for spending so much time and effort on a cat bite - it seems like such a trivial thing. But this cat bite, man, it's a bit fierce! It's not really as trivial as I would have thought, and I am thankful that there is actually a doctor here who is looking after me! I don't write any of this to worry any of you who are reading... but I want you to know the situation so you can be praying specifically for it! I was just thinking tonight how much it would stink to have to come home because I got rabies or some other sickness from the neighbor's cat. I live in a war zone, and I get sent home because of a pet cat?! Man, I really hope that doesn't happen! But hey, God is in control, and He knows what's best for me... so if it's going to be Scamper that sends me home... well, so be it!

Anyways, just a little update on the arm.

Kitty bite update

Our friendly neighborhood Dr. Chris stopped by this evening just as we were sitting down for some potatoes and salad. So he joined us.

On his way out, he looked at my arm. Hmmmm... he's a doctor, so he's not really supposed to tell you that he's a bit worried about it... but seems he's a bit worried about it! He said he was really glad he gave me the antibiotics last night, because if it's this pink and swollen while I'm on the drugs... imagine what it would be like without them. I guess cat bites aren't really something to be taken lightly. It's a bit pink and swollen, and actually, my whole arm aches! The four wheel driving adventure didn't help my arm-ache much, but anyways, it was fun :)

So yeah, he thought he'd best draw a circle around the pink swollen part, to see if it gets any worse. If it does... well... then, that's a whole 'nother story. Could mean another vacation in Nairobi... but don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine! I hope Mom's not reading this tonight...! Don't worry Mom, the doctor is literally across the parking lot from me, and there are daily flights to Nairobi if I have to leave for some reason!

This could turn out to be a bit of an adventure in and of itself! I'm under strict orders that if I feel sick or feverish to call Chris right away... and I will do that, I promised him. Anyways, if you do think of it, please pray that this silly cat bite doesn't get more infected and that it will just nicely heal up as I sleep tonight. In the meantime, I've got a really pretty purple tattoo ring on my arm - good thing I keep a pack of multi-colored Sharpies in my desk drawer. Purple is so much more appealing than black or red. Perhaps I'll have to wear my purple dress tomorrow to match it...

Ok, now I'm rambling and you're all going to start to think that I really AM rather ill... so I'll stop and go put myself to sleep!

4 Wheel Drivin'

Today Jackie and I went in convoy on an expedition! Two of our translators who are now based here have found new places to live, so we helped them out by driving some of their stuff from where it was stored here in the container to their new places. And man, we had some fun! Too bad I was too busy driving to take any photos!

We didn't go too far (only 6 km from our center!), but it was a real village road. Most of the way it was a tiny dirt track, winding around the mud and thatch houses. Since it's rainy season, the roads are all in terrible shape - mud, ditches, puddles, wash-outs... you name it, we saw in on this short little drive. At one point, I had to drive down through quite a pond, and then up a steep track on the opposite side which was all rutted and washed out. Driving these roads is one thing when you've been on them during the dry season and you have a bit of an idea of how deep the puddles are and where the ditches are... but going along them for the first time is a bit of a challenge!

At one point, I had to go around a blind corner, and all I could see was a huge mud pit in front of me. Since me and Jackie were in convoy, and I was in the lead, I stopped to jump out and have a look. Didn't look too promising, so we both hopped out and locked the wheels into four wheel drive, where I was happy they stayed for the remainder of the voyage. Imagine, I live in a capital city where I need a four wheel drive vehicle just to drive a short distance in town!

Anyways, it was was great fun! I like having these sorts of adventures now and again. And it's also really good to see where our colleagues are living. The one man is sharing a house with one of the other translators. It's a one room mud tukle with a thatch roof. The room is about the size of my parent's dining room at home. The other man is living on his own in a house made with mud bricks. His house has a tin roof, which is unfortunately going to be unbearably hot once the rainy season is over.

Neither of these homes have electricity or running water. They have to walk a few "blocks" to the local well to get their water for washing. They have water filters coming up on the truck from Uganda with our stuff, but for now, they are buying their water for drinking (which is really expensive), or carrying water with them from our place.

