Yeah, so it's been hot. And it's been sucking my energy. So I haven't felt much like blogging. I tried going on a "Complaining Fast" for a few days this week. I wasn't going to complain at all about the heat or the dust or the printer cartridges that keep emptying or the rat poo in my office drawer or ... but it's really hard! I need to really get back on top of being thankful for the things that I do have, and the people around me and the fun that it really is to live in this place! So this week, I'm going to try again for a day or two of a "Complaining Fast"! We'll see how it goes...
But yeah, it has been hot. That's not a complaint, that's just a matter of fact! It was, according to the radio, 43C on Friday. That's hot. And that's not a complaint, just a fact. At least it's still cooling down quite nicely in the evenings, and I've enjoyed some star-lit walks around the compound in the stillness of the night. The stars are truly amazing out here, especially since there's no electricity in the city (again, not a complaint, just a statement of fact!). So once the generators go off, it gets nice and quiet and peaceful... well, that is, until Celine starts singing (again, not a complaint, just a statement). But even Celine's heart going on and on can't disturb the peacefulness when you look up at a sky sparkling with stars. It's really gorgeous, and I could sit out in the "parking lot" of the compound for hours watching them, having some nice quiet time and just enjoying the cool, fresh night air (cool being in the high 20'sC!)
This weekend has been pretty uneventful, actually. I had a really nice dinner with some Dutch friends on Friday evening - we had some amazing sausages (imported directly from the Netherlands!) and hutsput (sorry if I spelled that wrong!). It was all topped off by a stroop waffle! I love it that my friend had to go back to the Netherlands for a meeting - and since they know of my Dutch background, they wanted to share their treats with me! Wasn't that nice!? I do think we can add "hutsput" to our repetoire of meals here, as it doesn't take much to make it. It wouldn't quite be the same without the sausage... but...
I also had a tad bit of culture shock on Saturday afternoon. A new supermarket opened up here. Wow, is all I have to say. You can actually take a trolly (um, er, I mean, a cart) and push it up and down a couple of aisles! I think there are 5 whole aisles, brimming with stuff - mostly from Kenya and mostly WAY over priced. But it's nice to know that I can go and find odd things once in a while for something special. For instance, they have icing sugar, in case I ever want to sprinkle a little on my french toast some morning. They also have a nice range of shampoos and lotions, though you pay the equivalent of $9 - 10 for a regular sized bottle of shampoo! But in case of shampoo emergency, at least it's now readily available.
Speaking of shopping, I also ventured into the market on my own on Saturday afternoon. No one else wanted to go shopping, but we needed to stock up on our eggs and tomatoes etc for the week, so I put on my cap, jumped in the truck, and roared off into the sunshine. I had a really nice time in the market, actually. It was quite nice to go on my own, to be able to look at what I wanted to look at, to stop and chat when I wanted, to stop for a bottle of water when I wanted... very nice. I only got one marriage proposal from a man who owned a little "accessory" shop (lots and lots of cheap plastic shiny things from China!), and then the Eritrean guy who sells cold water and soda asked me when I was taking him back to my home country with me.
I also found a few mangos, some pineapple, and the usual veggies. But the real fun purchase of the day is a blue, yellow and black striped mat! I've been wanting to get a little mat for a while now - just something to put down on the floor in case I want to sit on the ground, or to take outside and put on the ground in case I want to lay under the tree and read a book. So I went to my friendly house-hold guy (the same one who we bought our beautiful mugs from) and he gave me a good deal, complimenting my Arabic the entire time :) It's really a lot of fun to be able to communicate with these folks in the market, using my little bits of Arabic, and it really makes them smile, too!
So all in all, it was a very successful shopping day for me on Saturday. It just fascinates me to see all the stuff that's becoming available here these days - really it's so different from when I first came. I still remember the first Thanksgiving I was here (two years ago!) and Grace and I went to the market to stock up for our feast. We were so excited to find our orange tie-dyed flip flops in the market - back then, it was amazing to just see flip flops in the market! Now... wow, it's a completely different scene. I tell you, this town is changing.
I've also decided that as it's getting hotter, I need to have a Sunday afternoon "water-based recreational activity" each week. Last week I had myself a little pool party in the verandah. This week, I washed the truck. I just couldn't stand the filthiness of the truck anymore, so I parked it in the shade, got out the hose and buckets and scrubbed it all, inside and out. It was still a pretty sweaty affair, but boy does that truck look shiney again!
And then tonight, we had our fellowship group and started looking at an Advent series - I'm hoping that in the midst of my complaining fast, I can also focus my thoughts more on the coming of Christmas... and not just the celebration of the birth of Jesus, but the hopeful, joyful expectation of his coming again!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
How to catch termites
Today in the Writers' Workshop we were looking at how to write "procedural texts" and instructions. One of the examples was "How to Catch Termites". It was quite an impressive story, and ended with the fact that if you have a "clever wife", she might be able to cook you a scrumptious dinner of termites the very same day that you catch them!
There was also an interesting section telling the termite catcher that he must eat one raw termite as he is catching them to prevent getting a stomach-ache when he eats the rest of his catch later. There is a caveat, though, in case he forgets to eat the raw termite.... he simply has to tie a piece of grass around his leg and that will take away any stomach-ache he might get when he feasts on the termites!
Yup, just a few cultural differences between here and there!
There was also an interesting section telling the termite catcher that he must eat one raw termite as he is catching them to prevent getting a stomach-ache when he eats the rest of his catch later. There is a caveat, though, in case he forgets to eat the raw termite.... he simply has to tie a piece of grass around his leg and that will take away any stomach-ache he might get when he feasts on the termites!
Yup, just a few cultural differences between here and there!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Gisim tai giamulu haragam
I can't believe I've been having Arabic lessons for so many months, and just now learned how to say, "I'm sweating"!
And man, are things ever starting to heat up here. Rainy season is definitely over. And somehow, it seems to have ended over night. I literally woke up one morning last week, desperately in need of lip balm and hand lotion. On the way across the compound to my office, my feet were crunching on the drying grass and weeds. When the breeze blows, the tin roof is peppered with the pitter patter of falling leaves. Dry season has officially arrived.
I think the thought of the heat that is to come is almost worst than the heat that is currently here! I'm definitely spending more time in the afternoons sweating in my office - for the last few days, it's been hovering around the 36C mark inside my office, with the fan blowing (that is, when the generator is running). It's at the point now where when the generator goes off at 5pm, I can't last much longer in the office without the fans - gisim tai giamulu haragam katir because it's just so hot and still. This afternoon, I just came home at 5:30 and had a little nap, stretched out (well, as stretched out as one can be on a wicker love-seat) in the verandah.
I was also feeling hot this afternoon because I was running from one office to another - trying to contain a virus. I wonder if NGO workers who are working to contain cholera or menengitis outbreaks feel like I've been feeling over the past two days. There are about 25 computers on the compound (I counted one day last week exactly how many computers there are, but I've now forgotten), and there's a lot of information and files shared between all of those computers. So when one computer got a virus here... it spread like wildfire. 6 computers on the compound have now been infected - three are still needing some serious attention from the community health worker.
I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out the path of the infection, and the rate of it's spread, doing community awareness raising and mobilization to try to stop the contamination from spreading any further and trying to get the computer users to alert me ASAP when they see any of the signs and symptoms. Yesterday afternoon, I thought I had the virus contained, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But then, this afternoon, three more computers exhibited symptoms, so it was back to work.
And all of this in the midst of facilitating a Writer's Workshop, finishing up some literacy books, and dealing with a plethora of emails requesting all sorts of information and asking me to do all sorts of things... in my 36C office. Phew, no wonder I've been sweating a bit today.
Speaking of which... I think I'd better go take a shower...
And man, are things ever starting to heat up here. Rainy season is definitely over. And somehow, it seems to have ended over night. I literally woke up one morning last week, desperately in need of lip balm and hand lotion. On the way across the compound to my office, my feet were crunching on the drying grass and weeds. When the breeze blows, the tin roof is peppered with the pitter patter of falling leaves. Dry season has officially arrived.
I think the thought of the heat that is to come is almost worst than the heat that is currently here! I'm definitely spending more time in the afternoons sweating in my office - for the last few days, it's been hovering around the 36C mark inside my office, with the fan blowing (that is, when the generator is running). It's at the point now where when the generator goes off at 5pm, I can't last much longer in the office without the fans - gisim tai giamulu haragam katir because it's just so hot and still. This afternoon, I just came home at 5:30 and had a little nap, stretched out (well, as stretched out as one can be on a wicker love-seat) in the verandah.
I was also feeling hot this afternoon because I was running from one office to another - trying to contain a virus. I wonder if NGO workers who are working to contain cholera or menengitis outbreaks feel like I've been feeling over the past two days. There are about 25 computers on the compound (I counted one day last week exactly how many computers there are, but I've now forgotten), and there's a lot of information and files shared between all of those computers. So when one computer got a virus here... it spread like wildfire. 6 computers on the compound have now been infected - three are still needing some serious attention from the community health worker.
I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out the path of the infection, and the rate of it's spread, doing community awareness raising and mobilization to try to stop the contamination from spreading any further and trying to get the computer users to alert me ASAP when they see any of the signs and symptoms. Yesterday afternoon, I thought I had the virus contained, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But then, this afternoon, three more computers exhibited symptoms, so it was back to work.
