Today was so full of bloggable moments, I can hardly remember them all!
The day started as our usual Saturdays - a little work in the office. Jackie, as usual, doing a lot more work than me! I took my time and actually ate my usual breakfast of jam and peanut butter on a bun in the house, rather than taking it to the office like I usually do! We did some work, had some lunch, then took off for an adventure!
We went in search of, get this, a swimming pool!! Yes, a new lodge has opened up, and for the low price of just $5, you can sit in the coolness of the pool and enjoy the chlorinated freshness! I took my camera, and meant to take a photo or two to post, but, well, I forgot to take my camera out of my bag! So, sorry, no photos. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to go back again :)
It's a nice place, though I think they're still getting a bit set up - no chairs around the pool yet. But there's a little bar area with some chairs and places to sit and drink your Coke before diving into the pool! It was amazing to see glittering blue water in this town - the first time I've seen a swimming pool here, though there have been a few very restricted access pools for some time here (one is in the US Consulate compound - very high security, and the other is in the Norweigan Ambassador's residence - very elite!).
The enjoyment of the pool was slightly marred by the large group of Russian or Bulgarian or Ukranian men doing a round of cannon balls and synchronized diving into the pool all afternoon, but I just stayed on the other end of the pool and enjoyed feeling almost cold after a while! I think I may have gotten a bit too much sun, as I'm just not used to being in the sun anymore (it's just a bit warm to be sitting out in the sun around here!), but it was so worth it!
I'm sure the place is going to get extremely busy as more and more people find out about it, so quiet weekends around the pool are probably not going to happen... but Jackie and I were musing about the possibility of taking an afternoon off work sometime and going to have the pool all to ourselves... afterall, we DO work most of the day on Saturdays every week!
Anyways, after our refreshment at the pool, it was time to get dusty and sweaty again, so we went off to the market to buy some material for curtains for our new office, as well as our fruits and veg for the week. The road that the Lodge is on is basically just a dirt track, like most roads in this town. It's just a bumpy, holey track that winds through the tukels and around the trees. From this side road, we had to connect to the road that would take us to the market. Now this road to the market is the main "highway" out of this town, leading towards International borders. But we had a hard time identifying the road - our dirt track sorta led to another dirt track, and we looked at each other and had a bit of a discussion about whether or not we were on the "highway"! Probably that's not as funny to you as it was to us, but we had a good chuckle over yet another typical Jb conversation - "Is this the main road?" "I don't know, just keep following the tire tracks..."
Anyways, we made it to the market, got what we needed, including a nice little helper who had us following him around the market as I looked for some new clothes hangers! One of my favorite shopkeepers who has a shop full of dishes, brooms, pots, mats etc. didn't have any clothes hangers. But the guy who sews clothes outside the door to his shop thought he knew where we could get some hangers. So we followed him around to a couple of shops, but no one had hangers. We eventually ended up at yet another shop where that guy took over and started bringing us to another few shops to find some hangers! Eventually that guy found us some, and for $0.50 I had myself a set of 10 new hangers! Amazing. They're really, well, quite rough, and who knows how long they'll last. But they sure are cheaper than the last set of hangers that I bought here, which I think I paid $0.50 for each one! I think, actually, these hangers must come with some of the clothes that come from China, and the shop keepers in the clothes shops don't need them all, or when they sell the clothes, the customers don't want to take the hanger with them. Anyways, I feel like I got quite a good deal! Probably the cheapest thing I've ever bought in this town!
For some reason, me and Jackie were the main event in the place where we parked the truck in the market today, too. Some of the more polite call-outs from the lounging men were "Sister, how are you?" "Madam, I am here!". Then there was the typical, "Hey!" and "khawaija!" and "mzungu!". We normally get some of the call-outs in the market, but for some reason, today it was pretty impressive how many guys were hollering at us. It must have been that refreshed, fresh from the pool look about us... or maybe they were all impressed that Jackie could back the truck into the parking spot that we chose :)
The next bloggable moment came at dinner tonight. We don't like to cook in our house, as you may have already noticed, so Jackie and I went to the nice Eritrean restaurant a few blocks away from our house (where, of course, Celine was playing, along with the Backstreet Boys and some Tigrinya pop). It's my new favorite place, and the people are so wonderful - they know me now, and always greet me in Tigrinya and give me a good price for the food! It's really a lovely place.
The set up is such, though, that you sit rather close to your nieghbors. Basically, there's a long bench along one wall, and then a couple of little tables with chairs opposite the bench. So you're basically sitting right next to the people at the next table. Which is fine, normally.