Keep in mind that when these guys lived in Uganda (where the translation work had been based during the war here), they had "normal" concrete houses with a few rooms, electricity, running water and indoor plumbing. Now they use kerosene lamps for light, use a small pit latrine a few blocks away from their house, and carry their water. I am absolutley amazed at their committment to their work of Bible translation. They have come back to their own country to be closer to their people, but they have made huge sacrifices in order to continue with their work. When the projects relocated here, they could have easily stayed in Uganda with their families and found other work. But they are faithful to what God has called them to do.

Please pray for Isaac, Enos, Bennet, Alex, Andrew, Amos, Akol, Ayiel, Hezekiah, and Andrew. Pray that they can feel settled here, pray that they will be encouraged to continue to translate the Scriptures for their people and to serve the Kingdom, even as they are separated from their families and struggling to find decent housing here.

This is a dangerous place

Well, it's just another typical day around here.

Actually, it started off very good. We had our first weekly prayer meeting with all of the translation and literacy teams that have moved here to start working! It was really something special to have Bible translators from 4 different languages sitting around the table together to share a devotion and pray for each other and for the work. It was really amazing and reminded me of what I'm doing here. It's easy to get stuck in my own little computer and forget sort of the bigger picture sometimes, especially since there were so few actual translation projects based here.

But now, they're all coming, and these guys are terrific. I've really been enjoying getting to know them and to hear their stories a bit. And it's a real privilege to be able to sit around the table with them, to drink tea, and to pray with them and for them. Here's a photo that Jackie snapped as we were getting our tea.
Not a brilliant photo, I know. But it gives a little idea of where we all were gathered this morning. It was a really good time all together and I'm already looking foward to our next gathering next Monday morning.

Just before we all met together, Jackie commented on my attire. Yes, that's me in the blue tie-dyed mumu. Everyone who works in this country seems to wear one. And they are SO practical! I love wearing my mumus (um, yes, I have more than one!), and Jackie and Grace tease me because, well, yeah, it's a tie dyed mumu. I mean, I laugh at myself in it, too. But when Bennet, a team leader for one of the translation projects came in and saw me wearing it, wow, he was impressed. He thought I looked SO smart! And I've had compliments from African men on several occasions when I wear the mumus. They love it when I dress like this... I mean, it's the respectable African men who comment, not the "hey baby" man on the street!

So after our prayer meeting, I turned into the community health nurse again. Vicky, the girl who helps us in the house, had some kind of eye infection or something. So I poured some eye drops in her eyes from my own stock of eye products (of which I keep a fairly good stock. Contacts in Africa are just magnets for bacteria, though I haven't had any problems in a long time).

Then Tartisio, the old man who's been working on the compound for years came in to show me his prescription from the clinic. In the past, we've had medications on hand for basic things - I keep a huge store of doxycycline with me, as that treats cholera and is an anti-malarial. I also have a few other antibiotics, plus the usual pain killers. But he had a prescription for a malaria treatment that I don't keep in stock (I've been told that it's not a very good treatment for Westerners, and is 'iffy' for Africans, even). I don't totally understand yet how to treat malaria, so I didn't want to change what the doctor ordered for poor old Tartisio. So we sent him off to the pharmacy with some panadol (it's the British version, basically, of Tylenol).

So far, just another typical day.

We had lunch... yum yum - ratatoille (not sure how to spell it), which is a usual dish for us. It's an eggplant and tomato based pasta sauce. Yum yum. Vicky makes it so nicely, so we eat it a lot. After lunch, as I was putting away the food, I noticed there was smoke coming out of the refrigerator. Hmmm... I don't think refridgerators are supposed to smoke. So I quickly turned it off. We left it for a while, sort of following the computer logic of turning it off and then restarting,... but it still made a horrible buzzing noise when we turned it back on. So our fridge is now running off gas again, awaiting Richard's return.

So far, just another typical day.

Did I mention that I DID get a few emails answered for work related things, and sent off the book list that I've been working on for several weeks, as well as organized some documents for our upcoming language workshops, in and among all these other things.

Just after the fridge incident, Zane and Scamper started getting into another scrap. So silly me goes running out to try to shoo Scamper away. They weren't engaged in fighting or anything, and Scamper was already calming down... but for some reason, Scamper turned on me. I have never in my whole life seen a cat bite a person so viciously! I was so shocked, but I am, at the moment, nursing 4 quite deep teeth marks in my arm. John (Scamper's "dad") and Jackie were both right there when it happened and both of them were just completely shocked, as well. I felt so bad for poor John, since he just felt terrible about Scamper's attack on me. Seems Scamper's getting a bit tom-cattish, since he wasn't neutered as a kitten. I never would have tried to shoo away a wild cat, but I never thought that a house cat would attack like that. I was dripping blood everywhere, so I ran into the house to wash it out, and I have no idea what happened in the aftermath with Scamper and Zane.