And all of this in the midst of facilitating a Writer's Workshop, finishing up some literacy books, and dealing with a plethora of emails requesting all sorts of information and asking me to do all sorts of things... in my 36C office. Phew, no wonder I've been sweating a bit today.
Speaking of which... I think I'd better go take a shower...
Sunday, November 23, 2008
A pictoral history of my weekend
On Friday night, we had a dinner party with Zane:
Well, ok, Zane wasn't the only guest of honour - we had some of our neighbors and friends around, and had a great time together. Zane was just there as a male being to keep Chris company as the only other guy!
We've been having a series of dinner parties lately, and it's just been so much fun to have friends over to share a meal with.
However, that evening, our drains stopped draining :(
So early on Saturday morning, Richard came over to see if he could help us. We realized it was a job that called for some African Duct Tape:
Seriously, Africans can fix absolutely anything with a bit of old tire inner tube. They use it to keep all sorts of things together and to repair everything from plumbing to cars to furniture. Amazing stuff. They even made shoes out of it, just like we make wallets and book covers out of duct tape.
Unfortunately, the job is rather a bit bigger than just using a little "African Duct Tape", so it will require the other guys who work on the compound to do a bit of digging through the drain pipes tomorrow, but for now, Richard got it draining a bit, and then fixed the leak.
Here's what our little drain spout looks like now, for those of you handy-dandies out there:
Unfortunately, in the process of trying to "help", I stepped on a bougainvillia thorn! Ouch. It went right through my shoe and up into my foot. Oh, it hurt. It even drew blood. But once Richard was finished fixing the drain, he had a look at the bottom of my foot and confirmed that the thorn had come cleanly out and didn't leave a bit in my foot to fester. But if my foot starts festering sometime in the next few days, at least ya'll will know what it's from... anyways, I don't have any photos of my bloody foot, most of you will be pleased to know. And I can walk again normally today, so I don't think it will require a medical evacuation anywhere :( But because of my whining and complaining about all the blood and pain, Jackie brought me breakfast and coffee whilst I sat soaking my foot... so I did get some sympathy :)
The rest of my day was quite productive - we have a workshop this coming week, so I was busy organizing handouts and doing all that sort of stuff to get ready.
In the afternoon, I went out to visit Richard's chickens again, which was a really nice break from being in the city. Of course, you don't go anywhere with Richard without talking to all the neighbors, which was quite a lot of fun. I do think my Arabic is improving, and I can start to follow some of the conversations that people are having around me. I'm sure I get the details wrong - tenses and references and things are still sometimes a bit confusing for me, and of course a LOT of the vocabulary is missing, but I'm at the point where I can pick out some of the important words and start stringing some ideas together.
At one point, a girl walking by asked if she could trade skirts with me, and I was even able to respond with a bit of a joke to her in Arabic! So I was rather happy about that - but it's exhausting to have to concentrate so hard just to pick up a few straws of conversation.
We also saw the chief of the area again, and he asked when I was coming to build my house out there. Richard told him that I won't come live there because there's no internet :) I agreed.
I did bring my camera again with me, and I got some really nice photos out there:
These are hibiscus bulbs which are going to be dried to become tea leaves.
I think the neighbors all thought I was crazy, going around taking photos of the plants and chickens, but I'm really enjoying having some time to take some nice photos, and actually seeing some new things which are worthy of nice photos! (Well, at least I think they're nice photos :D)
Since it's suddenly gotten really hot here again, we went in the coolish part of the day - just before sundown. And we got a view of a beautiful sunset. With all the dust in the air, the colors were just amazing.
And then this evening, we worshipped the creator of all these beautiful scenes to the sounds of... get this... BAGPIPES!
This is our Sunday evening fellowship, and we were led by Peter, who plays the bagpipes. It was great fun! I love the group, and we always have a great time together, worshipping and sharing together.
But phew, all this fun has tired me right out... so it's time to sleep so I can be prepared for our Writer's Workshop tomorrow!
Well, ok, Zane wasn't the only guest of honour - we had some of our neighbors and friends around, and had a great time together. Zane was just there as a male being to keep Chris company as the only other guy!
We've been having a series of dinner parties lately, and it's just been so much fun to have friends over to share a meal with.However, that evening, our drains stopped draining :(
So early on Saturday morning, Richard came over to see if he could help us. We realized it was a job that called for some African Duct Tape:
Seriously, Africans can fix absolutely anything with a bit of old tire inner tube. They use it to keep all sorts of things together and to repair everything from plumbing to cars to furniture. Amazing stuff. They even made shoes out of it, just like we make wallets and book covers out of duct tape.Unfortunately, the job is rather a bit bigger than just using a little "African Duct Tape", so it will require the other guys who work on the compound to do a bit of digging through the drain pipes tomorrow, but for now, Richard got it draining a bit, and then fixed the leak.
Here's what our little drain spout looks like now, for those of you handy-dandies out there:
Unfortunately, in the process of trying to "help", I stepped on a bougainvillia thorn! Ouch. It went right through my shoe and up into my foot. Oh, it hurt. It even drew blood. But once Richard was finished fixing the drain, he had a look at the bottom of my foot and confirmed that the thorn had come cleanly out and didn't leave a bit in my foot to fester. But if my foot starts festering sometime in the next few days, at least ya'll will know what it's from... anyways, I don't have any photos of my bloody foot, most of you will be pleased to know. And I can walk again normally today, so I don't think it will require a medical evacuation anywhere :( But because of my whining and complaining about all the blood and pain, Jackie brought me breakfast and coffee whilst I sat soaking my foot... so I did get some sympathy :)The rest of my day was quite productive - we have a workshop this coming week, so I was busy organizing handouts and doing all that sort of stuff to get ready.
In the afternoon, I went out to visit Richard's chickens again, which was a really nice break from being in the city. Of course, you don't go anywhere with Richard without talking to all the neighbors, which was quite a lot of fun. I do think my Arabic is improving, and I can start to follow some of the conversations that people are having around me. I'm sure I get the details wrong - tenses and references and things are still sometimes a bit confusing for me, and of course a LOT of the vocabulary is missing, but I'm at the point where I can pick out some of the important words and start stringing some ideas together.
At one point, a girl walking by asked if she could trade skirts with me, and I was even able to respond with a bit of a joke to her in Arabic! So I was rather happy about that - but it's exhausting to have to concentrate so hard just to pick up a few straws of conversation.
We also saw the chief of the area again, and he asked when I was coming to build my house out there. Richard told him that I won't come live there because there's no internet :) I agreed.
I did bring my camera again with me, and I got some really nice photos out there:
These are hibiscus bulbs which are going to be dried to become tea leaves.
I think the neighbors all thought I was crazy, going around taking photos of the plants and chickens, but I'm really enjoying having some time to take some nice photos, and actually seeing some new things which are worthy of nice photos! (Well, at least I think they're nice photos :D)
Since it's suddenly gotten really hot here again, we went in the coolish part of the day - just before sundown. And we got a view of a beautiful sunset. With all the dust in the air, the colors were just amazing.
And then this evening, we worshipped the creator of all these beautiful scenes to the sounds of... get this... BAGPIPES!
This is our Sunday evening fellowship, and we were led by Peter, who plays the bagpipes. It was great fun! I love the group, and we always have a great time together, worshipping and sharing together. But phew, all this fun has tired me right out... so it's time to sleep so I can be prepared for our Writer's Workshop tomorrow!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Language Lessons have resumed!
Our Arabic teacher came back a few weeks ago from a neighboring country, so we've started back up with our lessons! Yahoo! Granted, it's a bit difficult having lessons from 5 - 6 pm, after a full day of work. But I think my tired brain just makes for a good laugh for my teacher, Justin! Jackie and I have lessons together with Justin in our verandah, twice a week. It's really a lot of fun, actually. We aren't following a book or anything, just talking and telling stories and learning from that. Normally, our stories center around the crazy things that happen to us every day - I know the word for "presidential convoy", "soldiers", "minister of education", "rat", "rat-trap" etc... all the important words to know for every day life here! We also know a lot of vocabulary related to cleaning and babies.
Anyways, not only does our teacher get a kick out of teaching us, I'm also great entertainment for the rest of the staff who work with us here. I have to try out the new things I learn, and of course, I make rather a lot of mistakes! But everyone is so good natured about it, and so encouraging, so I just keep on trying... and anyways, it's nice to see people smiling and laughing as they go about their work - so what if I'm the one they're laughing at all the time! I'm just happy I can be so entertaining :)
Anyways, not only does our teacher get a kick out of teaching us, I'm also great entertainment for the rest of the staff who work with us here. I have to try out the new things I learn, and of course, I make rather a lot of mistakes! But everyone is so good natured about it, and so encouraging, so I just keep on trying... and anyways, it's nice to see people smiling and laughing as they go about their work - so what if I'm the one they're laughing at all the time! I'm just happy I can be so entertaining :)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Change back
By the way, some of my faithful readers told me that they couldn't read my blog properly since I changed the template. So I switched back... sorry if you liked the new one! Maybe someday I'll take the time to figure out how to do a customized look. But for now, you're stuck with a 'canned' template :)
Barriers to Schooling
Part of my job here is to help promote the use of learners' mother tongues in the formal school system. So I get to rub elbows with all sorts of government people and UNICEF people and other NGO people from the education sector. And I really enjoy this aspect of my job - it was a pretty steep learning curve at first, but I'm really starting to get a hang of the "lingo" and I'm getting to know more and more people in the little education sector circle! It was quite nice today, actually, because I haven't been around to many of meetings or anything lately - there's just been too much going on with the other aspects of my work for me to get out much - and so many people said that they'd missed me! I even got great big bear hugs from these two wonderful UNICEF women that I love! It's good to have these sorts of relationships with people like that, so we can talk freely and openly and share about what's going on - information sharing is always a problem here, and it's really, really hard to be on top of all the new things that happen, or new appointments in the government etc. So it's important to just sit and chat with poeple once in a while!
