Yup, tonight, I'm feeling pretty good about life. I'm pretty blessed, you know? I have a job I love - where else do I get to stand up in front of a group of people and teach them about Common Underlying Language Proficiency and about top down and bottom up reading theories and about different models of multilingual education?! And the best part about our current workshop is that these guys are getting it! They're smart, they know something about education, they have good English... it's really been good to work with them.
And I have some good friends to laugh and talk with. We've started a Tuesday evening prayer time with some of the women who are based in this town, and it's been so good to get to know people a bit better, and to know that some of them might actually stick around for longer than a few weeks (though there is still quite a high turnover!). But at least some folks have stuck around, and there are some really wonderful people around here to get to know. I'm blessed. There's even a family with some little children and a baby, so nearly every week, I get to hold a little baby for a while! There's just something so therapeutic and relaxing about snuggling with a tiny little person for a while.
And I also have some fun restaurants to go to - tonight, before our prayer meeting, I met a few folks for dinner at a new restaurant, and my oh my, I was impressed! I had a chicken quesadilla (I don't know how to spell it, but the waiter didn't know how to say it - he pronounced all the "l"s. He also pronounced the "j" in Rita's chicken fajita :) ). My quesadilla had cheese and salsa in it, but they didn't have the avocados to make any guacamole :( Oh well, maybe next time! But the place was really nice, the food was good, and it was nice and cool inside.
And I have a comfortable house with electricity (it came back on tonight, yahoo!) and internet and running water.
I mean, really, what more does a girl need? I am very blessed indeed... and of course, all of this is in addition to the every day blessings of air to breath and healthy lungs with which to breath it, grace and mercy and compassion and redemption for all the stupid things I do and say every day, and all those other blessings that I take for granted all the time! Yup, blessed indeed.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
A lovely Saturday
Today felt like a Saturday, for the first time in a long time!
I slept in a bit, but dragged myself to the office at around 10:15am. It's nice not having a long commute to the office (it takes all of 25 seconds from my front door to the office - give or take 45 seconds if I have to go to the key box to unlock the office, which generally never happens because Jackie always beats me to the office). I got quite a lot done in the office, including some accounting stuff for the workshops that we've been running around here, preparation and printing of handouts for the workshop that's happening, starting on Monday, and various other bits and pieces of stuff that had to get done this week. I have to admit it's rather nice to have a quiet Saturday morning in the office so I can get a bit caught up from the week without too many interruptions of people's computers giving them funny error messages, or random visitors coming in or...
I worked until just after 1pm, then Jackie, Annamarie and I squeezed into Jackie's little Suzuki and cruised off to the Riverside for lunch with some friends - one of whom has come from up North. She used to live down here, and I really enjoy her company - I quite miss her, so it's good that she still comes down this way for her job quite often. It's hard to find friends who stick around here, so it's nice that at least a few people keep coming back!
It was really nice sitting there by the river - it was cool, and fresh out on the patio. Of course, the food took forever to come, but once we got it, it was good. And I witnessed someone eating the nicest piece of fried chicken in all of the city. Really, it looked so juicy and tender and delicious. Me, I had a beef sandwich, which was also quite nice, but not as nice as the delicious looking chicken which had my mouth watering.
Anyways, it was good company, good conversation, good food, good weather.
On the way back, we stopped at a different market to get some provisions for the week. They demolished the area where this market used to be, and I used to hate going to that market anyways. Every time I went there, I got hassled by the young men who used to sit around on their motorbikes and loiter, waiting for innocent white girls to wander by. I mean, I never got seriously hassled, but it was always really annoying and made me rather uncomfortable. But I digress... they moved the market to a new area now, and today was the first time I went there. And it was quite nice. A much bigger selection of fruits and veggies than we find at our usual market, and I didn't feel hassled or uncomfortable at all. I think I could venture back there on my own, without too much stress.
And we got some lovely, lovely things. Passion fruits, zucchini, tomatoes, pineapple, green peppers, eggs and eggplant. That should keep us going for a few days! We brought it all home, washed it all and collected it in a big basin, and it all just looks so beautiful and fresh and colourful! So lovely, in fact, I think I have to take a photo of it!
Aren't they pretty?! They also had some green beans in the market today, but we didn't want to go overboard, or else we might have to do a bit too much cooking this week! We also have a pumpkin that Annamarie got from someone this week - it's a huge thing, but Annamarie has already cooked some of it up into a beautiful soup which we will enjoy for lunch tomorrow. Can you tell I'm excited about my fruits and veggies this week?
Anyways, once we got back from the market, I did a bit of arts and crafts - I'm trying to make some curtains for Richard's little house that he's building on the compound! I don't have a good photo of the house at the moment, and since it's nearing midnight, not exactly the best time of day to go out and start taking photos of it! Maybe tomorrow. Anyways, I started on the project, but I didn't get very far, since I realized that I will need a different colour thread for the curtains, as the white thread that we have is pretty glaring white against the greenish/brownish/goldish fabric.
So I packed up my project, and got started on tidying up the house, as my friends were coming over to watch a DVD with us. We ended up watching "Prince Caspian", which was so good! I loved it, actually. It's such a good story - even though I don't really remember what happens in the book. But I love Reepicheep - somehow, I just have a soft spot in my heart for little talking mice and rats and other little four-legged furry things with long tails these days. Of course, I love the themes in the Narnia movies - they're somehow so encouraging, because it reminds me of the redemption that's coming from the high King, and how He's in control of things, if we just look for Him and wait for Him. Of course, I could go on, but since it's late, I won't. And I'm sure you've heard it all before, when the movie actually came out (remember, I live in the middle of nowhere, so it takes me a while to catch up on these things!).
But it was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday! And it was made even better because one of my friends who came over happened to be bearing gifts to me from his sister, who is also a dear friend, now living in Europe. I've now got a couple of lovely bars of Belgian chocolate to share... or keep all to myself :) It's nice to feel remembered and loved by friends who have moved on to different parts of the world, anyways. So thanks for thinking of us here!