Anyways, I was able to clean it quite well right away with a lot of Dettol (antiseptic), and I found some gauze in our box of supplies to cover it over with. Here's what it looked like:

Zane has no idea that this pain was inflicted on me in his defense! It was hurting quite a bit all afternoon, so I've actually been feeding panadol to myself, as well! And then this evening, I thought that maybe I should just go and ask our friendly neighborhood doctor (who happens to live across the compound) about cat bites, just to see if there was anything I should know...

And this is what he ended up giving me:
I got some serious antibiotic cream and even amoxicillian to fight any infection that might set in! Apparently cat bites can cause some serious infections. So Dr. Chris wanted to be on the safe side. I also had strict instructions to take a toothbrush and more Dettol to it to really clean it out. Ouch. It hurt. But now it's all slathered in cream, and I have already eaten my first antibiotic tablet.

So really, even on a typical day, this can be a very dangerous place!

These are a few of my favorite things...

The rest of the day was pretty typical, as well. I even got to greet some of my "favorite" creatures that co-habitate with me in the guesthouse.

As we were eating our lunch, our friendly kitchen rat perched himself on the side of the basket where we keep the potatoes and started munching on something. Zane was snoozing under the table and took a while to stretch and yawn and wake up enough to realize there was a free meal waiting for him... if he could catch it. I just don't really like these bold rats that come out in broad daylight when we're sitting right there having our lunch!

After lunch, Zane decided he would try out a new Spider-cat routine. He climbed all the way to the very tip top of the screen and climbed out a hole to get onto the roof of the guesthouse! Later, I found him climbing the bars of the kitchen windows, just like he was climbing a ladder. And just now, he started climbing my shelves, trying to get to the very top. I really do think he's entering his adolescence and is engaging in reckless behaviour, thinking he's invincible or something. He was also hungry the WHOLE day today. He kept coming to me and whining for food! Maybe he's going through a growth spurt... or maybe he was just practicing what was to come later...

So after cleaning up after the rat at lunch time, Jackie and I got to work cooking dinner for our guests that we had invited over tonight. What a feast we prepared, and I have to admit, it was quite a lot of fun preparing it!

As soon as our guests came over (the ones who are moving out of the house that we're moving into next week), the bats started flying around in the verandah, zooming in and out amongst where we were sitting and having our pre-dinner chitchat. Not cool.

So we quickly moved into the dining room, hoping to get out of the way of the bats. To Zane, of course, bats are just flying rats. Which means they're something to play with, and it's fresh meat, if they can be caught. And with his new found climbing skills... man, Zane was good entertainment tonight! Of course, he didn't catch any bats, but he sure did try hard. Even Spider-cats need a little practice before they can catch the bats.

Dinner was great, and we had some good laughs. There are some great people around here. Really interesting folks with good stories!

Once we said goodnight, Jackie and I started rinsing the dishes and tidying the kitchen a bit. And then I found the third of my favorite creatures: a huge cockroach and his little buddy. I mean, this was the biggest roach I have ever seen. I didn't quite know what to do... didn't really want to squash a giant roach in my kitchen sink, yet I wasn't fast enough to run for my Doom bug killer spray. In the end, we eyed each other up for a few seconds, and then they scuttled away under the counter, leaving me with a truly disgusted look on my face. Zane has been known to catch roaches in the past, too, but he was off stuffing his face with the leftovers from dinner.

So in the space of about 6 hours, I came face to face with all of my most favorite creatures here: a rat, a bat and a roach. And Zane wasn't any help at all!!

I passed!

Well, today was a typical day around here. I got up early to bring Richard to the airport for a flight that he never got on. So he called a few hours later and asked if we had picked up our lisences yet. We hadn't made it out yet, so he kindly went to get them for us. Of course, Scopas hadn't made the cards yet or laminated them. He did it all when Richard asked, though. Of course, Scopas owns the laminating machine, so Richard had to pay him a little extra to get them laminated! Actually, just the fact that he could call us on the phone to ask if we had left the house yet is quite an improvement over the situation of a few months ago... where we had no communication whatsoever, except for the Internet!