Anyways, today I went to an all day workshop today in which a study on the economic and socio-cultural barriers to education in this country was presented. The consulting company that did the study presented their findings and wanted input from others in the government and partners. For the most part, the study was really well done - very thorough, well presented... but they missed a huge key factor! They didn't mention language at all! Doesn't it seem rather obvious there is a barrier to education if a teacher is teaching in a foreign language that the child doesn't know?
But for many people around here, education = English. You are educated if you speak English. It doesn't matter if you can solve problems, or think critically, or analyze information or comprehend something you've read, or express your thoughts in a well-thought out essay. No, if you can converse in English, even if it's just something you've learned by rote memory, you are educated.
So there's a bit of an uphill battle sometimes to help people realize the potential of learning first in their mother tongue! (once again, I will refrain from stepping up onto my soap box...)
But I had some opportunities to have some input into this study that's being done, which will also form the basis for the recommendations for the "way forward" for education in this country! It's a bit of a scary thought sometimes, because Ministers and other important people, both in the gov't and in NGOs are actually starting to listen to what Jackie and I have to say about becoming literate in the mother tongue before moving into using English as a medium of instruction. So please pray that Jackie and I speak wisely and can give good advice on the situation here. Because it really is such a privilege to be able to have a part in building up this country and working towards better education for the children here.
By the way, there was a funny quote that I wrote down today during a conversation about corporal punishment for learners in the classrooms. The man who was speaking said we need to train teachers in alternative methods of discipline - he suggested teachers give the children books to read as punishment rather than caning them! Man, I really hope the teachers of this country don't see, gasp, reading a book as a form of punishment! I guess that's why we need to keep having Writers' Workshops, to make sure there's something decent to read in people's languages so they don't see it as a punishment... um, my brain is tired from all my talking today and I'm starting to ramble, so I'd best get this posted and go to sleep!
Anyways, today I went to an all day workshop today in which a study on the economic and socio-cultural barriers to education in this country was presented. The consulting company that did the study presented their findings and wanted input from others in the government and partners. For the most part, the study was really well done - very thorough, well presented... but they missed a huge key factor! They didn't mention language at all! Doesn't it seem rather obvious there is a barrier to education if a teacher is teaching in a foreign language that the child doesn't know?
But for many people around here, education = English. You are educated if you speak English. It doesn't matter if you can solve problems, or think critically, or analyze information or comprehend something you've read, or express your thoughts in a well-thought out essay. No, if you can converse in English, even if it's just something you've learned by rote memory, you are educated.
So there's a bit of an uphill battle sometimes to help people realize the potential of learning first in their mother tongue! (once again, I will refrain from stepping up onto my soap box...)
But I had some opportunities to have some input into this study that's being done, which will also form the basis for the recommendations for the "way forward" for education in this country! It's a bit of a scary thought sometimes, because Ministers and other important people, both in the gov't and in NGOs are actually starting to listen to what Jackie and I have to say about becoming literate in the mother tongue before moving into using English as a medium of instruction. So please pray that Jackie and I speak wisely and can give good advice on the situation here. Because it really is such a privilege to be able to have a part in building up this country and working towards better education for the children here.
By the way, there was a funny quote that I wrote down today during a conversation about corporal punishment for learners in the classrooms. The man who was speaking said we need to train teachers in alternative methods of discipline - he suggested teachers give the children books to read as punishment rather than caning them! Man, I really hope the teachers of this country don't see, gasp, reading a book as a form of punishment! I guess that's why we need to keep having Writers' Workshops, to make sure there's something decent to read in people's languages so they don't see it as a punishment... um, my brain is tired from all my talking today and I'm starting to ramble, so I'd best get this posted and go to sleep!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
I'm a plastic tea pot...
... short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my spout...
Ain't she a beauty!? I plan to make many cups of iced tea within her beautifully whimsical plastic walls.
This is the photo I meant to post last night, until that pesky little lizard got in the way! I didn't actually see where he went, but I carefully shook out my pillows, untucked my mosquito net and shook it out, and tucked it back in again... and I didn't feel anything crawling over my as I slept, so I assume he was as scared of me as I was of him...
Anyways, my plastic teapot is my newest find in Juba. It actually goes quite well with the new mugs that we found in the market two weeks ago:
Do you see a theme developing here? The colors don't seem to show up so well on the mug, but really, in real life, they are so lovely.
It has been amazing me over the past few weeks just how much I have learned to appreciate a lot of the simpler things in life living here. I have such fun going to the market to see what I can find there - and if something happens to catch my eye, it ends up giving me a lot of joy for many, many days. I spent a couple of dollars on a set of four matching mugs, and somehow, my coffee and tea times have been filled with much more pleasure than when I was drinking it out of plain old chipped white mugs.
When I go to the produce section of the market, life is simple because I know exactly what's going to be there - tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, potatoes, green pepper, eggs, bananas, limes and pineapples (well, usually!). I might be pleasantly surprised by the appearance of an avocado or two, or maybe some nice looking carrots or even green beans! But generally, the simplicity of it makes life easy. Not too many decisions to be made on what to buy in the produce department, that's for sure!
And somehow, I've been finding some contentment in that simplicity. The beauty of my new mugs, the whimsical pattern on my tea pot, the smooth red skin of a tomato, the juiciness of a pineapple... I'm learning (and even usually succeeding!) at being content with these simple things.
(But don't get me wrong - I'm really, really looking forward to a whole litany of things when I go back home for Christmas - hot showers, cheesecake, electricity, paved roads, high speed internet, TV, bookstores, telephones plugged into the walls instead of cell phones, glass in the windows... but I do think living here has certainly given me a much, much greater appreciation for the simple things in life, which I don't want to lose even in the midst of all those wonderful things at home!).
Anyways, those are just a few rambling thoughts tonight as I sit and admire my plastic tea pot.
Ain't she a beauty!? I plan to make many cups of iced tea within her beautifully whimsical plastic walls.This is the photo I meant to post last night, until that pesky little lizard got in the way! I didn't actually see where he went, but I carefully shook out my pillows, untucked my mosquito net and shook it out, and tucked it back in again... and I didn't feel anything crawling over my as I slept, so I assume he was as scared of me as I was of him...
Anyways, my plastic teapot is my newest find in Juba. It actually goes quite well with the new mugs that we found in the market two weeks ago:
Do you see a theme developing here? The colors don't seem to show up so well on the mug, but really, in real life, they are so lovely.
It has been amazing me over the past few weeks just how much I have learned to appreciate a lot of the simpler things in life living here. I have such fun going to the market to see what I can find there - and if something happens to catch my eye, it ends up giving me a lot of joy for many, many days. I spent a couple of dollars on a set of four matching mugs, and somehow, my coffee and tea times have been filled with much more pleasure than when I was drinking it out of plain old chipped white mugs.
When I go to the produce section of the market, life is simple because I know exactly what's going to be there - tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, potatoes, green pepper, eggs, bananas, limes and pineapples (well, usually!). I might be pleasantly surprised by the appearance of an avocado or two, or maybe some nice looking carrots or even green beans! But generally, the simplicity of it makes life easy. Not too many decisions to be made on what to buy in the produce department, that's for sure!
And somehow, I've been finding some contentment in that simplicity. The beauty of my new mugs, the whimsical pattern on my tea pot, the smooth red skin of a tomato, the juiciness of a pineapple... I'm learning (and even usually succeeding!) at being content with these simple things.
(But don't get me wrong - I'm really, really looking forward to a whole litany of things when I go back home for Christmas - hot showers, cheesecake, electricity, paved roads, high speed internet, TV, bookstores, telephones plugged into the walls instead of cell phones, glass in the windows... but I do think living here has certainly given me a much, much greater appreciation for the simple things in life, which I don't want to lose even in the midst of all those wonderful things at home!).
Anyways, those are just a few rambling thoughts tonight as I sit and admire my plastic tea pot.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
All out of sorts...
Celine's heart was going on early tonight (she started at 10:35pm!), so I'm sorta all out of sorts!
I had a good time in the market today, though. I found the most amazing plastic tea pot. Yes, that's what I said, a plastic tea pot. I don't think I want to actually make hot tea in it, but it's perfect for ... gack!!!!
sorry for the interruption - there was a lizard crawling on the inside of my mosquito net right next to my head! I tried to shake him out... but I'm not actually quite certain where he's gone. I gotta go make sure there's not another lizard lurking in my pillow before I go to sleep! Gack!! Will continue this post tomorrow!
I had a good time in the market today, though. I found the most amazing plastic tea pot. Yes, that's what I said, a plastic tea pot. I don't think I want to actually make hot tea in it, but it's perfect for ... gack!!!!
sorry for the interruption - there was a lizard crawling on the inside of my mosquito net right next to my head! I tried to shake him out... but I'm not actually quite certain where he's gone. I gotta go make sure there's not another lizard lurking in my pillow before I go to sleep! Gack!! Will continue this post tomorrow!