I slept in a bit, but dragged myself to the office at around 10:15am. It's nice not having a long commute to the office (it takes all of 25 seconds from my front door to the office - give or take 45 seconds if I have to go to the key box to unlock the office, which generally never happens because Jackie always beats me to the office). I got quite a lot done in the office, including some accounting stuff for the workshops that we've been running around here, preparation and printing of handouts for the workshop that's happening, starting on Monday, and various other bits and pieces of stuff that had to get done this week. I have to admit it's rather nice to have a quiet Saturday morning in the office so I can get a bit caught up from the week without too many interruptions of people's computers giving them funny error messages, or random visitors coming in or...
I worked until just after 1pm, then Jackie, Annamarie and I squeezed into Jackie's little Suzuki and cruised off to the Riverside for lunch with some friends - one of whom has come from up North. She used to live down here, and I really enjoy her company - I quite miss her, so it's good that she still comes down this way for her job quite often. It's hard to find friends who stick around here, so it's nice that at least a few people keep coming back!
It was really nice sitting there by the river - it was cool, and fresh out on the patio. Of course, the food took forever to come, but once we got it, it was good. And I witnessed someone eating the nicest piece of fried chicken in all of the city. Really, it looked so juicy and tender and delicious. Me, I had a beef sandwich, which was also quite nice, but not as nice as the delicious looking chicken which had my mouth watering.
Anyways, it was good company, good conversation, good food, good weather.
On the way back, we stopped at a different market to get some provisions for the week. They demolished the area where this market used to be, and I used to hate going to that market anyways. Every time I went there, I got hassled by the young men who used to sit around on their motorbikes and loiter, waiting for innocent white girls to wander by. I mean, I never got seriously hassled, but it was always really annoying and made me rather uncomfortable. But I digress... they moved the market to a new area now, and today was the first time I went there. And it was quite nice. A much bigger selection of fruits and veggies than we find at our usual market, and I didn't feel hassled or uncomfortable at all. I think I could venture back there on my own, without too much stress.
And we got some lovely, lovely things. Passion fruits, zucchini, tomatoes, pineapple, green peppers, eggs and eggplant. That should keep us going for a few days! We brought it all home, washed it all and collected it in a big basin, and it all just looks so beautiful and fresh and colourful! So lovely, in fact, I think I have to take a photo of it!
Aren't they pretty?! They also had some green beans in the market today, but we didn't want to go overboard, or else we might have to do a bit too much cooking this week! We also have a pumpkin that Annamarie got from someone this week - it's a huge thing, but Annamarie has already cooked some of it up into a beautiful soup which we will enjoy for lunch tomorrow. Can you tell I'm excited about my fruits and veggies this week?
Anyways, once we got back from the market, I did a bit of arts and crafts - I'm trying to make some curtains for Richard's little house that he's building on the compound! I don't have a good photo of the house at the moment, and since it's nearing midnight, not exactly the best time of day to go out and start taking photos of it! Maybe tomorrow. Anyways, I started on the project, but I didn't get very far, since I realized that I will need a different colour thread for the curtains, as the white thread that we have is pretty glaring white against the greenish/brownish/goldish fabric.
So I packed up my project, and got started on tidying up the house, as my friends were coming over to watch a DVD with us. We ended up watching "Prince Caspian", which was so good! I loved it, actually. It's such a good story - even though I don't really remember what happens in the book. But I love Reepicheep - somehow, I just have a soft spot in my heart for little talking mice and rats and other little four-legged furry things with long tails these days. Of course, I love the themes in the Narnia movies - they're somehow so encouraging, because it reminds me of the redemption that's coming from the high King, and how He's in control of things, if we just look for Him and wait for Him. Of course, I could go on, but since it's late, I won't. And I'm sure you've heard it all before, when the movie actually came out (remember, I live in the middle of nowhere, so it takes me a while to catch up on these things!).
But it was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday! And it was made even better because one of my friends who came over happened to be bearing gifts to me from his sister, who is also a dear friend, now living in Europe. I've now got a couple of lovely bars of Belgian chocolate to share... or keep all to myself :) It's nice to feel remembered and loved by friends who have moved on to different parts of the world, anyways. So thanks for thinking of us here!
Plan A, B, C or...?
We had a plan A for some fun and relaxation tonight. We invited some folks over for dinner to our place, as we are ever so fond of Friday evening dinner parties. However, it never happened. Turns out one of the invitees is travelling and one of them had to go to Nairobi to get her tooth fixed at a dentist.
So then we heard that there was a movie playing at the University, as a part of a film festival that's been going on all week. So off we trooped to the University, and wandered around looking a bit lost for a while before we finally found someone who gave us some info about the film festival. Seems the film festival has been postponed until some later unknown date.
So then we moved along to plan C for the evening. We went over to one of our favourite restaurants for some ice cream and macciato! What a wonderful treat to get real soft-serve ice cream and nice coffee. There's only a handful of places in town that you can get such delicacies, and boy did it ever taste good tonight! Our entertainment for the evening? Counting the rats peering down at us as we enjoyed our treats and CNN on satellite TV. CNN was focused on the demise of dear Micheal. So I started getting all nostalgic, thinking back to all the times he's been the sound track to my life. And it's actually quite a lot. And it's a bit scary how many of his songs I've got memorized in the deep recesses of my brain!
But a bit more interesting to me is how the way people are "mourning" on "social networking sites" (for some reason, I hate that term social networking sites...) like facebook and twitter and blogs. It's quite a phenomenon, and shows just how much people felt like Micheal was a part of their lives... at least, as much a part of their lives as their virtual people are who live on the other end of the twitter or the blog.
And the irony is, here I am doing the exact same thing - blogging about people blogging about the death of Micheal Jackson! Yup, it's a strange global village we live in, that's for sure.
So then we heard that there was a movie playing at the University, as a part of a film festival that's been going on all week. So off we trooped to the University, and wandered around looking a bit lost for a while before we finally found someone who gave us some info about the film festival. Seems the film festival has been postponed until some later unknown date.