He came home with our lisences, and it seems they almost got my names right. My middle name is now "Ra"... kind of like "She-ra" (remember her?!), which is kind of cool. I'm also classified as a linguistics consultant :) So I really am moving up in the world! And I guess the fact that I got the license means that I passed the test! Richard said that the officer who did our driving test was the same one who used to do the tests when he was a small boy. Imagine how many driving tests he's done? No wonder we only drove half a kilometer and back!

Anyways, that done, Richard came home. Then we went off to Victor's shop (aka, Home Depot) and bought some paint for my shelves and for the office doors. I salvaged this great book shelf from the old store room which we turned into offices. I got some lovely light blue high gloss paint (um, yeah, it was blue or army green or light green). I'm thinking that I'll get some nice material and make a bit of a curtain for it, so it won't be SUCH bright blue in the middle of the room, and the curtain will also keep the dust off the stuff on the shelves! It's fun to be thinking a bit about decorating and making a nice home for myself here.

Legal Drivers

So I've ALMOST got a real driving license for this country! After getting ticketed last week and being told to get a local license, we thought it was about time that we took the plunge and went to get one, since we do actually live here and all.

Thankfully, Richard is here, so of course, me loving a good truck ride around the city with Richard, I jumped in the truck with him this morning. I feel a bit like his little lost puppy sometimes when I follow him around, but I get to see lots of interesting things and hear a lot of good stories when I follow that guy around. Here's a little photo of Richard that I took this afternoon, just to remind you who Richard is.Richard would be the one patching the old tin roof with tar in his shiny dress shoes and fancy "power" shirt (that would be the local version of the "power suit").

So this morning, around 11am, Richard and I went off to the local traffic police station, armed with photocopies of me and Jackie's passports and drivers' licenses from home, and two passport photos each. First, we tried registering the truck. Of course, that didn't work since the import papers that we need are in a different town - the town where all the records were kept before the customs office opened here. Next week, after his new baby is born, Richard is going to have to bus to that town to pick up the papers to bring them back here where the registration office is. Once we get the truck registered, we can get it insured...

Richard and I started the whole process to get our licenses... of course, the guy there told us that we needed 4 photos, not just two. Ok, so we'll go back to get more photos. Thankfully, both Jackie and I have learned to travel with quite a stock of passport photos in our files! I've probably gone through 20 passport photos for various things in the last year! So we get our photos, jump back in the truck and roar off to the police station before lunch.

Getting back to the office, we find the same officer that we were dealing with before, along with the officer who gave both me and Wes tickets for various things at the airport! The officer was quite pleased to see that we were actually doing something about the things that he had given us tickets for! Maybe he'll be kinder to me the next time he stops me at the airport.

The one who was processing our licenses had quite a good time trying to figure out how to write our names in Arabic. All of the forms are only in Arabic - not a word of English on them anywhere. Which causes some difficulty here when many people, while they speak the local Arabic, do not know how to read it (the local version of Arabic, is usually written in English letters, if it's written at all, which it usually isn't - fascinating sociolinguistic situation, let me tell 'ya...). The traffic officer, named Scopas, shook his head and commented to Richard, (in Arabic) "Where do these white folks get their names?!" He also took a grand total of 1 passport photo from each of us. We brought the other three home.

Anyways, the forms all got filled out, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he actually wrote our names in the end. Who knows that I might end up with a new name... The next step was to go get our eyes tested. But we had left Jackie at home, and it was definitely time for lunch. So after an amazing meal of boiled spinach, peanut paste and potatoes (really, it's amazing the way they cook it here!), all three of us trooped off to the police hospital to get our eyes tested.

Turns out they figured we could see well enough since we found our way into the office without tripping over anything. They never did test our eye sight, even though we paid them $20 to stamp the application saying that our eyes were good enough to drive!

They also needed to know our blood types. I had already had a conversation with Richard that I actually don't know what my blood type is (um, yeah, something that I really DO need to figure out sometime before I actually need blood!). It's not unusual that people don't know their blood types, so they're willing and able to take your blood and test it right then and there in the office at the hospital. I figured telling a little white lie on my driver's license application was preferable to becoming infected with hepatitis, HIV or some other blood born disease from their needle... so if the traffic police ask, my blood type is A+. I got a few A+ s on my report cards, so I figured it would work for a blood type, as well.