Friday, November 14, 2008
The cultural chasm
Sometimes I forget just how different my world is from the world of the people that I work with every day. This morning, there were two little things that really reminded me of it and helped me put my feet back on the ground in this place!
First thing happened before I had even had breakfast - I was in my kitchen making coffee with my little filter and some hot water, when I noticed Elizabeth starting to clean the kitchen floor with a wet rag. Elizabeth has been working in our house for two weeks, since our regular much-loved Sunday is on "maternity leave". Now, I had noticed that the floors in our house were getting rather dirty (I like to run around barefoot on our cement floors because it's cooler than wearing even flip flops all the time!). And I also noticed that there were cobwebs gathering on our mop.
So even before I had breakfast, I put two and two together and figured that she hadn't been mopping our floor. So I asked her (in my very limited Arabic!) if she knew how to use a mop. She didn't. Of course - she lives in a mud hut with a dirt floor - why would she need to know how to mop?! So we had a little lesson on how to mop. And she did a great job - grabbed her baby (who comes to work with her every day), tied the baby to her back and started mopping with great gusto! And our floor is amazingly clean today :) Scrubbing the toilet and sink is another thing we've been working on teaching her - again, she's never had a toilet or a sink in her house - she has a pit latrine and a bucket of water. So why should she have learned how to use Vim to scrub the scum off the sink?!
And I am also very aware of the fact that if you put me in a tukel with a dirt floor and a squatty potty hole in the ground and asked me to keep it clean, I'd also be completely clueless, too! I think the women who work with us already think I'm a complete failure as a woman, since I don't know how to make asida or ugali, I don't want to have a baby next year, and I'm not actively seeking a husband to cook for!
The second little thing that happened today to make me realize just how different I am was when one of the translators (who, by the way, has been working with us and using a computer for close to two years now!) came to my office to ask a computer question. I happily trotted along with him to his office to see what the problem was. It's too late tonight to write out all the details, but it was such a basic thing that he needed help with - something that I would have thought the guy was doing every single day, but he was so confused! So once again, it was a good reminder for me to really go back to the basics again and again. I sometimes take for granted a lot of things on the computer which have become second nature to me, and they're really quite a foreign concept to the guys that I work with here!
But I still love the challenge of trying to somehow cross this cultural chasm between my own culture and the one that I find myself in here! There's always something somewhat surprising to keep me on my toes, and I love how so many of these little daily situations make me think about my own assumptions and the little things that I can so easily start to take for granted - like how to use a mop, but more importantly, things like how I see the world, how I see relationships, how I see God, how I order my 'world' and value things and people... And having a few challenges to these things can only help me figure things out better, and hopefully will help me sort out the good things in my own culture and perhaps even replace some of the not-so-good things with some of the better things from a different culture!
Perhaps this is also a part of what that Proverb is about... something about "iron sharpening iron"... Probably causes a few sparks now and again, but in the end, both bits are sharper and more effcetive to do what they were created to do!
Sorry if this is a bit of a rambly post - we had a dinner party here tonight, and though it's quite late, I'm still rather wound up after all the fun we had! I'm so tired, but not the least bit sleepy...
First thing happened before I had even had breakfast - I was in my kitchen making coffee with my little filter and some hot water, when I noticed Elizabeth starting to clean the kitchen floor with a wet rag. Elizabeth has been working in our house for two weeks, since our regular much-loved Sunday is on "maternity leave". Now, I had noticed that the floors in our house were getting rather dirty (I like to run around barefoot on our cement floors because it's cooler than wearing even flip flops all the time!). And I also noticed that there were cobwebs gathering on our mop.
So even before I had breakfast, I put two and two together and figured that she hadn't been mopping our floor. So I asked her (in my very limited Arabic!) if she knew how to use a mop. She didn't. Of course - she lives in a mud hut with a dirt floor - why would she need to know how to mop?! So we had a little lesson on how to mop. And she did a great job - grabbed her baby (who comes to work with her every day), tied the baby to her back and started mopping with great gusto! And our floor is amazingly clean today :) Scrubbing the toilet and sink is another thing we've been working on teaching her - again, she's never had a toilet or a sink in her house - she has a pit latrine and a bucket of water. So why should she have learned how to use Vim to scrub the scum off the sink?!
And I am also very aware of the fact that if you put me in a tukel with a dirt floor and a squatty potty hole in the ground and asked me to keep it clean, I'd also be completely clueless, too! I think the women who work with us already think I'm a complete failure as a woman, since I don't know how to make asida or ugali, I don't want to have a baby next year, and I'm not actively seeking a husband to cook for!
The second little thing that happened today to make me realize just how different I am was when one of the translators (who, by the way, has been working with us and using a computer for close to two years now!) came to my office to ask a computer question. I happily trotted along with him to his office to see what the problem was. It's too late tonight to write out all the details, but it was such a basic thing that he needed help with - something that I would have thought the guy was doing every single day, but he was so confused! So once again, it was a good reminder for me to really go back to the basics again and again. I sometimes take for granted a lot of things on the computer which have become second nature to me, and they're really quite a foreign concept to the guys that I work with here!
But I still love the challenge of trying to somehow cross this cultural chasm between my own culture and the one that I find myself in here! There's always something somewhat surprising to keep me on my toes, and I love how so many of these little daily situations make me think about my own assumptions and the little things that I can so easily start to take for granted - like how to use a mop, but more importantly, things like how I see the world, how I see relationships, how I see God, how I order my 'world' and value things and people... And having a few challenges to these things can only help me figure things out better, and hopefully will help me sort out the good things in my own culture and perhaps even replace some of the not-so-good things with some of the better things from a different culture!
Perhaps this is also a part of what that Proverb is about... something about "iron sharpening iron"... Probably causes a few sparks now and again, but in the end, both bits are sharper and more effcetive to do what they were created to do!
Sorry if this is a bit of a rambly post - we had a dinner party here tonight, and though it's quite late, I'm still rather wound up after all the fun we had! I'm so tired, but not the least bit sleepy...
Thursday, November 13, 2008
A funny conversation
I just wanted to jot this little conversation down before I forget about it...
Jackie and I are working on making calendars with some of the translation and literacy teams here, which means that they need to have translations in their languages for words like "Easter" "Good Friday" and "Christmas". One team that we were talking with about this had quite a long discussion amongst themselves (in their language) about "Christmas".
After a few minutes, the team leader said, "Let me ask you this..." and he proceeded to ask whether we celebrate the day we are conceived, or just the day that we are born! Seems this particular culture celebrates (and has a name for!) both the day they were conceived and the day they were born. In fact, from the conversation, it seems that perhaps the day they were conceived is somehow more important than the day of their birth!
Somehow, this makes sense to me... though, um, er, well, somehow, I don't really know that most people really want to think about the day they actually were conceived... but maybe I'm still a bit too Western or naive on this one!
Jackie and I are working on making calendars with some of the translation and literacy teams here, which means that they need to have translations in their languages for words like "Easter" "Good Friday" and "Christmas". One team that we were talking with about this had quite a long discussion amongst themselves (in their language) about "Christmas".
After a few minutes, the team leader said, "Let me ask you this..." and he proceeded to ask whether we celebrate the day we are conceived, or just the day that we are born! Seems this particular culture celebrates (and has a name for!) both the day they were conceived and the day they were born. In fact, from the conversation, it seems that perhaps the day they were conceived is somehow more important than the day of their birth!
Somehow, this makes sense to me... though, um, er, well, somehow, I don't really know that most people really want to think about the day they actually were conceived... but maybe I'm still a bit too Western or naive on this one!
Good Morning!
Normally, Zane is thrown out of the house every night. It's gotten to be my little ritual - I go turn off the generator, poke around outside for a while (the air is always so cool and quiet at night!), get ready for bed, poke around some more, do some blogging and reading... and then, just before I'm about to nod off, I wake the cat up from his slumber, chuck him out the door and lock everything up for the night.
Last night, though, as I was doing my reading, the cat came under my mosquito net and patiently waited while I folded up his little mat at the end of the bed, and he was just being so cute... so I let him sleep at the foot of my bed, instead of throwing him out to the mercy of the wilds. Plus, I was feeling a bit bad because the night before, he had had some kind of accident - obviously he couldn't tell me what happened, but he came home in the morning all covered in mud, limping, and looking rather forlorn. Something must have been seriously wrong with him, because he let me give him a rub down with a very wet rag, which I did to make sure he wasn't bleeding or anything. Which he wasn't. So I figure he must have fallen out of a tree or something.
Anyways, I let Zane sleep in my little mosquito net cocoon with me last night. But he woke me up at about 6 am with a bit of a scruffle under my bed. I thought at first he was just trying to wake me up so I could let him outside to go pee or something. So I got out my headlamp and was able to step down out of my bed... when I saw what the real scruffle was about. Zane was busy batting around a little rat carcass! He just looked at me proudly and seemed to say, "Good morning!". Ew. I didn't want to deal with anything... and well, quite frankly, Zane is normally a very clean eater. So I planned to just let him sit there and munch on his breakfast, thinking that by the time I woke up again a while later, all remains of the rat would be gone.
So I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. Then I heard a funny slap, slap, scruffle, boof. And a little scampering. And then the same thing again. Then I felt something hit my bed. And more scruffling.