So then we moved along to plan C for the evening. We went over to one of our favourite restaurants for some ice cream and macciato! What a wonderful treat to get real soft-serve ice cream and nice coffee. There's only a handful of places in town that you can get such delicacies, and boy did it ever taste good tonight! Our entertainment for the evening? Counting the rats peering down at us as we enjoyed our treats and CNN on satellite TV. CNN was focused on the demise of dear Micheal. So I started getting all nostalgic, thinking back to all the times he's been the sound track to my life. And it's actually quite a lot. And it's a bit scary how many of his songs I've got memorized in the deep recesses of my brain!
But a bit more interesting to me is how the way people are "mourning" on "social networking sites" (for some reason, I hate that term social networking sites...) like facebook and twitter and blogs. It's quite a phenomenon, and shows just how much people felt like Micheal was a part of their lives... at least, as much a part of their lives as their virtual people are who live on the other end of the twitter or the blog.
And the irony is, here I am doing the exact same thing - blogging about people blogging about the death of Micheal Jackson! Yup, it's a strange global village we live in, that's for sure.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Latest entertainment
My cat has been entertaining me lately, which is why I haven't blogged. Because the weather in the evening has been cold (26C at 11pm - BRRRRR!), Zane has actually voluntarily come to sit on my lap in the evenings! Amazing. So I've been enjoying some quality time, stroking my cat, instead of blogging. Sorry if you thought I had died of asphyxiation from the continuing smokey fires! I haven't yet.
The other day, we had a new wildlife sighting on the compound, which gave us all a bit of entertainment! Because there's been a bit of rain lately, there has been a big of a snail plague on the compound. I keep stepping on them, and it's pretty gross. They're big snails - 1 or 2 inches in diameter. So they're pretty slimy when they are accidentally trod upon! Anyways, these snails seem to be providing a wonderful buffet for a new type of bird which I've not seen before on the compound:
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Zane was quite enthralled by the newcomer, though I have a feeling if I let Zane out to go and investigate, he may have found himself on the wrong end of a very sharp beak!
.JPG)
When Zane watches birds outside, he starts to make this little chirping noise. It's the funniest thing, almost like he's trying to imitate a bird, saying, "It's ok, little birdie, I won't hurt you..." I don't think he fools anyone, but it's pretty funny to watch him try to become a bird!
Not only was Zane enthralled by the bird, but Jackie and Wes were, as well. It was better than going to the zoo, I think!
.JPG)
Of course, no show would be complete without a little drink. I was enjoying a soda - a relatively new pop that comes from up North. It tastes just like a shandy - it's a pear-flavoured malt drink. Very refreshing. I had bought it down on the corner when Jackie and I were on our way home from our little walk. I had asked the shop keeper if he had this particular soda in his fridge in Arabic. It only took me about 5 Arabic words to ask, but he was so pleased and told me how wonderful my Arabic was :) I love being able to fool people into thinking I'm fluent because I can ask if he's got pop!
.JPG)
Right, Zane has just climbed up inside my mosquito net, which means it's time to snuggle under my sheets and go to sleep. It's so cold - 25.5C now! Wowzers, I might need an extra sheet on my bed tonight!
The other day, we had a new wildlife sighting on the compound, which gave us all a bit of entertainment! Because there's been a bit of rain lately, there has been a big of a snail plague on the compound. I keep stepping on them, and it's pretty gross. They're big snails - 1 or 2 inches in diameter. So they're pretty slimy when they are accidentally trod upon! Anyways, these snails seem to be providing a wonderful buffet for a new type of bird which I've not seen before on the compound:
.JPG)
Zane was quite enthralled by the newcomer, though I have a feeling if I let Zane out to go and investigate, he may have found himself on the wrong end of a very sharp beak!
.JPG)
When Zane watches birds outside, he starts to make this little chirping noise. It's the funniest thing, almost like he's trying to imitate a bird, saying, "It's ok, little birdie, I won't hurt you..." I don't think he fools anyone, but it's pretty funny to watch him try to become a bird!
Not only was Zane enthralled by the bird, but Jackie and Wes were, as well. It was better than going to the zoo, I think!
.JPG)
Of course, no show would be complete without a little drink. I was enjoying a soda - a relatively new pop that comes from up North. It tastes just like a shandy - it's a pear-flavoured malt drink. Very refreshing. I had bought it down on the corner when Jackie and I were on our way home from our little walk. I had asked the shop keeper if he had this particular soda in his fridge in Arabic. It only took me about 5 Arabic words to ask, but he was so pleased and told me how wonderful my Arabic was :) I love being able to fool people into thinking I'm fluent because I can ask if he's got pop!
.JPG)
Right, Zane has just climbed up inside my mosquito net, which means it's time to snuggle under my sheets and go to sleep. It's so cold - 25.5C now! Wowzers, I might need an extra sheet on my bed tonight!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Smokin'
And this time I'm not talking about the weather. People like to burn things here. They burn everything from the fallen branches and leaves to the plastic bags that their sugar came in, to the tin cans that their Coke came in. In a place that doesn't have a garbage pick-up service, the best thing you can do with your garbage is to make a little pile in the middle of the road and burn it once in a while. So there's pretty much always a fire burning somewhere in the neighborhood. I'm used to it, and it's not a big deal anymore... ok, so I still get a bit nervous when you have to drive the truck right over a burning pile of garbage because there's no other way around it, but so far, the truck hasn't ignited.
But for some reason, for the past two days, someone nearby is burning something big. And the smoke is just hanging in the air and in my house. At least they're burning something relatively clean (that is, it's not smelling like burning plastic), but I do feel like I've been walking around in a camp-fire for the past two days. The smokey smell is in my hair, in my clothes, and worse, in my lungs. I just don't think it's healthy! Maybe I need to start wearing one of those funny little masks that folks were donning to keep the Swine Flu at bay in Mexico City. Maybe it would at least filter a bit of the smoke from the air and save my lungs a bit of grief?! Once again, this is a day where I'm so thankful that I, so far, don't suffer from asthma or severe allergies... I'd be dead by now if I did!