The funniest thing that happened there was that while we were waiting under the trees waiting for the right stamp on the forms, the group of folks who were sitting and drinking tea suddenly burst out in laugher, and somehow it all seemed directed at us... Richard, too, burst out laughing... so, um, Richard, what's the deal?! Well, seems that the woman who was sitting there was telling her buddies that white women don't always wear underwear! So, um, er, they were all sitting there talking about whether or not we were wearing underwear. Seems around here it's common knowledge (thanks to Hollywood) that white women go without foundational garments sometimes. So, yeah, I'm really glad I don't care too much if I have visible panty lines ... at least anyone who cares will realize that yes, I do wear underwear! Because this is a G rated blog, I won't go into the implications of not wearing underwear around here... but um, I digress...

So we passed our "eye exam" with flying colors, since we paid our $20 for the eye exam and $1 for the blood test, none of which actually took place, of course. And then it was back to the traffic office for our driving tests!

Jackie got to go first. The traffic officer was in the front seat, Richard and me were in the backseat. Richard, of course, was the translator, but he got a little distracted at moments, chitchatting with the officer and forgetting to tell Jackie and me where to go. Jackie drove about 1/2 a kilometer in one direction straight down the road, did a U-turn around the roundabout, and then stopped in front of the police station. Then it was my turn. I went about 1/4 kilometer down the same road, where we got stuck in a traffic jam.

Good thing we had a traffic officer in the truck with us. Imagine the thoughts running through my mind, though, when I'm in the middle of a road test and the officer who is testing me jumps out of the truck in the middle of the road! Does that mean I passed? Is he fearing for his life because of my horrible driving?

Actually, it just means that he decided to get out and direct traffic because of the traffic jam. I wasn't quite sure what to do, so Richard just told me to stay put, and wait for the cop. So I did. People behind me wanted me to hurry up and get going, but I couldn't exactly roar away without my officer in the truck?! And I certainly wasn't going to get ticketed by him for blocking the road while I was waiting for him! Once the officer jumped back in the truck, we were off again, and I continued down to the next roundabout, turned round it, and went straight back to the parking lot!

I guess we both passed, because he didn't say anything to any of us, just walked back into the office and started writing someone on our forms. We went in and out of several different offices, several different times, just following along behind Richard like little puppies... after a while, I got a little tired of following him and taking up space in the squished little offices, so I decided to sit down next to the "receptionist" who was sitting on a plastic chair on the verandah and doing some lovely needlepoint. After a little while, a little kid (probably about 10 or 11 years old!) came around and started snapping photos of everyone sitting there with his digital camera! Yeah, it was a little random. I did the African thing and crowded around him after, wanting to see the photo on the little screen in the back! I almost asked him if he could email me the photo so I could put it on my blog... but I didn't. I should have. But I didn't.

By this time it was getting pretty late - around 4:30, and our friend Scopas didn't feel like doing any more work for the day. He had been working pretty hard the whole time we were there, and it was pretty hot and steamy in the office, so I don't really blame him for wanting a break! He told us to return tomorrow morning to fetch our laminated cards. So hopefully, tomorrow morning, the cards will, in fact be there, and the paper work won't go missing! I would hate to have to go through this whole day all over again!

Little Blessings

I just experienced a nice little blessing... one of those little things that just gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling deep down.

During out dinner, around 8:30 pm, the electricity went out. So Richard, being the dear Richard that he is, trotted out to spend some quality time with the generator. Which meant that I didn't have to go start the generator!

At about 9:30pm, as me and Richard were sitting there thinking, "Hmmm... don't know if I'll be able to stay up until 10:30 to turn off the generator", we agreed that whoever was still awake at that time would go and turn it off. So I was sitting here trying to stay awake until 10:30 to turn off the generator, so that Richard wouldn't have to.

About 10 minutes later, the generator shut off, and the lights came back on - the city electricity was back, and one of the nieghbors had already noticed and gone down to turn off the generator. So now, I can go straight to bed, without having to run down to the generator shed! Like I said, little blessings that just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's these little bits of negotiating the sharing of the chores, and taking care of each other that makes living in a community like this so much of a blessing.