I somehow didn't want to know what was happening, but I just couldn't help myself... so I turned on my headlamp again, just in time to see Zane grab the rat in his mouth, throw him up in the air, and swat at him like he was serving a tennis ball! Now this I just couldn't deal with - I knew I'd never get back to sleep with the thought of a dead rat being batted around my bedroom in the dark!
So I got out of bed, carefully avoiding Zane and the rat. As soon as Zane saw me coming, he grabbed the rat in his mouth and started growling at me - I'm sure he thought I was going to steal his breakfast!
I got to my bedroom door, opened it, then went to open all the other doors to the outside so I could chase Zane out, hopefully while he still had the rat in his mouth.
And sure enough, Zane was smart enough to know exactly where I wanted him to go - so he happily ran into the yard with his big breakfast. Yum yum. As for me, I locked the doors all up again, and went back to sleep - but still thinking about all the other little rats that are probably still lurking under my bed...
Last night, though, as I was doing my reading, the cat came under my mosquito net and patiently waited while I folded up his little mat at the end of the bed, and he was just being so cute... so I let him sleep at the foot of my bed, instead of throwing him out to the mercy of the wilds. Plus, I was feeling a bit bad because the night before, he had had some kind of accident - obviously he couldn't tell me what happened, but he came home in the morning all covered in mud, limping, and looking rather forlorn. Something must have been seriously wrong with him, because he let me give him a rub down with a very wet rag, which I did to make sure he wasn't bleeding or anything. Which he wasn't. So I figure he must have fallen out of a tree or something.
Anyways, I let Zane sleep in my little mosquito net cocoon with me last night. But he woke me up at about 6 am with a bit of a scruffle under my bed. I thought at first he was just trying to wake me up so I could let him outside to go pee or something. So I got out my headlamp and was able to step down out of my bed... when I saw what the real scruffle was about. Zane was busy batting around a little rat carcass! He just looked at me proudly and seemed to say, "Good morning!". Ew. I didn't want to deal with anything... and well, quite frankly, Zane is normally a very clean eater. So I planned to just let him sit there and munch on his breakfast, thinking that by the time I woke up again a while later, all remains of the rat would be gone.
So I closed my eyes and went back to sleep. Then I heard a funny slap, slap, scruffle, boof. And a little scampering. And then the same thing again. Then I felt something hit my bed. And more scruffling.
I somehow didn't want to know what was happening, but I just couldn't help myself... so I turned on my headlamp again, just in time to see Zane grab the rat in his mouth, throw him up in the air, and swat at him like he was serving a tennis ball! Now this I just couldn't deal with - I knew I'd never get back to sleep with the thought of a dead rat being batted around my bedroom in the dark!
So I got out of bed, carefully avoiding Zane and the rat. As soon as Zane saw me coming, he grabbed the rat in his mouth and started growling at me - I'm sure he thought I was going to steal his breakfast!
I got to my bedroom door, opened it, then went to open all the other doors to the outside so I could chase Zane out, hopefully while he still had the rat in his mouth.
And sure enough, Zane was smart enough to know exactly where I wanted him to go - so he happily ran into the yard with his big breakfast. Yum yum. As for me, I locked the doors all up again, and went back to sleep - but still thinking about all the other little rats that are probably still lurking under my bed...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Baby is home!
This is what I was doing for an hour this evening:
Since "our" baby is no longer in the hospital, it was time to do the official new baby home visit today! We went together with Mary to see Sunday and her baby after work today. What fun we had! This little baby boy is so beautiful, and all he was doing the whole time we were there was sleeping, had a little drink of milk, waved his little fists in the air a few times, eyeballed who was holding him, and then went back to sleep. He wasn't even afraid of the sweaty white girl :)
But that could be because he was pretty sweaty himself! It's different here - moms keep their babies completely wrapped up, even when it's 35C in the house because they think if the baby gets cold, he will get sick. So the poor little babies are always sweating, but they're always covered and wearing lots of clothes. Sunday had just changed baby's little outfit because he peed in the first one, so I took the opportunity to take his picture while he wasn't all bundled up!
However, I must admit, there are some advantages to the bundling - there are at least a few layers of cloth to soak up the pee when you cuddle with them! I have to admit, I still haven't figured out what happens when they poo... but I've been around enough babies here to know that they just pee all over everything, and it doesn't seem to be a problem!
Anyways, we had a really nice visit with Sunday and Mary and baby Salah. Jackie and I were thinking about the last time we visited there, we could hardly say two words to the family, as we just didn't know enough Arabic. But today we had lots of things to chitchat about, and we could even tell mildly amusing stories and understand bits of what other people were saying! That's a real encouragement to see that my Arabic is getting a bit better, actually with not too much effort on my part (I rarely, if ever, study beyond the occassional lesson that I get!). It's motivation enough to make me think that perhaps I actually should open my little notebook of words and study once in a while, too, so I can actually continue to improve!
Another bonus of the time with Sunday was that we got to eat some really tasty food - a stew made from green leaves and peanut paste, soaked up with balls of sorghum and cassava asida. For those of you familiar with Kenyan Ugali, the sorghum cassava asida is sorta like the sticky version of ugali. Sticky and hard to eat with your hands, but so tasty. I love sorghum! Everytime we eat it somewhere, I think to myself that I really should eat it more often, but I haven't a clue as to where to buy it here, or how to cook it! So I guess I'll just have to keep visiting people to make sure I get a steady diet of asida :)
Since "our" baby is no longer in the hospital, it was time to do the official new baby home visit today! We went together with Mary to see Sunday and her baby after work today. What fun we had! This little baby boy is so beautiful, and all he was doing the whole time we were there was sleeping, had a little drink of milk, waved his little fists in the air a few times, eyeballed who was holding him, and then went back to sleep. He wasn't even afraid of the sweaty white girl :)
But that could be because he was pretty sweaty himself! It's different here - moms keep their babies completely wrapped up, even when it's 35C in the house because they think if the baby gets cold, he will get sick. So the poor little babies are always sweating, but they're always covered and wearing lots of clothes. Sunday had just changed baby's little outfit because he peed in the first one, so I took the opportunity to take his picture while he wasn't all bundled up!
However, I must admit, there are some advantages to the bundling - there are at least a few layers of cloth to soak up the pee when you cuddle with them! I have to admit, I still haven't figured out what happens when they poo... but I've been around enough babies here to know that they just pee all over everything, and it doesn't seem to be a problem! Anyways, we had a really nice visit with Sunday and Mary and baby Salah. Jackie and I were thinking about the last time we visited there, we could hardly say two words to the family, as we just didn't know enough Arabic. But today we had lots of things to chitchat about, and we could even tell mildly amusing stories and understand bits of what other people were saying! That's a real encouragement to see that my Arabic is getting a bit better, actually with not too much effort on my part (I rarely, if ever, study beyond the occassional lesson that I get!). It's motivation enough to make me think that perhaps I actually should open my little notebook of words and study once in a while, too, so I can actually continue to improve!
Another bonus of the time with Sunday was that we got to eat some really tasty food - a stew made from green leaves and peanut paste, soaked up with balls of sorghum and cassava asida. For those of you familiar with Kenyan Ugali, the sorghum cassava asida is sorta like the sticky version of ugali. Sticky and hard to eat with your hands, but so tasty. I love sorghum! Everytime we eat it somewhere, I think to myself that I really should eat it more often, but I haven't a clue as to where to buy it here, or how to cook it! So I guess I'll just have to keep visiting people to make sure I get a steady diet of asida :)
Monday, November 10, 2008
I can't find a good title for this little bit of nothingness tonight.
Let you think my truck keys got taken away by gun-toting soldiers, I thought I should post something on the blog tonight. Unfortunately, I'm just not feeling that blog-ish tonight. All I can think of sharing is the fact that I killed two mosquitoes in the last few hours - both of them had just been feasting on my blood. And one of them was INSIDE my mosquito net. That's not supposed to happen! Maybe I need to fix that Zane-inflicted hole...
Anyways, Celine is singing my goodnight song, so it's time to close up and dream about the Titanic.
Anyways, Celine is singing my goodnight song, so it's time to close up and dream about the Titanic.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
If I were a chicken... 2
In July, I composed a touching blog about where I would like if I were a chicken in this city. The following day, Steve sent me a picture of me as a chicken. It's nice to remember Steve. I miss him. But yesterday, I did manage to remember to bring my camera out to my favorite chicken run in town.
Feast your eyes on this:
Plenty of sorghum to go around for all my chicky friends when they come to visit.
I'd even have some funky bugs to keep me company (can you see it? It was beautiful shiny black with bright red stripes!). And of course, I'd be a happy little chicken, because I'd be surrounded by old containers from my compound...
Really, what more could you ask for!? Anyways, it was a very nice relaxing afternoon out at the chicken run. It's so peaceful out there - no traffic, very little trash, no soldiers... I even got to meet the chief of the area. He offered to give me land... but then said I had to build a big house on it with all my dollars :( Ha! I guess I should have shown him the truck I arrived in, and then he'd realize I sure don't have the kind of dollars he was expecting! But I had a nice walk through the suburbs and a nice little visit with the chief, plus just a nice time sitting and watching the chickens peck the ground, enjoying the peace and quiet for a few minutes.
Feast your eyes on this:
Plenty of sorghum to go around for all my chicky friends when they come to visit.