Um, sorry, is this a bit of a grim blog?! I don't mean to worry anyone; I'm just telling it like it is. But if you think to pray for my lungs after breathing in smoke for two days, my lungs would appreciate it :)
But for some reason, for the past two days, someone nearby is burning something big. And the smoke is just hanging in the air and in my house. At least they're burning something relatively clean (that is, it's not smelling like burning plastic), but I do feel like I've been walking around in a camp-fire for the past two days. The smokey smell is in my hair, in my clothes, and worse, in my lungs. I just don't think it's healthy! Maybe I need to start wearing one of those funny little masks that folks were donning to keep the Swine Flu at bay in Mexico City. Maybe it would at least filter a bit of the smoke from the air and save my lungs a bit of grief?! Once again, this is a day where I'm so thankful that I, so far, don't suffer from asthma or severe allergies... I'd be dead by now if I did!
Um, sorry, is this a bit of a grim blog?! I don't mean to worry anyone; I'm just telling it like it is. But if you think to pray for my lungs after breathing in smoke for two days, my lungs would appreciate it :)
Friday, June 19, 2009
It all comes back to the cows...
We finished up our workshop today, which was meant to train some trainers who will train some teachers who will work in some pastoralist cattle camp mobile schools. It's quite an exciting thing to be a part of actually. I just hope it all gets off the ground in a good way. They were a good group, though, and I think they got some good stuff out of the workshop. But it all comes back to the cows. Everything we talked about - theme webs, curriculum, stories, materials, even how to make chalkboards using cow-hides... it was all cows.
And of course, this afternoon, when the big guy came for the closing ceremony of the workshop, it didn't take long for the conversation to move around to how many cows were needed for my hand in marriage. How much was I worth today? Well, I got an offer of 200 cows today. Dad, what do you think about that offer?
And of course, this afternoon, when the big guy came for the closing ceremony of the workshop, it didn't take long for the conversation to move around to how many cows were needed for my hand in marriage. How much was I worth today? Well, I got an offer of 200 cows today. Dad, what do you think about that offer?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Ah the shower
I just got out of the shower. My second of the day, of course. I think some of my happiest moments in this country have been in the shower. The cool, clean water cascading down my back, washing away the grime and sweat of the day. There's really nothing like it. And for a whole 5, or sometimes even 10 minutes after I step out of the shower, I still feel clean and refreshed! Around here, a shower is as good as a nap. I love my shower. I would take a photo and show you my shower, where I have spent many happy moments, but my camera is in the office, and if I go out there, I might get dirty again. So, no shower photos. But I do have the most beautiful shower curtain, imported from Canada from IKEA. I love it. Every house must have a touch of IKEA for it to be truly called a home.
Have I mentioned that my favorite little cafe (run by Ethiopians and Eritreans) has IKEA furnishings, as well? Just a little touch of home...
Right, it's time to get to bed, as I'm getting dirty sitting here. Yesterday was a three shower day - one in the morning, one in the evening before I went out for dinner and visiting, and one when I got back again - I got so sweaty and dusty on the way home that I couldn't bear to put myself into my bed! Today is only a two shower day, so it was a relatively good day :)
Have I mentioned that my favorite little cafe (run by Ethiopians and Eritreans) has IKEA furnishings, as well? Just a little touch of home...
Right, it's time to get to bed, as I'm getting dirty sitting here. Yesterday was a three shower day - one in the morning, one in the evening before I went out for dinner and visiting, and one when I got back again - I got so sweaty and dusty on the way home that I couldn't bear to put myself into my bed! Today is only a two shower day, so it was a relatively good day :)
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Still here.
Just not up on the posting much for the past two days. It's been busy, since we've got a workshop going on. But the workshop is going well. I can't believe how quickly the time flies. But all is going ok. We even have electricity tonight. Life is good. That's all I have to say about that.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Odd.
I just posted a blog entry. But it's not showing up. Very strange. So this is a bit of a test to see where it went.
A relaxed Sunday
I had the bestest day today. I did nothing. I mean, truly, nothing.
I woke up about 9am to the sounds of my housemate baking cookies! Not a bad start to the day... but then I stayed in bed until about 11am, just lolling about with a book and my thoughts. It was a nice cool day today - only about 27C when I woke up in my room, and there was electricity, so I could have my fan blowing a little breeze. It's not every day that it's actually cool enough to want to stay in bed for hours. I finally pulled myself out of my bed at about 11am, took a nice long shower (by then, the sun had warmed the water a bit, so it wasn't frighteningly cold!), and then went back to my bed to see what John Piper had to share with me today from my MP3 player. He had a great sermon about the Kingdom of heaven being a treasure - and the joy that it is to give up everything we have on earth to gain that treasure. Gave me some food for thought, as usual.
I then got up long enough to have a bit of food and some water. Then I went back to my bed to listen to some music. It's been a really, really long time since I last just sat and listened to music. And it was so nice.
I also read a few chapters of my book, but mostly, I just laid on my bed and listened to music! What a beautiful relaxing day it was. I think I needed the rest, after the busy week I had last week, coupled with my sickness. I'm still coughing a bit, and I have a bit of a stuffy/runny nose, but especially after today's lolling about and doing nothing, I feel more rested than I have in a really, really long time.
Of course, no Sunday would be complete without my Sunday evening study/fellowship. It's really a great time to get together with other folks and have a little "church" service. It's one of the highlights of my week, which was one of the reasons I was so upset about missing it last week due to my sickness :( So it was extra special today because I felt so much better and was able to enjoy the time with friends, studying and praying together.
This is going to be a bit of a crazy week, as well, as we have a workshop supposedly starting tomorrow for the Ministry of Education. We're doing things a bit differently this time, and I have a feeling I'll be taking care of a lot of the logistics for this workshop, so please pray that it all goes smoothly. It's for a small-ish group (probably only about 10 of us), so it's not so bad. But you never quite know what's going to happen sometimes, so I'm always a little on edge when it comes to the logistics of a workshop! I'm also looking forward to the content of the workshop, as we have a visiting consultant who I think I will learn a lot from, as well.
It's nearing 10:30, and we're running on the generator again tonight, so I have to go find my charged head-lamp batteries and get things ready for the plunge into the darkness... Hope you all have as restful a Sunday as I did!