But tonight, a neigbor came along who was quite chatty. A local guy who left his village at the age of 9, joined up with the army, then eventually ended up in the USA for several years. He's now back here doing something, though I never quite figured out what. Sounds like he has a very well connected family, with relatives in all the high places. He was dressed to the nines, too, in a suit and tie.
Of course, his English was really good, so we started chatting. He asked where we were from... and when I told him which country I'm from, he immediately said, "Oh, I like Cdn girls..." Sigh. It's so difficult being so young and beautiful in a place like this. He proceeded to chat me up, and I proceeded to not be rude, but to not seem too friendly or interested! Jackie tried to keep the conversation away from me and kept chatting, so I wouldn't have to! One of the funny parts came where he started talking about how he really wants to do something for his people and he wants to help everyone in his village... but he's not been back to his village since he was 9, nor does he have any plans to go and visit!
I sure do admire the directness of men around here sometimes. A guy came into the office last week, while we were moving, so I was tromping around cleaning and carrying stuff around. He looked at me and said, "You look strong. I like strong women!" Um, yeah, how does a girl respond to something like that?!
Anyways, this post sure is getting long enough, so if any of you are still with me... thanks for reading :) And don't worry, I haven't gotten married off to any of these direct men yet...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Out to Lunch
Annamarie and I decided to try a new place for lunch today. One of our Ethiopian friends here recommended the Lula restaurant, saying it's got the best Ethiopian food in town (and believe me, there are a LOT of Ethiopian/Eritrean restaurants in town!). So off we went.
The place was pretty full, so the only empty table in the garden sort of area was occupied by... a sleeping man and a turkey. Yes, that's right, a turkey. A real live turkey sat and watched over the guy having his lunch-hour snooze. Odd, and yet, ever so normal for a town like this.
After waving to some Eritreans that I know from the bakery, we made our way past the snoozer and his turkey and sat in the "bar" area. The food actually was quite amazing. We had our usual, shiro and tibs, as this is the measure by which we measure the standards of any new Ethiopian restaurant. And they passed muster for sure! It was delicious - the shiro especially was smooth and creamy, lovely consitency with a hint of garlic. Yum. Definitely worth going back to that placea for. And it was on the cheaper end of Ethiopian restaurants in town, too, which is a definite bonus!
I'm on a roll, too, this week with Ethiopian food - today was the third day this week that I had shiro for lunch! The first day, I made it myself, with some of the powder I brought from Ethiopia. I walked down the street to the local "Ethiopian bar and restorant" to see if they had any injera that I could buy to compliment the shiro... but turns out they only have beer and soda. So much for my local injera supplier :( The second time this week was on Wednesday when I went with some friends to the Basilico restaurant - a very modern tukel decor sort of place with great food! And then, of course, today, with Annamarie! I hope this trend continues!
(by the way, shiro is made from ground up chick pea flour and cooked into a sort of paste, like hummous, but served hot with cooked tomatoes, onions, garlic and hot berbere chili pepper. tibs are basically chunks of meat, either beef or goat (today we had goat), cooked in a frying pan with lots of garlic, tomatoes, green peppers and berbere spice).
The place was pretty full, so the only empty table in the garden sort of area was occupied by... a sleeping man and a turkey. Yes, that's right, a turkey. A real live turkey sat and watched over the guy having his lunch-hour snooze. Odd, and yet, ever so normal for a town like this.
After waving to some Eritreans that I know from the bakery, we made our way past the snoozer and his turkey and sat in the "bar" area. The food actually was quite amazing. We had our usual, shiro and tibs, as this is the measure by which we measure the standards of any new Ethiopian restaurant. And they passed muster for sure! It was delicious - the shiro especially was smooth and creamy, lovely consitency with a hint of garlic. Yum. Definitely worth going back to that placea for. And it was on the cheaper end of Ethiopian restaurants in town, too, which is a definite bonus!
I'm on a roll, too, this week with Ethiopian food - today was the third day this week that I had shiro for lunch! The first day, I made it myself, with some of the powder I brought from Ethiopia. I walked down the street to the local "Ethiopian bar and restorant" to see if they had any injera that I could buy to compliment the shiro... but turns out they only have beer and soda. So much for my local injera supplier :( The second time this week was on Wednesday when I went with some friends to the Basilico restaurant - a very modern tukel decor sort of place with great food! And then, of course, today, with Annamarie! I hope this trend continues!