I'd even have some funky bugs to keep me company (can you see it? It was beautiful shiny black with bright red stripes!). And of course, I'd be a happy little chicken, because I'd be surrounded by old containers from my compound...
Really, what more could you ask for!? Anyways, it was a very nice relaxing afternoon out at the chicken run. It's so peaceful out there - no traffic, very little trash, no soldiers... I even got to meet the chief of the area. He offered to give me land... but then said I had to build a big house on it with all my dollars :( Ha! I guess I should have shown him the truck I arrived in, and then he'd realize I sure don't have the kind of dollars he was expecting! But I had a nice walk through the suburbs and a nice little visit with the chief, plus just a nice time sitting and watching the chickens peck the ground, enjoying the peace and quiet for a few minutes.
Something New
We had quite an adventure this evening. It all turned out alright, though. Richard used his "get-out-of-jail-free" card (yes, you literally can use it get out of jail in this country!), and we were ok. But there was a minute there where I thought one of us was going to be dragged off to the military prison, or worse!
I just realized that now I'd better tell the details of this story tonight, or you'll all be worrying about me all weekend!
It's actually a very simple thing, and I don't want to say too much, actually, let I get in trouble from my host government... so here's a simplified version of what happened:
Jackie, Richard and I were going out for dinner with our South African friends. The South African was driving. At the end of our street, we had to wait for the vice-presidential motorcade to go by. Which we did. However, the driver didn't see the very last mini-van cruising by on the wrong side of the road. And we almost pulled out in front of him. Fortunately, we stopped before we actually DID pull out. But that mini-van decided to stop, as well.
Seems the van was full of bodyguards with rather large weapons. And they weren't too happy that we were about to pull out in front of them, even though it was a completely innocent mistake on the part of the driver! No shots were fired, but there were quite a few soldiers who jumped out of the van (with their guns) and they ended up taking the keys to the landcruiser that we were all in, and left us sitting in the middle of the road!
Hm. Now what? Well, now the khawaija show began! There we were, stranded on our street corner, with no extra keys for the landcruiser. First order of business was to get the truck out of the middle of the road. So Richard plus three white women and a cute little brown South African started pushing the car, much to the amusement of the folks sitting around on the corners smoking their shishas! The Richard ran back to our compound to bring our Toyota Hilux around.
While Richard was getting the truck and the keys, we were all standing around on the street corner, trying to ignore the stares of the overly-friendly street-corner folks. There were a couple of groups of guys who came and just openly stared at us, standing right in front of us and just staring. I don't know that I'll ever get used to that one!
Thankfully, we weren't too far from home, so Richard didn't take too long to get back with the other truck. He also brought the extra set of keys to our Hilux, which, frighteningly enough, both opened the doors to the Landcruiser and started the engine!
Just as we were about to jump in the truck and be on our way, the mini-van of soldiers came back. And Richard started talking. It actually took him a while to talk his way out of things, and he had to show his special super powered get-out-of-jail-free card so they wouldn't haul our South African friend off to the military prison. I'm sure thankful Richard has that card! The soldiers finally gave the key back for the Landcruiser, and we were on our way again.
It was just a little bit of a hair-raising adventure before dinner!
I just realized that now I'd better tell the details of this story tonight, or you'll all be worrying about me all weekend!
It's actually a very simple thing, and I don't want to say too much, actually, let I get in trouble from my host government... so here's a simplified version of what happened:
Jackie, Richard and I were going out for dinner with our South African friends. The South African was driving. At the end of our street, we had to wait for the vice-presidential motorcade to go by. Which we did. However, the driver didn't see the very last mini-van cruising by on the wrong side of the road. And we almost pulled out in front of him. Fortunately, we stopped before we actually DID pull out. But that mini-van decided to stop, as well.
Seems the van was full of bodyguards with rather large weapons. And they weren't too happy that we were about to pull out in front of them, even though it was a completely innocent mistake on the part of the driver! No shots were fired, but there were quite a few soldiers who jumped out of the van (with their guns) and they ended up taking the keys to the landcruiser that we were all in, and left us sitting in the middle of the road!
Hm. Now what? Well, now the khawaija show began! There we were, stranded on our street corner, with no extra keys for the landcruiser. First order of business was to get the truck out of the middle of the road. So Richard plus three white women and a cute little brown South African started pushing the car, much to the amusement of the folks sitting around on the corners smoking their shishas! The Richard ran back to our compound to bring our Toyota Hilux around.
While Richard was getting the truck and the keys, we were all standing around on the street corner, trying to ignore the stares of the overly-friendly street-corner folks. There were a couple of groups of guys who came and just openly stared at us, standing right in front of us and just staring. I don't know that I'll ever get used to that one!
Thankfully, we weren't too far from home, so Richard didn't take too long to get back with the other truck. He also brought the extra set of keys to our Hilux, which, frighteningly enough, both opened the doors to the Landcruiser and started the engine!
Just as we were about to jump in the truck and be on our way, the mini-van of soldiers came back. And Richard started talking. It actually took him a while to talk his way out of things, and he had to show his special super powered get-out-of-jail-free card so they wouldn't haul our South African friend off to the military prison. I'm sure thankful Richard has that card! The soldiers finally gave the key back for the Landcruiser, and we were on our way again.
It was just a little bit of a hair-raising adventure before dinner!
Friday, November 7, 2008
Ah, peace...
Funny, it's quiet tonight. I hear nothing except the distant rumble of some far-off generators, some frogs singing, and crickets... well... cricking.
No people shouting or laughing or crying or talking. No cars or motorbikes tearing through the night. No gunshots. No Celine.
It's quiet.
Too bad that's such a blog-worthy occurrence!
No people shouting or laughing or crying or talking. No cars or motorbikes tearing through the night. No gunshots. No Celine.
It's quiet.
Too bad that's such a blog-worthy occurrence!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Zane's not the only one who can catch a rat...
Yesterday afternoon, I went looking for my cell phone. Though I don't get very many calls, I carry my cell phone around with me everywhere - I guess it's just the possibility of communicating with someone "out there" (ie, off the compound!) which keeps me going. So I normally have at least one of my phones with me (um, er, don't ask just how many phones I have - believe me, they each serve their own purpose because there are 4 networks here, none of which work consistently...). Yesterday afternoon, someone who used to live here and work with us came back to visit. She flew through Entebbe, where my dear friend Grace lives with her daughter and menagerie of creatures, including a hedgehog, imported from where I live.
Anyways, Grace sent me a great little care package - a Montanan t-shirt, a can of popcorn, some marshmellows and some chocolate! Mmmm... an amazing little care package, that's for sure. But I digress... so I was looking for my phone so that I could send her a text message to say "thanks!" for the goodies. But I couldn't find my phone anywhere. A little voice in the back of my head told me to keep looking for it. I knew that I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything until I found that silly phone (and no, I couldn't use one of my other phones to text her, because the other networks don't work to send international texts during the day!).
So I looked everywhere - high and low. I dumped everything out of my purse/bag, searched my desk drawer (where I was dismayed to find evidence of yet another rat infestation), I looked everywhere in my house. I also went to each of the offices that I had been in earlier in the day, to see if I had left it in one of those offices. Nothing. So I took one of my other phones (see, one of the advantages to having more than one phone!) and started calling the lost phone - thinking the ringing would lead me to its location.
It rang several times, and I went to several different buildings on the compound, but I didn't hear it ringing anywhere.
Finally, someone answered my phone! At first, I thought it must be one of the guys who works on the compound, and he had found the phone somewhere and was answering it for me. But turns out, the guy who answered my phone told me to meet him in the market, where he would discuss giving my phone back to me! I couldn't believe it! I was really quite shocked and flabbergasted and didn't quite know what to say. Thankfully, one of the guys who works with us, here, Dominic, happened to be walking by, so I grabbed him and had him talk to the guy who had my phone.
They talked for a few minutes, and still, the guy was telling us that we had to come to the market and he would discuss the terms of getting the phone back. I think he must have thought I would come on my own and pay him something to get my phone back.
Little did he know, I work with a bunch of guys who treat me like their daughter. My posse here looks out for me, I tell you. About 10 of the guys who were still around today (this was just after the office closed for the day) called a meeting, to try to figure out what in the world was going on and how this guy had gotten my phone.
After a few minutes' discussion, we figured out that someone had come into the office (obviously while I had popped out for something) and was asking around for some money (seems his wife had died a little while ago, and it's quite a normal thing for people to ask friends and co-workers to help with the funeral expenses). He was known by one of translation teams, so he had first been in their office, and then I guess he figured he would come to the office that I share with Jackie and Peter. Jackie and I weren't there, and Peter didn't have anything to give him... but he did see my cell phone on my desk! It could only have been this particular guy, as we had no other visitors or "outside" people come to the compound all afternoon.
While we were discussing this, Dominic tried calling my phone again. And again, the thief answered. This time, he pretended to be the police and said that he was at the police station, and had been arrested, so we shoudl go immediately to the police station and pick up the phone.
So immediately, I jumped in the truck, thinking that Dominic and Isaac (our staff who knew the guy best) would come with me, and the rest would go their own ways and get home, and out of the rain that had started to fall. But instead, three of them jumped in the cab of the truck, and four of them climbed in the box! So off we went, the white girl and her posse, gone to catch a rat.
However, once we got to the police station and the phone wasn't there, they realized that the thief who had been answering the phone was just telling tales, and he wasn't actually arrested.