I woke up about 9am to the sounds of my housemate baking cookies! Not a bad start to the day... but then I stayed in bed until about 11am, just lolling about with a book and my thoughts. It was a nice cool day today - only about 27C when I woke up in my room, and there was electricity, so I could have my fan blowing a little breeze. It's not every day that it's actually cool enough to want to stay in bed for hours. I finally pulled myself out of my bed at about 11am, took a nice long shower (by then, the sun had warmed the water a bit, so it wasn't frighteningly cold!), and then went back to my bed to see what John Piper had to share with me today from my MP3 player. He had a great sermon about the Kingdom of heaven being a treasure - and the joy that it is to give up everything we have on earth to gain that treasure. Gave me some food for thought, as usual.
I then got up long enough to have a bit of food and some water. Then I went back to my bed to listen to some music. It's been a really, really long time since I last just sat and listened to music. And it was so nice.
I also read a few chapters of my book, but mostly, I just laid on my bed and listened to music! What a beautiful relaxing day it was. I think I needed the rest, after the busy week I had last week, coupled with my sickness. I'm still coughing a bit, and I have a bit of a stuffy/runny nose, but especially after today's lolling about and doing nothing, I feel more rested than I have in a really, really long time.
Of course, no Sunday would be complete without my Sunday evening study/fellowship. It's really a great time to get together with other folks and have a little "church" service. It's one of the highlights of my week, which was one of the reasons I was so upset about missing it last week due to my sickness :( So it was extra special today because I felt so much better and was able to enjoy the time with friends, studying and praying together.
This is going to be a bit of a crazy week, as well, as we have a workshop supposedly starting tomorrow for the Ministry of Education. We're doing things a bit differently this time, and I have a feeling I'll be taking care of a lot of the logistics for this workshop, so please pray that it all goes smoothly. It's for a small-ish group (probably only about 10 of us), so it's not so bad. But you never quite know what's going to happen sometimes, so I'm always a little on edge when it comes to the logistics of a workshop! I'm also looking forward to the content of the workshop, as we have a visiting consultant who I think I will learn a lot from, as well.
It's nearing 10:30, and we're running on the generator again tonight, so I have to go find my charged head-lamp batteries and get things ready for the plunge into the darkness... Hope you all have as restful a Sunday as I did!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Some swanky tunes
There's been a steady stream of 80's tunes coming from the Cultural Centre since early this evening. I'm digging it, man. At the moment, they're playing an old Wham! cover tune with a swanky synthesizer thing going on. Makes me want to put in a side pony-tail and get out the slouch socks (well, ok, maybe not the slouch socks - much too hot for that tonight). I'm sitting here wearing my Indonesian imported dress - 100% cotton and sleeveless. Quite cute, if I do say so myself. I was convinced to buy it when I led an expedition to the market the other day.
Tomorrow I'm leading another expedition to the market to find fabric. I'm going to go with an empty wallet so I'm not tempted in any way to buy any more fabric! But I must say that I have really been enjoying the last dress that I got made - it's just so much fun and twirly - it makes me feel like a girl when I wear it!
I think I'm on the mend. It's funny this sickness that I have. It's really just worn me right out. For the past few days, I've been able to sit and work for a few hours at a time, then I have to go and lay down for about 20 minutes before I can go and sit at my desk again. I just feel completely worn out after a few hours without a rest! I've never experienced a sickness like this before. I don't really like it. But I do think I'm on the mend. I didn't have to go and lay down this afternoon - I made it all the way from lunch until after dinner without having to lay down!
I even ran around town this afternoon - took some folks to the airport and then did some errands. It was hot. It's still hot. But why is that noteworthy?! Anyways, it's giving me a good opportunity to wear my new sleeveless Indonesian 100% cotton dress (it's very pretty, and was very cheap :) ).
And now I'm going to go prance around to the swanky tunes in my airy dress because I obviously have nothing of substance to say tonight!
Tomorrow I'm leading another expedition to the market to find fabric. I'm going to go with an empty wallet so I'm not tempted in any way to buy any more fabric! But I must say that I have really been enjoying the last dress that I got made - it's just so much fun and twirly - it makes me feel like a girl when I wear it!
I think I'm on the mend. It's funny this sickness that I have. It's really just worn me right out. For the past few days, I've been able to sit and work for a few hours at a time, then I have to go and lay down for about 20 minutes before I can go and sit at my desk again. I just feel completely worn out after a few hours without a rest! I've never experienced a sickness like this before. I don't really like it. But I do think I'm on the mend. I didn't have to go and lay down this afternoon - I made it all the way from lunch until after dinner without having to lay down!
I even ran around town this afternoon - took some folks to the airport and then did some errands. It was hot. It's still hot. But why is that noteworthy?! Anyways, it's giving me a good opportunity to wear my new sleeveless Indonesian 100% cotton dress (it's very pretty, and was very cheap :) ).
And now I'm going to go prance around to the swanky tunes in my airy dress because I obviously have nothing of substance to say tonight!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
How could I forget?
I had a tiny adventure in my office this morning, too! As I was sitting at my desk, happily planning my teacher training session for Saturday, I started to hear a bit of "swooshing" behind me. It kept swooshing closer and closer, so I finally had to turn around and take a look. Much to my chagrin, the swooshing was the sound of a little bat swooshing around the office! I didn't stay to check it out for very long, I just got out of the office as quickly as I could before the bat landed on my head! (by the way, it was rather unusual that I was alone in the office - that's probably why the bat decided to come out to play with me!).
Because I couldn't contain my squeal (that would be a squeal of terror and not delight, by the way), one of my colleagues came running to my rescue! While I cowered in a corner outside, far, far away from the open office door, my colleague swatted at the bat with a chair cushion. He managed to hit the thing and stun it... and wouldn't it know it, but Zane came running over to see what the commotion was all about, too. He was rewarded with a little play-thing!
Because I couldn't contain my squeal (that would be a squeal of terror and not delight, by the way), one of my colleagues came running to my rescue! While I cowered in a corner outside, far, far away from the open office door, my colleague swatted at the bat with a chair cushion. He managed to hit the thing and stun it... and wouldn't it know it, but Zane came running over to see what the commotion was all about, too. He was rewarded with a little play-thing!