And now that I don't have to turn off the generator, I'm going to get my pajamas on, snuggle under my sheet and go to sleep! I wonder if Zane is going to join me tonight... (um, er, Zane is my cat, just in case any of you are wondering who Zane is!!)

I need a hobby

It just dawned on me that I can't possibly spend every evening blogging and surfing the Internet. I need a hobby. A hobby that can be done with basically no supplies (since I can't buy much here), doesn't require too much movement (since I sweat a lot in the heat) and can be done on my own (since Jackie's a bit of an introvert and our neighbors are moving). Any suggestions?!

A study

Someone's done a study on infant's language development. Here's the result:
'Babies learn their language best from a person, not a TV or a video.'
Now you know. Because I'm sure you didn't know this before. (Um, that's a bit of British sarcasm, which I'm learning from Jackie!).

Just one more...

I just can't resist one more blog post before going to snuggle under my sheet for the night. I was reading my friend's blog just now, and she has the most perfect description and photos of a boda boda! This is the mode of transport that I took while out in the village in Western Kenya, but didn't have any photos to prove it. So please, if you were confused as to my boda boda mode of transport, please refer to Nicole's blog, Journey... to Africa.

In fact, she's been in some of the same places that I have, and she has great photos and stories... so check it out, if you're interested in another glimpse of life in this part of the world.

But some things do change...

There have been quite a few changes that I've noticed, as well. The other folks on the compound have been taking bets to see when our sign is finally going to come crashing down to the ground. It was looking slightly worse for wear before I left. But now... um, yeah. I think it's time for a new sign.I went out there to try to take it down, since it really looks awful. But I couldn't find any wire cutters to cut it down. I guess I'll have to wait until Richard gets here and unlocks his tool box.

Another thing that has changed is little Zane and his ability to hold his own against Scamper, the neighbor's cat. This evening, Scamper came wandering into the guesthouse, while Zane was on the other end of the guesthouse. I wasn't too worried, since before, they usually just sort of hissed at each other and went on their way. This time, however, Zane quickly realized that Scamper was honing in on his territory, and before I could catch either one of them, they were locked in a cat wrestling match! They're almost the same size now, and Zane was pretty ferocious. I know that it probably wasn't the wisest decision, but I went in to separate them. Here is just one part of the result.There are a few bloody scratches on my hands, too. Alec, one of the guys who works on the compound, was doing his algebra homework in the guesthouse with Jackie at the time, and when he saw my bloodied leg, he shook his head and said, "You are suffering today". It made me chuckle. He also told me that cats are dangerous. I think I agree with him today.

It also poured down rain today! I even switched OFF both of my fans today, since the rain cooled things so much.Yeah, it was a little rainy. There's a bit of mud out there! It's still dripping quite a lot, and it's already after 9pm. The poor guards are out there all huddled in under the little overhanging porch. They were really happy to see me coming with a thermos (or a 'flask') of tea for them tonight!

Back in Action

I got a great "Welcome home" yesterday as I went out to do my errands. It was so nice to see that some things never change... it still took me almost 3 hours to do a few things in town. I still had to drive all over to find stuff to clean the toilets. I still didn't get a straight answer about anything in the bank. Our truck still isn't properly registered, so I got to pay a fine to a nice policeman. The only reason I was able to pay the on-the-spot fine was because I had been planning to buy Coke and cleaning supplies, so I had brought more money than is usual or necessary with me! Of course, I negotiated a little, and had I been able to open my purse and physically show him that I only had 20 pounds with me ($10) then maybe the fine would have only been 20 pounds. As it was, I had a 50 pound note ($25), so that's what the fine ended up being. Sigh.

I should have been wearing my cute little dress, and maybe I could have gotten out of the fine all together. As it was, all the policeman got was a big white sweaty girl, sweating right through her big old t-shirt! So I had to pay the fine :( Of course, it's getting reimbursed by the organization, since it's not my fault the truck doesn't have the proper paperwork - the one who's responsible for it hasn't been in town for a while!

So yeah, it's good to be home. Bouncing around in the illegal truck, sweating and being confused about just about everything. Yup, it's good to be home.

A holiday afternoon

We're running on generator, which means I have nine minutes before the lights go out. Apparently, while I was away, someone installed a battery backup system for our internet. Which means I should still be able to be online even when the electricity is gone... tonight will be the true test to see if that's the case or not!