(by the way, shiro is made from ground up chick pea flour and cooked into a sort of paste, like hummous, but served hot with cooked tomatoes, onions, garlic and hot berbere chili pepper. tibs are basically chunks of meat, either beef or goat (today we had goat), cooked in a frying pan with lots of garlic, tomatoes, green peppers and berbere spice).
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Thanks for praying, Nico!
By the way, the Lord has heard my nephew's prayers! For the first time since coming back here, I slept peacefully all night and wasn't woken up by the scurrying of little critters in my room! Keep praying, Nico, that they will all completely leave my house!
Birthdays!
Since we didn't quite manage to get a Christmas party in before everyone left for their Christmas trips, and since we didn't quite manage to get a New Year's party when everyone came back, and since we didn't quite manage to have a "dedication" party for any of our new offices and renovations, we had a party today!
The main reason for having the party was to have a birthday party for all those who were born on January 1. Yes, several, if not most, of the folks we work with here have January 1 as their official birthdates. See, most of them don't actually know what day they were born - they just have an idea of which year they may have been born in. So when they went to get all their official documents and ID cards etc., they all just default to "January 1"!
So Pam and I ordered up a bunch of take-away food from the local restaurant (fried chicken, fried meat, rice and bread), Pam baked a cake, and we had a great time together over lunch today! Everyone feasted and enjoyed each other's company. We had a lovely time of prayer together, thanking God for all his blessings and dedicating the new year and the new offices and kitchen to His service.
And then, of course, we played games! I love living and working in a place where you can get a group of grown men together to play silly games! We had a great time together and played some games in a very interesting mix of English and Arabic. The main thing is that we didn't have any casualties, though one of the young women who works in the guesthouse did take quite a tumble over her plastic chair!
Once the partying was over, it was back to work! I forgot to take any photos of the festivities, nor do I have a photo of our new offices yet, so you'll just have to use your imagination for another day or two. All day, Jackie and I were working on these Implementation Guidelines for the language and education policy here. Phew, it's a bit of a mouthful... and a bit of a huge document, too! So, my brain is a little on the tired side, which is why I'm off to bed!
The main reason for having the party was to have a birthday party for all those who were born on January 1. Yes, several, if not most, of the folks we work with here have January 1 as their official birthdates. See, most of them don't actually know what day they were born - they just have an idea of which year they may have been born in. So when they went to get all their official documents and ID cards etc., they all just default to "January 1"!
So Pam and I ordered up a bunch of take-away food from the local restaurant (fried chicken, fried meat, rice and bread), Pam baked a cake, and we had a great time together over lunch today! Everyone feasted and enjoyed each other's company. We had a lovely time of prayer together, thanking God for all his blessings and dedicating the new year and the new offices and kitchen to His service.
And then, of course, we played games! I love living and working in a place where you can get a group of grown men together to play silly games! We had a great time together and played some games in a very interesting mix of English and Arabic. The main thing is that we didn't have any casualties, though one of the young women who works in the guesthouse did take quite a tumble over her plastic chair!
Once the partying was over, it was back to work! I forgot to take any photos of the festivities, nor do I have a photo of our new offices yet, so you'll just have to use your imagination for another day or two. All day, Jackie and I were working on these Implementation Guidelines for the language and education policy here. Phew, it's a bit of a mouthful... and a bit of a huge document, too! So, my brain is a little on the tired side, which is why I'm off to bed!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A bit of disorder never hurt anyone!
"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries."
-A. A. Milne
-A. A. Milne
Couldn't have planned it better if we had tried ...
After a lovely lunch with friends today (though don't get me started on what it actually took to get off the compound today!!), we popped by the government education offices to see what was happening there, drop off some letters and see if we could find a copy of a particular document.
We started off with one of our favorite guys - someone who is fairly organized and is quite a breath of fresh air, as he just says things like they are. He doesn't beat around the bush with some of the, um, well, challenges, of working in the gov't. He's also the supervisor to the folks that we mostly work with in the gov't, so he is also in the "know" of a lot more than gets communicated to us from the other folks that we work with! So it's always quite an eye-opening time when we go and visit with him. Plus, he's one of the few people that we generally find sitting in the same office all the time! We actually know where to find him, and he's not out drinking tea all the time!
Anways, we were actually successful in getting an electronic copy of the policy document that we were searching for, which was great... not so great in terms of the fact that once we got home and read through it, it's not very strong on the gov't's position on mother tongue education... but that's a different post altogether. The point is, it was a success in that we got this document - really, no small feat around here! We celebrate these sorts of successes!