A blog-worthy lunch
I know that some of you may scoff at my running litany of meals... but really, if you can't enjoy your food, what can you enjoy... especially around here!
Anyways, my lunch today consisted of a fresh roll (white bread, of course), layered with a couple of slices of fresh from the Netherlands Gouda cheese, a green Granny Smith apple, topped off with a stroop wafel. That was some seriously good eating, let me tell 'ya.
But funnily enough, my Dutch sensibilities were shocked a bit when I saw how Jackie started to cut through the cheese. Instead of using our little cheese scraper to make nice long, thin slices along the length of the wedge, she took a knife and started chopping the end right off the poor little wedge! It was very strange how deeply that affected me - we had this beautiful gift of precious dutch cheese... and there she went and cut it wrong!
Made me realize just how much these little things that you grow up with become so deeply ingrained! And I guess there's something about cutting the Dutch cheese a certain way that has so many wonderful things associated with it in my mind - dad and his daily ham and cheese sandwiches, cheese on bread at Oma and Opa's house, slices of cheese with soup and buns after church... so then when the cheese gets cut "wrong", it flies in the face of all those wonderful memories!
But anyways, no matter how the cheese is cut, it still tastes the same... sort of. Anyways, there's no shortage of opportunities around here to have my assumptions and culture and ways of doing things stretched and challenged! Maybe I might even learn that there's a better way to cut the cheese?!
Anyways, my lunch today consisted of a fresh roll (white bread, of course), layered with a couple of slices of fresh from the Netherlands Gouda cheese, a green Granny Smith apple, topped off with a stroop wafel. That was some seriously good eating, let me tell 'ya.
But funnily enough, my Dutch sensibilities were shocked a bit when I saw how Jackie started to cut through the cheese. Instead of using our little cheese scraper to make nice long, thin slices along the length of the wedge, she took a knife and started chopping the end right off the poor little wedge! It was very strange how deeply that affected me - we had this beautiful gift of precious dutch cheese... and there she went and cut it wrong!
Made me realize just how much these little things that you grow up with become so deeply ingrained! And I guess there's something about cutting the Dutch cheese a certain way that has so many wonderful things associated with it in my mind - dad and his daily ham and cheese sandwiches, cheese on bread at Oma and Opa's house, slices of cheese with soup and buns after church... so then when the cheese gets cut "wrong", it flies in the face of all those wonderful memories!
But anyways, no matter how the cheese is cut, it still tastes the same... sort of. Anyways, there's no shortage of opportunities around here to have my assumptions and culture and ways of doing things stretched and challenged! Maybe I might even learn that there's a better way to cut the cheese?!
Monday, June 8, 2009
Maybe life ain't so bad...
I think the apple yesterday DID actually help to keep the doctor away... or is it that there just are no doctors in this town to keep away?!
I had a rather full day - we have this group of visitors (folks who do a lot of fundraising for our organization back in the US) here for a whirlwind tour. They came in yesterday, and leave tomorrow. So today was their big day. I woke up feeling loads better than yesterday, though I started popping the paracetamol (like Tylenol) as soon as I woke up!
Before I had even finished my tea and peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, I had organized and facilitated a group sharing and prayer time, where the visitors were introduced to all the translators here. Then, I chatted up the literacy work over tea (after, of course, making sure there was enough milk and sugar and that all the tea stuff was set out). Then I ran downtown with Jackie so she could change money while I went to buy more credit for our electricity meter (we have this new system which I really don't like - it's pre-paid electricity! We ran out on Saturday night, and of course, the office isn't open until Monday morning!). Anyways, I was quite pleased - within the space of an hour, we had driven down-town, I dropped Jackie at the corner to go do her exchanging, and then I drove to the electricity company, got the electricity stuff sorted out, drove back to exchange place just in time for Jackie to come out of the place, and we were back on the road - all in under an hour! I think that must be some sort of record around here.
Then, we lead the crew out for lunch around the corner. Then as soon as I got back, I tried to solve some of our printer issues - our printer is dead, and one of the teams has some serious printing to do for a workshop next week. So that took a bit of sorting out. In the meantime, I was supposed to be preparing to give a little presentation to the group all about literacy and education.
So, projector was set up, I found some of my notes of what I was thinking about saying, and I ended up showing a powerpoint presentation that I put together last year about the topic for a similar visiting group. Once that was finished, and all the questions were answered, it was back to the guesthouse to make the tea for the group and for the translators, so they could get to know each other over tea.
Once that was over, I organized for Wes to drive the second truck with the group so we could go shopping in the market. Now that was fun :) Of course, everyone wanted to buy "souvenirs" and caps and t-shirts. Right. Not in this place - they simply don't have any tourism here, so there's just nothing "touristy" or souvenirish to buy! I felt a little bad for the guys, as they kept asking me about where they could buy certain things, and I just kept having to tell them that it just wasn't available...There were a few points where I thought they thought I was just joking, or just being too lazy to bring them to the place where you could find X! I kept telling them they'd have to buy the sorts of things they wanted in the gift shops in the airport in Nairobi tomorrow!
But we did find some beautiful cloth and I even succumbed to the pressure and ended up buying some myself :)
Then straight after the market, we went off to the River for a lovely pizza feast. It was so nice right there by the River, but I had to do all the ordering and sorting out of the bill etc. Don't know why I always end up leading these sorts of expeditions, but there you have it, I do. Anyways, it's a nice bunch of folks, and we enjoyed the time. Here they all are:
.JPG)
Once back home, I had to sort out another guest who came in at the last minute, pack up the projector that I had left out earlier, and go around turning off lights (so I don't have to go and buy more electricity credit next week!).
And one of the most wonderful treats of the whole day - one of our visitors was coming through the Amsterdam airport yesterday, so I mentioned that, well, I really like Stroop wafels. So what did he do? He bought me a whole stack of them, since they were on sale!!