Fortunately, the guys who knew him also knew where he lives - in fact, he's one of their neighbors! So we all got back in the truck and off we went to this guy's house! Now already, I'm raise quite a crowd - a white girl with a crew of men (and most of these guys are not small guys, either!) marching through the neighborhood, weaving between the mud huts and through people's yards. I don't think too many white folks have visited that neighborhood!
Then we really caused a stir when my posse stormed into the guy's grass hut! They found him right there in his hut, negotiating with someone who wanted to buy my phone, which he held in his hand!
Dominc dragged him out of the hut, and I think he wanted to beat him up a bit (unfortunately, that's just a normal way to deal with conflict here - lots of violence and beating). But the rest of us put an end to that before it began. But there was still lots and lots of shouting! Anyways, he was caught red-handed, and all the guys knew obviously that it was my phone he had in his hand. He was still slightly drunk, I think. My crew asked me what I wanted to do with him - if I wanted to take him to the police or anything. I decided not to get in the middle of all that. I figured that him having been made a spectacle of in his neighborhood was probably enough punishment! I learned this morning, though, that his neighbors had actually beaten him this morning - seems he has been causing other trouble in the area, as well, so they finally gave him a beating.
There is quite a lot of shame here in stealing, and it seems especially if you steal from a guest in your home or even a guest in your country. I just couldn't believe that he would steal from a place where he knew people, nor could I believe he actually answered the phone repeatedly when I called! He was not a very smart thief! And yet, it all worked out amazingly well, because if we had been 5 minutes later in coming, the phone would have been sold to the other guy, and there's no way I would have gotten it back.
Now my phone is really not very expensive - I only have cheap phones - but it would have been such an incredible inconvenience to have to go downtown to cancel the SIM card (the number), to get a new one, to find all the phone numbers again in my contact list, and to figure out what to do about getting a new phone... I just don't have time to deal with all that at the moment!
I also learned a couple of things. First, don't mindlessly leave things laying around! This is the first thing that's ever gone missing like that from the offices, but I don't want it to happen again!
But secondly, I learned that when I have a problem, these guys who work here are really going to look out for me. They all banded together to figure out what to do. They jumped in the truck, in the pouring rain (and believe me, Africans do NOT like to be out in the rain!) to come with me to sort this issue out. As we were getting in the truck, I expressed my surprise at how they were all coming with me - and one of them replied, "Of course we're all coming - we're family". That really meant a lot to me. I always knew these guys are good guys and like to be helpful. But to have them all band together like that around me, and to do what they could do help me was really special. I feel very protected - which is rather important when you live in a place like this! I know, without a doubt, that if I have any trouble anywhere, I just need to call one of these guys and they will do everything they can to help me out.
So I'm thankful for this little problem that I had with the "rat" yesterday because of the good lessons I learned.
(by the way, credit for the title of this post goes to one of our visiting consultants... you know I can't come up with creative titles on my own :) ).
Anyways, Grace sent me a great little care package - a Montanan t-shirt, a can of popcorn, some marshmellows and some chocolate! Mmmm... an amazing little care package, that's for sure. But I digress... so I was looking for my phone so that I could send her a text message to say "thanks!" for the goodies. But I couldn't find my phone anywhere. A little voice in the back of my head told me to keep looking for it. I knew that I wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything until I found that silly phone (and no, I couldn't use one of my other phones to text her, because the other networks don't work to send international texts during the day!).
So I looked everywhere - high and low. I dumped everything out of my purse/bag, searched my desk drawer (where I was dismayed to find evidence of yet another rat infestation), I looked everywhere in my house. I also went to each of the offices that I had been in earlier in the day, to see if I had left it in one of those offices. Nothing. So I took one of my other phones (see, one of the advantages to having more than one phone!) and started calling the lost phone - thinking the ringing would lead me to its location.
It rang several times, and I went to several different buildings on the compound, but I didn't hear it ringing anywhere.
Finally, someone answered my phone! At first, I thought it must be one of the guys who works on the compound, and he had found the phone somewhere and was answering it for me. But turns out, the guy who answered my phone told me to meet him in the market, where he would discuss giving my phone back to me! I couldn't believe it! I was really quite shocked and flabbergasted and didn't quite know what to say. Thankfully, one of the guys who works with us, here, Dominic, happened to be walking by, so I grabbed him and had him talk to the guy who had my phone.
They talked for a few minutes, and still, the guy was telling us that we had to come to the market and he would discuss the terms of getting the phone back. I think he must have thought I would come on my own and pay him something to get my phone back.
Little did he know, I work with a bunch of guys who treat me like their daughter. My posse here looks out for me, I tell you. About 10 of the guys who were still around today (this was just after the office closed for the day) called a meeting, to try to figure out what in the world was going on and how this guy had gotten my phone.
After a few minutes' discussion, we figured out that someone had come into the office (obviously while I had popped out for something) and was asking around for some money (seems his wife had died a little while ago, and it's quite a normal thing for people to ask friends and co-workers to help with the funeral expenses). He was known by one of translation teams, so he had first been in their office, and then I guess he figured he would come to the office that I share with Jackie and Peter. Jackie and I weren't there, and Peter didn't have anything to give him... but he did see my cell phone on my desk! It could only have been this particular guy, as we had no other visitors or "outside" people come to the compound all afternoon.
While we were discussing this, Dominic tried calling my phone again. And again, the thief answered. This time, he pretended to be the police and said that he was at the police station, and had been arrested, so we shoudl go immediately to the police station and pick up the phone.
So immediately, I jumped in the truck, thinking that Dominic and Isaac (our staff who knew the guy best) would come with me, and the rest would go their own ways and get home, and out of the rain that had started to fall. But instead, three of them jumped in the cab of the truck, and four of them climbed in the box! So off we went, the white girl and her posse, gone to catch a rat.
However, once we got to the police station and the phone wasn't there, they realized that the thief who had been answering the phone was just telling tales, and he wasn't actually arrested.
Fortunately, the guys who knew him also knew where he lives - in fact, he's one of their neighbors! So we all got back in the truck and off we went to this guy's house! Now already, I'm raise quite a crowd - a white girl with a crew of men (and most of these guys are not small guys, either!) marching through the neighborhood, weaving between the mud huts and through people's yards. I don't think too many white folks have visited that neighborhood!
Then we really caused a stir when my posse stormed into the guy's grass hut! They found him right there in his hut, negotiating with someone who wanted to buy my phone, which he held in his hand!
Dominc dragged him out of the hut, and I think he wanted to beat him up a bit (unfortunately, that's just a normal way to deal with conflict here - lots of violence and beating). But the rest of us put an end to that before it began. But there was still lots and lots of shouting! Anyways, he was caught red-handed, and all the guys knew obviously that it was my phone he had in his hand. He was still slightly drunk, I think. My crew asked me what I wanted to do with him - if I wanted to take him to the police or anything. I decided not to get in the middle of all that. I figured that him having been made a spectacle of in his neighborhood was probably enough punishment! I learned this morning, though, that his neighbors had actually beaten him this morning - seems he has been causing other trouble in the area, as well, so they finally gave him a beating.
There is quite a lot of shame here in stealing, and it seems especially if you steal from a guest in your home or even a guest in your country. I just couldn't believe that he would steal from a place where he knew people, nor could I believe he actually answered the phone repeatedly when I called! He was not a very smart thief! And yet, it all worked out amazingly well, because if we had been 5 minutes later in coming, the phone would have been sold to the other guy, and there's no way I would have gotten it back.
Now my phone is really not very expensive - I only have cheap phones - but it would have been such an incredible inconvenience to have to go downtown to cancel the SIM card (the number), to get a new one, to find all the phone numbers again in my contact list, and to figure out what to do about getting a new phone... I just don't have time to deal with all that at the moment!
I also learned a couple of things. First, don't mindlessly leave things laying around! This is the first thing that's ever gone missing like that from the offices, but I don't want it to happen again!
But secondly, I learned that when I have a problem, these guys who work here are really going to look out for me. They all banded together to figure out what to do. They jumped in the truck, in the pouring rain (and believe me, Africans do NOT like to be out in the rain!) to come with me to sort this issue out. As we were getting in the truck, I expressed my surprise at how they were all coming with me - and one of them replied, "Of course we're all coming - we're family". That really meant a lot to me. I always knew these guys are good guys and like to be helpful. But to have them all band together like that around me, and to do what they could do help me was really special. I feel very protected - which is rather important when you live in a place like this! I know, without a doubt, that if I have any trouble anywhere, I just need to call one of these guys and they will do everything they can to help me out.
So I'm thankful for this little problem that I had with the "rat" yesterday because of the good lessons I learned.
(by the way, credit for the title of this post goes to one of our visiting consultants... you know I can't come up with creative titles on my own :) ).
Monday, November 3, 2008
The khawaijas go to the hospital
In today's episode of the "Khawaija Show", J and T go visiting at the hospital...
Sunday, who helps us in our house, gave birth to a little boy last Sunday afternoon. She's an amazing woman - she cleaned our house, washed a pile of clothes and dishes on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon, gave birth to a little boy! She was only in labour for 1 hour! The baby was born safe and sound in her house, with only her neighbors around to help her.
However, last night, the baby got sick, and started running a very high fever. So she brought him to the hospital. Since we hadn't had a chance to go and visit the baby yet, we thought we should go and see them in the hospital, which is also the culturally appropriate thing to do.
