Time is running, eh?

So if the rest of September goes as quickly as this weekend did... I'm in trouble!

Friday was busy with work, as usual.  Started with a long meeting about the 5 year plan for our branch of our organization.  RBM plans have their uses, but really, it's a lot of work to go through them all and get input from everyone!  But it was good to sit and talk about the specific things that we're hoping to achieve as a group in the coming years.  I've been here long enough now, too, to see how the plans seem to work out and to see some of the trends and have some ideas of where we might want to go in the future. It feels kinda nice to have been somewhere for long enough to really see all that!

Part of my day on Friday was also spent getting ready for a language committee meeting that took place yesterday morning.  Most of the language groups that we work with try to have "language committees", which is basically a board which helps oversee the work and helps the folks that sit here in the city in the office, translating and writing literacy books  stay connected with the communities. However, one language group that I particularily work quite a lot with, has had no functioning language committee for quite some time now.  So they wanted to restart the committee.  They brought some church leaders, literacy teachers and others from the community who are interested in the language development work together for a "mini-workshop" yesterday.

I've never really been involved in forming language committees before, so I really didn't know what might be involved... but they asked me to facilitate a session on the Roles and Responsibilities of a language committee.  So I pulled a few things together and facilitated a discussion.  And actually, I think it went quite well!  I also have to admit, it was a lot of fun to be involved in something new that I haven't really done before.  I love to teach and facilitate things like that, anyway, and it was really interesting to hear from the group that had gathered and get their input about what a language committee could or should do.  Plus, I've been involved with this language group in a few different ways before through teacher training, or speaking in their church about the importance of literacy etc., so I'm starting to get to know some of them a bit better as well.

We all enjoyed some lunch together, which was very tasty, and enjoyed some good conversation with them. 

In the afternoon, I had another little adventure - I went off with a colleague (from Hong Kong) and a friend from here to the market to find some fabric for some new dresses :)  It's been quite some time since I've been to the market with other women - I've only been shopping with Sean lately - so it was really a lot of fun to spend such a long time looking at fabric and all the different designs and colours.  I really love that section of the market, because there are just so many different colours and patterns!  And all you have to do is wander around, in and out of the shops until something catches your eye and "speaks" to you.  I found one that spoke to me, and it wasn't even blue!  Today, we took the material to a new tailor, who my local friend knows, so on Tuesday, we'll go pick up our creations.  I sure hope it turns out alright...

Anyway, the market was good fun, and in the evening, we all went out for Chinese food :) 

Today was yet another busy day - but full of good friends!  But I'm starting to think that I shouldn't have gone to the tailor to be measured up for a new outfit after stuffing myself silly with Ethiopian food!

And now it's after 10 on Sunday evening.  Time to get some sleep before the busy week ahead...