.JPG)
So really, I've been getting free pizza and now a tower of stroop wafels out of the visitors, so I can't really complain about them all :)
I do, however, have a fever again this evening. So on that note, I'm going to finish my tea, and go to sleep!
I had a rather full day - we have this group of visitors (folks who do a lot of fundraising for our organization back in the US) here for a whirlwind tour. They came in yesterday, and leave tomorrow. So today was their big day. I woke up feeling loads better than yesterday, though I started popping the paracetamol (like Tylenol) as soon as I woke up!
Before I had even finished my tea and peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, I had organized and facilitated a group sharing and prayer time, where the visitors were introduced to all the translators here. Then, I chatted up the literacy work over tea (after, of course, making sure there was enough milk and sugar and that all the tea stuff was set out). Then I ran downtown with Jackie so she could change money while I went to buy more credit for our electricity meter (we have this new system which I really don't like - it's pre-paid electricity! We ran out on Saturday night, and of course, the office isn't open until Monday morning!). Anyways, I was quite pleased - within the space of an hour, we had driven down-town, I dropped Jackie at the corner to go do her exchanging, and then I drove to the electricity company, got the electricity stuff sorted out, drove back to exchange place just in time for Jackie to come out of the place, and we were back on the road - all in under an hour! I think that must be some sort of record around here.
Then, we lead the crew out for lunch around the corner. Then as soon as I got back, I tried to solve some of our printer issues - our printer is dead, and one of the teams has some serious printing to do for a workshop next week. So that took a bit of sorting out. In the meantime, I was supposed to be preparing to give a little presentation to the group all about literacy and education.
So, projector was set up, I found some of my notes of what I was thinking about saying, and I ended up showing a powerpoint presentation that I put together last year about the topic for a similar visiting group. Once that was finished, and all the questions were answered, it was back to the guesthouse to make the tea for the group and for the translators, so they could get to know each other over tea.
Once that was over, I organized for Wes to drive the second truck with the group so we could go shopping in the market. Now that was fun :) Of course, everyone wanted to buy "souvenirs" and caps and t-shirts. Right. Not in this place - they simply don't have any tourism here, so there's just nothing "touristy" or souvenirish to buy! I felt a little bad for the guys, as they kept asking me about where they could buy certain things, and I just kept having to tell them that it just wasn't available...There were a few points where I thought they thought I was just joking, or just being too lazy to bring them to the place where you could find X! I kept telling them they'd have to buy the sorts of things they wanted in the gift shops in the airport in Nairobi tomorrow!
But we did find some beautiful cloth and I even succumbed to the pressure and ended up buying some myself :)
Then straight after the market, we went off to the River for a lovely pizza feast. It was so nice right there by the River, but I had to do all the ordering and sorting out of the bill etc. Don't know why I always end up leading these sorts of expeditions, but there you have it, I do. Anyways, it's a nice bunch of folks, and we enjoyed the time. Here they all are:
.JPG)
Once back home, I had to sort out another guest who came in at the last minute, pack up the projector that I had left out earlier, and go around turning off lights (so I don't have to go and buy more electricity credit next week!).
And one of the most wonderful treats of the whole day - one of our visitors was coming through the Amsterdam airport yesterday, so I mentioned that, well, I really like Stroop wafels. So what did he do? He bought me a whole stack of them, since they were on sale!!
.JPG)
So really, I've been getting free pizza and now a tower of stroop wafels out of the visitors, so I can't really complain about them all :)
I do, however, have a fever again this evening. So on that note, I'm going to finish my tea, and go to sleep!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
But an apple a day...
There is something good in this whole day - one of the visitors who came brought me some apples!! Whoo hoo! So I'm about to go and crunch into a beautiful green apple with some peanut butter on top. And maybe an apple today really will keep the doctor away?!
I don't like being sick
In fact, I hate being sick. Having to lay here on the couch, or worse, in bed, all alone, while everyone else is out having fun... not my idea of a good time.
I woke up this morning with a fever (really, I took my temperature and it was about 100F!), and a horrible headache and achy body and drippy nose. Not fun, especially since we have this big group in for two days, and I have so much to do to take care of them! I did a few trips to the airport today and managed to get the guesthouse ready for them, but I had to sit out our "church" service tonight and I'm currently missing a huge Ethiopian feast. All I'm doing is laying on the couch, watching West Wing and sweating. Really, no fun at all. And it's making me grumpy.
But that being said, it's pretty amazing that I get sick as rarely as I do in this place. It has been a pretty tough few weeks for sickness, though, as I had a gooey eye infection last week, and now this :(
I'm off to drink some more mango juice in hopes that the hydration and the vitamins will help me get well for tomorrow - because I really don't like being sick :(
I woke up this morning with a fever (really, I took my temperature and it was about 100F!), and a horrible headache and achy body and drippy nose. Not fun, especially since we have this big group in for two days, and I have so much to do to take care of them! I did a few trips to the airport today and managed to get the guesthouse ready for them, but I had to sit out our "church" service tonight and I'm currently missing a huge Ethiopian feast. All I'm doing is laying on the couch, watching West Wing and sweating. Really, no fun at all. And it's making me grumpy.
But that being said, it's pretty amazing that I get sick as rarely as I do in this place. It has been a pretty tough few weeks for sickness, though, as I had a gooey eye infection last week, and now this :(
I'm off to drink some more mango juice in hopes that the hydration and the vitamins will help me get well for tomorrow - because I really don't like being sick :(
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Phew
It's a hot one this afternoon. I'm just laying on my little couch (well, ok, it's more of a wicker love-seat), my legs hanging over the edge, which always leaves a pretty funky design on them, trying to catch a breeze 'cause it's rather warm this afternoon.
I spent the morning at my teacher training workshop again, hence the "phew". It was already hot in that room early this morning, and it just got hotter and hotter. I drank a liter of water, plus a cup of tea, and didn't even have to pee after 5 hours. Somehow, I don't think that's healthy.