It was quite comical, actually. First, we had to stop at the shop to buy some juice and some little cakes for the new mother. Then we had to find them. Jackie and I, along with 3 of the women who work on our compound, wandered around the grounds, in and out of various wards, for nearly 30 minutes before we found the building Sunday and her baby were staying in. We were quite the scene - Vicky is very pregnant and very forward, Nadia, who came from the North and was all wrapped up in her scarves, Cicilia, who just quietly smiles, and then two bewildered white girls (khawaijas)!
Anyways, we eventually found Sunday and her baby. And the Khawaija show really began. Of course, anytime there's a new born baby around, I have to ooh and aaah and coo. Sunday and her baby were staying on one side of the ward, while there were probably 5 children and their mothers and various other family members on the other end of the ward. At one point, I looked up over to the other side of the ward, and saw ALL of their eyes trained on me and Jackie! I guess they don't get too many white girls visiting there, and they were all curious to see what we were going to do, I guess.
Well, I tried to ignore our audience and just enjoyed seeing the baby and talking a little with Sunday. The baby is so precious.
From what I could tell, the baby was diagnosed with some sort of infection, and so was being given IV antibiotics. He had been all sweaty and hot, so Sunday was keeping him bathed in baby powder, which is why he looks like he's also turning into a khawaija!
Here's a photo of baby with his mother:
And just because the baby is so cute...
We had a nice visit with Sunday and her baby, and before we left, Sunday asked us to pray for the baby. So I got to pray that the Lord would heal the little baby. Life here is so fragile, and when I see this little child sick, and who knows what kind of medical care he's receiving... well, I can only trust that God is in control and can heal this little life. So please pray with me for a full recovery for this baby, so he will grow big and strong, full of Life and knowing his Creator.
One of the other women who works with us in the guesthouse was also in the hospital at the same time. She, unfortunately, had a miscarriage on the weekend. Please also pray for Mary. She lost a child a few years ago, and has not been able to get pregnant again until now. In the meantime, her husband has taken a second wife, since Mary wasn't able to give him more children yet. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be in Mary's position now. So please pray for her, too, for comfort and for her to know God's love during this difficult time.
Sunday, who helps us in our house, gave birth to a little boy last Sunday afternoon. She's an amazing woman - she cleaned our house, washed a pile of clothes and dishes on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon, gave birth to a little boy! She was only in labour for 1 hour! The baby was born safe and sound in her house, with only her neighbors around to help her.
However, last night, the baby got sick, and started running a very high fever. So she brought him to the hospital. Since we hadn't had a chance to go and visit the baby yet, we thought we should go and see them in the hospital, which is also the culturally appropriate thing to do.
It was quite comical, actually. First, we had to stop at the shop to buy some juice and some little cakes for the new mother. Then we had to find them. Jackie and I, along with 3 of the women who work on our compound, wandered around the grounds, in and out of various wards, for nearly 30 minutes before we found the building Sunday and her baby were staying in. We were quite the scene - Vicky is very pregnant and very forward, Nadia, who came from the North and was all wrapped up in her scarves, Cicilia, who just quietly smiles, and then two bewildered white girls (khawaijas)!
Anyways, we eventually found Sunday and her baby. And the Khawaija show really began. Of course, anytime there's a new born baby around, I have to ooh and aaah and coo. Sunday and her baby were staying on one side of the ward, while there were probably 5 children and their mothers and various other family members on the other end of the ward. At one point, I looked up over to the other side of the ward, and saw ALL of their eyes trained on me and Jackie! I guess they don't get too many white girls visiting there, and they were all curious to see what we were going to do, I guess.
Well, I tried to ignore our audience and just enjoyed seeing the baby and talking a little with Sunday. The baby is so precious.
From what I could tell, the baby was diagnosed with some sort of infection, and so was being given IV antibiotics. He had been all sweaty and hot, so Sunday was keeping him bathed in baby powder, which is why he looks like he's also turning into a khawaija!Here's a photo of baby with his mother:
And just because the baby is so cute...
We had a nice visit with Sunday and her baby, and before we left, Sunday asked us to pray for the baby. So I got to pray that the Lord would heal the little baby. Life here is so fragile, and when I see this little child sick, and who knows what kind of medical care he's receiving... well, I can only trust that God is in control and can heal this little life. So please pray with me for a full recovery for this baby, so he will grow big and strong, full of Life and knowing his Creator.One of the other women who works with us in the guesthouse was also in the hospital at the same time. She, unfortunately, had a miscarriage on the weekend. Please also pray for Mary. She lost a child a few years ago, and has not been able to get pregnant again until now. In the meantime, her husband has taken a second wife, since Mary wasn't able to give him more children yet. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be in Mary's position now. So please pray for her, too, for comfort and for her to know God's love during this difficult time.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sundays are made for rest...
And that's what I did today. I love Sundays. I woke up late (though I was already hot when I woke up at 9:30am!), and had a nice long warm shower (not because we have a hot water heater, but because the sun was already warm enough to heat the water in the storage tank!), and had an egg with my coffee (which my housemates, who woke up ages before I did, had already made!). Then I settled in to listen to a John Piper sermon on my MP3 player, which I downloaded last night. John Piper has the most amazing resources online. I love it, because there just isn't a good place to go to hear a good sermon in this city... or if there is, I haven't found it yet! There are also no Christian bookstores here (in fact there aren't ANY bookstores of ANY kind here!). So, having free resources online makes me happy.
It was a great sermon - very encouraging as it talked about the "call" of missions and the roles that everyone has to play in how God is building his Kingdom among all the nations of the earth. Very good. I would stick a link to the specific sermon I listened to... except that it seems my Internet has stopped working at the moment!
Anyways, it was good. Afterwards, as I sat and did some cross-stitch (I know, I'm getting old and granny-ish already as I sit around drinking tea and doing needlepoint - but it's nice to have a brainless occupation once in a while and create something pretty at the same time!). But whilst cross-stitching, I was listening to MercyMe. In particular, I was listening to a song that was sung at the memorial service for my friend Steve a few weeks ago called "Homesick". I don't think I would have been able to hold it together had I heard that song in his memorial service.
The lyrics to that song are posted on the "Memories of Steve" website. (Which, by the way, is an amazing way to share memories of Steve, since he has so many friends scattered all over the world!). Anyway, I just spent some time praying and thinking about my dear ones who got to go to heaven before me. This whole idea of "home" and "homesickness" seems to be a recurring theme in my life. I just keep coming back to it, over and over again, since I get confused about where "home" is sometimes!
I must admit that I don't often get homesick for Canada, though of course, I really miss my family and friends and hot showers. I even sometimes miss other countries that I've had the privilege to spend time in, and I miss the friends and experiences that I had in those places. But when I get homesick, it's usually for a place that I've never even been to or seen with my eyes. I do get homesick for heaven, for a place that just sounds so incredible. A place that has no need for the sun or the moon, because the Lord will be the Light. A place where there is no more sickness or crying. A place where I will ride again with Steve, and will get to hold my baby neice in my arms and see her beautiful smile. A place where I will know and be known... by the One who created me and loves me. How amazing is that?
So sometimes, when I look around and I see the difficulties of life here on earth (both here in Africa and at home), my heart aches to be "home".
But it's a good ache, too, you know? Because it's Hope, it's the Promise of things to come. And it's the privilege of living out part of that Kingdom in the here and now. So I hope today you're feeling a little homesick, too.
It was a great sermon - very encouraging as it talked about the "call" of missions and the roles that everyone has to play in how God is building his Kingdom among all the nations of the earth. Very good. I would stick a link to the specific sermon I listened to... except that it seems my Internet has stopped working at the moment!
Anyways, it was good. Afterwards, as I sat and did some cross-stitch (I know, I'm getting old and granny-ish already as I sit around drinking tea and doing needlepoint - but it's nice to have a brainless occupation once in a while and create something pretty at the same time!). But whilst cross-stitching, I was listening to MercyMe. In particular, I was listening to a song that was sung at the memorial service for my friend Steve a few weeks ago called "Homesick". I don't think I would have been able to hold it together had I heard that song in his memorial service.
The lyrics to that song are posted on the "Memories of Steve" website. (Which, by the way, is an amazing way to share memories of Steve, since he has so many friends scattered all over the world!). Anyway, I just spent some time praying and thinking about my dear ones who got to go to heaven before me. This whole idea of "home" and "homesickness" seems to be a recurring theme in my life. I just keep coming back to it, over and over again, since I get confused about where "home" is sometimes!
I must admit that I don't often get homesick for Canada, though of course, I really miss my family and friends and hot showers. I even sometimes miss other countries that I've had the privilege to spend time in, and I miss the friends and experiences that I had in those places. But when I get homesick, it's usually for a place that I've never even been to or seen with my eyes. I do get homesick for heaven, for a place that just sounds so incredible. A place that has no need for the sun or the moon, because the Lord will be the Light. A place where there is no more sickness or crying. A place where I will ride again with Steve, and will get to hold my baby neice in my arms and see her beautiful smile. A place where I will know and be known... by the One who created me and loves me. How amazing is that?
So sometimes, when I look around and I see the difficulties of life here on earth (both here in Africa and at home), my heart aches to be "home".
But it's a good ache, too, you know? Because it's Hope, it's the Promise of things to come. And it's the privilege of living out part of that Kingdom in the here and now. So I hope today you're feeling a little homesick, too.
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