I did arrive in J., after hanging out int he airport all day on Saturday.

Sunday morning, I just stayed around home, slept in, did some unpacking and settling in. And in the afternoon, I went with some of our neighbors to celebrate the birthday of another friend here. She wanted to go on a boat trip on the Nile to celebrate, which sounded like a fantastic idea to me! She planned ahead, and had booked the boat and captain for Sunday afternoon... no problem. Price was agreed and everything.

Of course, when we all arrived at the camp on the riverside at the appointed hour, the boat wasn't there. For some reason, the army had taken the boat - don't know if it was for a pleasure cruise or what. But it was no longer available for our birthday party!

Fortunately, there's another camp just down the road, which also had a boat. Of course, we had to haggle a bit harder over the price, but we eventually all agreed... so we got on the boat, and were off on our cruise! 10 female khawaija in a boat - I think the boat captain was in heaven :)

We had a good time together, chatting and enjoying the sights along the banks of the river. It really is beautiful, as you quickly get away from any city at all, and all you see are green mango trees and a few small mud and thatch tukels (huts) along side the river bank.We saw a huge barge, as well, coming up the river from the big city to the North.
It takes about a month to come up the river from that place, so people literally camp out on the deck - that's what the green tarps are for. Jackie has a better photo to show that, which I'll try to post tomorrow... too late to go fetch it tonight!

I'd actually best get this posted lest the internet fail me and I lose this! Besides, it's been a pretty sweaty day and I could use a shower before bed. I think it will be a shower by solar lamp, though!

Goodnight!

Thanks for praying

And thanks for praying, too, about my paperwork to get into this country! Obviously, there was no problem, since they ended up letting me in! I have to go and "register" tomorrow, so we'll see if anyone at that immigration post says anything. I'll go back to the airport to register there, as it's so much easier than registering in town at the actual office.

I'll blog more later about my lovely day today! But for now, gotta jump in the shower and get ready for our fellowship group tonight.

Me and Zane, together again

I made it! I'm sitting here on my bed, under the fan, with my little black cat snuggled beside me. Yes, that's right, my cat voluntarily came and snuggled beside me when I sat down on the bed this evening to check my email! I was SO pleased when I saw the little guy - he's definitely been well looked after. He's sleek and shiny and had gone through a growth spurt, I think! He definitely is entering the world of "young manhood" in cat terms. He's got some muscle showing underneath his shiny black fur, and he definitely looks more panter-like than when I left him. I saw him when he was outside playing with his little black buddy (who I have dubbed "Buddy"), but now Zane is bigger than Buddy! Of course, Zane wasn't too pleased when I picked him up and tried to snuggle him out there - I think I embarrassed him in front of Buddy. But now that we're alone in my room, and all the other kitties are in bed, too, he's being rather affectionate, almost like he missed me or something :)

I think the fact that it's relatively cool tonight (it was only 30C when I landed at 6:30pm), helps, too. He's not so sweaty, and might even be feeling a little on the cool side.

Anyways, yes, I did make it here home, safe and sound... finally! Last evening, I got a message from the travel agent to tell me that the flight was delayed from 10:00am until 1pm. So instead of leaving for the airport at 7:30 am, I was able to leave the house at the much more sane hour of 10:30am. My taxi driver was a bit late, so we actually didn't end up leaving until almost 11am, so I was feeling a bit anxious, thinking I might be late to check in... you never know how long it will take to get to the airport - if you get stuck in traffic, it can take over an hour!

And then, once we get to the road into the airport, there's a police check-point. There are often police check points around the city, but normally they just wave you through, as they're more interested in cracking down on the matatus. Anyways, this time, they pulled us over and asked Kennedy, my faithful favorite Nairobi taxi driver, for his lisence. Of course, he didn't have it in the car. So, of course, that means the police man jumps in the back seat of the car with us! They proceed to "discuss" which terminal I'm supposed to be at for my flight, as if the police man is the expert on which airlines leave from which terminal! Anyways, I ended up at the right terminal, which is NOT the same terminal that the travel agent told me to go to, and Kennedy drove off with the police man in the car. I assume Kennedy was going to drive the guy to wherever he had left his lisence. Or maybe he was going to take the guy out for lunch... who knows, really. Anyways, the police man wished me a pleasant flight, and off they went!