But the training went well. The guys seem to be catching on, and they're really grateful for whatever little nuggets of knowledge I can give them. So I really have a good time with them... except that it really saps my energy, man. I'm just exhausted at the moment, so I'm laying quietly here, trying to muster some reserves of energy so i can get on with the rest of the bits that have to get done today! Not that I'm complaining - in fact, I would feel like if I didn't come back from a day of teaching feeling really tired, then it would mean that I didn't give it all my effort, and that I could have given it all just a little more effort! So at least since I'm so tired, I feel like it was a job well done :)
Now I'm going to sleep for a few minutes...
I spent the morning at my teacher training workshop again, hence the "phew". It was already hot in that room early this morning, and it just got hotter and hotter. I drank a liter of water, plus a cup of tea, and didn't even have to pee after 5 hours. Somehow, I don't think that's healthy.
But the training went well. The guys seem to be catching on, and they're really grateful for whatever little nuggets of knowledge I can give them. So I really have a good time with them... except that it really saps my energy, man. I'm just exhausted at the moment, so I'm laying quietly here, trying to muster some reserves of energy so i can get on with the rest of the bits that have to get done today! Not that I'm complaining - in fact, I would feel like if I didn't come back from a day of teaching feeling really tired, then it would mean that I didn't give it all my effort, and that I could have given it all just a little more effort! So at least since I'm so tired, I feel like it was a job well done :)
Now I'm going to sleep for a few minutes...
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Some funny quotes
Once again, I went to an all day meeting with people to talk about education stuff today. It was fairly good, but man, I find it really hard to sit on my butt and listen to people talk the whole day! My attention span just doesn't last that long. But I did have some fun writing down a few ironic quotes coming from someone today. Although, for some of them, I think you just have to be here to really get the humour... anyways, for what it's worth, here are some of the lines that struck me as rather funny today:
"If you feel defeated, don't come back to us!"
"These are the technical people who you are supposed to deal with, whether they are qualified or not."
"When we talk about children, we mean children."
"We are dealing with a terrible and dangerous group - the army." (from one of the Commanders!).
Phew, what a day, though. I did have some good conversations with some folks about language issues, and it's pretty exciting to hear about what's happening in education all around this country. The group I was with today was the focus group on "Alternative Education", which means things like non-formal literacy programs, education programs for soldiers, and there was a lot of talk about a new program for pastoralists and children who spend their days moving with their herds of cows. I'm always amazed that I end up in the right place at the right time, talking to the right people so that I can do a bit of advocacy for languages, and let people know that there are materials available to use to teach literacy in the local languages instead of English, a language which most people outside of the city have never even heard!
But it's an uphill battle, and I see all these opportunities to get involved in so many things... but I'm only one person, so it sometimes gets a bit frustrating that I can't have my fingers in more of these literacy/education pots. But slowly by slowly, things are coming up!
Before the meeting was even over, I left to meet some friends for yet another wonderful choral evening at the cathedral. These two Oxford educated lads, plus three women with amazing voices, have done a series of concerts of old Christian music. Truly amazing and really an "out of Jb" experience to sit and be still and listen to their voices for a while. Tonight they did old music about Ascension and Pentacost, along with a couple of Scripture readings. Very relaxing - so much so that it was a bit of a shock to the system to go back out into the city and fight our way through the dust and the holes in the road and all the other obstacles to get home. But thank God, we made it home safe again.
"If you feel defeated, don't come back to us!"
"These are the technical people who you are supposed to deal with, whether they are qualified or not."
"When we talk about children, we mean children."
"We are dealing with a terrible and dangerous group - the army." (from one of the Commanders!).
Phew, what a day, though. I did have some good conversations with some folks about language issues, and it's pretty exciting to hear about what's happening in education all around this country. The group I was with today was the focus group on "Alternative Education", which means things like non-formal literacy programs, education programs for soldiers, and there was a lot of talk about a new program for pastoralists and children who spend their days moving with their herds of cows. I'm always amazed that I end up in the right place at the right time, talking to the right people so that I can do a bit of advocacy for languages, and let people know that there are materials available to use to teach literacy in the local languages instead of English, a language which most people outside of the city have never even heard!
But it's an uphill battle, and I see all these opportunities to get involved in so many things... but I'm only one person, so it sometimes gets a bit frustrating that I can't have my fingers in more of these literacy/education pots. But slowly by slowly, things are coming up!
Before the meeting was even over, I left to meet some friends for yet another wonderful choral evening at the cathedral. These two Oxford educated lads, plus three women with amazing voices, have done a series of concerts of old Christian music. Truly amazing and really an "out of Jb" experience to sit and be still and listen to their voices for a while. Tonight they did old music about Ascension and Pentacost, along with a couple of Scripture readings. Very relaxing - so much so that it was a bit of a shock to the system to go back out into the city and fight our way through the dust and the holes in the road and all the other obstacles to get home. But thank God, we made it home safe again.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
All is right with the world again...
... because Celine is back! She's currently wafting through the air from some seriously big speakers somewhere in the vicinity. There's just something about her that's somehow become comforting. Every night in my dreams, Celine, I see you, I hear you. That is how I know you go on...
AND, I had quite the conversation today with Nadia, who works with us in the guesthouse. It was a long conversation, completely in Arabic, and I think, if I understood correctly (which is entirely possible that I did NOT!), I will be getting some pumpkin plants this week :) It's just so much fun to be able to actually communicate something that I actually wanted to communicate with someone who, last year, I wasn't able to communicate with hardly at all. Of course, I still have SO much to learn, but I really feel like for some of the basic day to day, very basic communication, I'm starting to be able to get by in Arabic only! It's really amazing to me to realize this... and is almost motivating enough to make me pick up my note book and study once in a while. Almost.
AND, I had quite the conversation today with Nadia, who works with us in the guesthouse. It was a long conversation, completely in Arabic, and I think, if I understood correctly (which is entirely possible that I did NOT!), I will be getting some pumpkin plants this week :) It's just so much fun to be able to actually communicate something that I actually wanted to communicate with someone who, last year, I wasn't able to communicate with hardly at all. Of course, I still have SO much to learn, but I really feel like for some of the basic day to day, very basic communication, I'm starting to be able to get by in Arabic only! It's really amazing to me to realize this... and is almost motivating enough to make me pick up my note book and study once in a while. Almost.
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