However, once I got there, the place was pretty deserted, and the security guys at the door to the check in desk sorta looked at me funny when I wanted to go in for my flight. So already I was feeling a little uneasy about what was going to happen... I mean, did the flight already leave? Was it completely rescheduled?! I chatted with the check in folks for a few minutes and they did check me in, and told me that the flight would go today and that 42 people had already checked in ahead of me. OK, so off I went through customs and went straight to Java House. I had only had a smoothy for breakfast at 7:30 (when I got up to finish my packing), so by noon I was starved and feeling a little light headed from not having had anything more substantial in my belly. I grabbed a turkey bacon club sandwich for take away and dashed to the other end of the airport, to find my gate, since I was supposed to be boarding the plane by now, according to the guys at the check in desk. I rushed through yet another security check point, and found myself in a waiting lounge with 4 other people. 4 other people... wait a minute, what happened to the other 37 passengers who were already checked in?! Not already in Juba, I hoped.

By the time I got my belt back on my trousers (had to take it off to go through the metal detector!), a JetLink employee came round to tell us that the flight would be delayed for a little while longer, but we could go with her for some refreshments. Refreshments? I started to perk up a little. We could have anything we wanted from the little cafe there - so I loaded up on yogurt, a Kitkat bar and Coke to complement my previously purchased sandwich. Yum yum. With my belly full, I was feeling much better and much more able to think about the fact that I now had an indeterminate (is that the right word?) wait in the airport.

So I made myself comfortable. Since I still had about 400 shillings of credit (about $6) on my phone, I decided to contact my buddies and say farewell. I spent the better part of the rest of the afternoon sending text messages to almost everyone I know in Nairobi. I got my fill of text messaging, since it's impossible to do here. I was also able to send a text to a friend who then sent an email to Jackie here to let her know that the flight had been crazily delayed... So at least she wouldn't have to wait at the airport the whole day. In the meantime, I also realized that my phone (the one that I traded up with my friend who was leaving the country) is locked. That means it can only take a Safaricom SIM card... um, in other words, I can't use that phone in any place other than Kenya. Oops. I spent SO much time and effort getting a SIM card to use in my phone in Sudan... and now I find out that my phone is useless. Grrrr. Not so fun.

But hey, duty free abounds in the airport. So I was able to go and purchase myself a relatively cheap new phone, duty free :) Much cheaper than I would find one here. So I'm up and running with a phone, with only a minor expense. And now I can be cool and have two different phones for all my different networks, just like all the other NGO folks around here. Duty Free shopping also passed a bit of time away in the airport.

I also realized that grumpy passengers can be good entertainment when you're stuck in the airport. I overheard one "conversation" between a man and an airline employee. Seems like man missed his flight, and then he ended up stuck in the airport for 3 days! Also seems there was a rather important gov't employee on our flight, which was delayed, so there was quite a long "conversation" between his people and the airline people. I would have just given them all a Kitkat and escorted them to a comfy chair... but in both cases, the airline staff argued back with the folks. So it really wasn't a very good scene at all, in the first case, the man was threatening to call the police and airport security to have the airline employee arrested! On what charges, I'm not sure... but he wanted this person to be jailed because he had spent 3 days in the airport! I mean, I'd be grumpy if I spent three days in the airport too, but it really makes me wonder HOW he ended up being there for three days... why didn't he talk to an airline person 2 days ago to figure out his problem?!

As the hours ticked by, we started to wonder if we could take off today at all. The airport here does not have runway lights - which means no landing or take off after dark. Dark comes between 6:30 and 7pm here. It's about an hour and 45 minute flight. We did the calculations and figured out that if we didn't start board by 4:15 pm, then we probably wouldn't make it. 4:30 pm, we were all ushered into the departure lounge again... 4:45 pm, we all got on the plane. They were really rushing us through now! 5 pm, we were in the air. I guess they put the pedal to the metal, because we ended up arriving just after 6pm!

Anyways, we FINALLY got on the plane, and arrived only several hours after we had planned to arrive! My neighbor's cousin was also on the flight, so Kristina, the neighbor, was there to fetch both of us and bring us home. I'm already amazed at the changes that have taken place while I've been away - and that's just in the short distance between the airport and our compound! I'm looking forward to going out tomorrow to see what else has changed around here.

For now, I'm just happy to be home. I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight after all my adventures in the airport, especially if Zane decides to keep me company all night :)