Next, we went to deliver a letter to the Minister himself, who happens to know us quite well. We were just going to deliver the letter and run away, as we didn't imagine we'd be able to just drop by unannounced to see the Minister. Normally you have make an appointment, then get through two sets of outer offices to make it in to sit on the Minister's giant furniture!
But today, his office manager picked up on the name of the organization we work for, and he said, "I can give you three minutes with the Minister now"! Jackie hesitated, but I jumped on that one. You don't just give up three minutes with the Minister, even if you've got nothing better to say than, "Good afternoon, your excellency. How was your Christmas?!" Turns out we had a very infomative chat with him, and then found out that he was actually waiting for someone else who had a previous appointment with him - and this someone else was someone that we've been anxious to be introduced to for a very long time!
We've heard this man's name over and over again from so many different places. He's a local guy and is a candidate for a PhD in linguistics. He works at one of the universities in a different part of the country, and we even tried looking for him when we visited that other town, but alas, he wasn't to be found. He's a very difficult man to track down, and yet everyone wants a pick his brain about something (which is probably why he makes himself hard to track down!). Anyways, he used to work with our organization long, long ago, so he was happy to meet us, as well.
So really, there's no way we could have set up those 10 minutes in the Minister's office with these two men, at exactly this critical time. It was only God who put us all together in that office - even the fact that Matt drove the truck through the gate right at the last minute so we'd have a car to drive to the gov't offices, instead of having to hitch a ride with friends... really, it all just worked out so amazingly well!
So we celebrated these little victories today! Seems like small potatoes here - getting a document, meeting a few people... but in the long run, it's these little things that allow us to move forward in our work here. And yet with the situation being what it is, these really are huge successes today!
We started off with one of our favorite guys - someone who is fairly organized and is quite a breath of fresh air, as he just says things like they are. He doesn't beat around the bush with some of the, um, well, challenges, of working in the gov't. He's also the supervisor to the folks that we mostly work with in the gov't, so he is also in the "know" of a lot more than gets communicated to us from the other folks that we work with! So it's always quite an eye-opening time when we go and visit with him. Plus, he's one of the few people that we generally find sitting in the same office all the time! We actually know where to find him, and he's not out drinking tea all the time!
Anways, we were actually successful in getting an electronic copy of the policy document that we were searching for, which was great... not so great in terms of the fact that once we got home and read through it, it's not very strong on the gov't's position on mother tongue education... but that's a different post altogether. The point is, it was a success in that we got this document - really, no small feat around here! We celebrate these sorts of successes!
Next, we went to deliver a letter to the Minister himself, who happens to know us quite well. We were just going to deliver the letter and run away, as we didn't imagine we'd be able to just drop by unannounced to see the Minister. Normally you have make an appointment, then get through two sets of outer offices to make it in to sit on the Minister's giant furniture!
But today, his office manager picked up on the name of the organization we work for, and he said, "I can give you three minutes with the Minister now"! Jackie hesitated, but I jumped on that one. You don't just give up three minutes with the Minister, even if you've got nothing better to say than, "Good afternoon, your excellency. How was your Christmas?!" Turns out we had a very infomative chat with him, and then found out that he was actually waiting for someone else who had a previous appointment with him - and this someone else was someone that we've been anxious to be introduced to for a very long time!
We've heard this man's name over and over again from so many different places. He's a local guy and is a candidate for a PhD in linguistics. He works at one of the universities in a different part of the country, and we even tried looking for him when we visited that other town, but alas, he wasn't to be found. He's a very difficult man to track down, and yet everyone wants a pick his brain about something (which is probably why he makes himself hard to track down!). Anyways, he used to work with our organization long, long ago, so he was happy to meet us, as well.
So really, there's no way we could have set up those 10 minutes in the Minister's office with these two men, at exactly this critical time. It was only God who put us all together in that office - even the fact that Matt drove the truck through the gate right at the last minute so we'd have a car to drive to the gov't offices, instead of having to hitch a ride with friends... really, it all just worked out so amazingly well!
So we celebrated these little victories today! Seems like small potatoes here - getting a document, meeting a few people... but in the long run, it's these little things that allow us to move forward in our work here. And yet with the situation being what it is, these really are huge successes today!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Zane Rocks!
My cat is awesome! While I was writing the last post, he came tearing out of the kitchen with a tasty morsel in his mouth... I only had to open the front door for him so he could go and enjoy his midnight snack outside :) He's certainly earning his keep, that one. But you've heard enough about the wilds of Jb today, so I won't regale you with more tales of my furry friends tonight!
Time for bed...
Oh man, am I ever tired tonight! It was our big moving day today. For the first time since I moved here over two years ago, I no longer have a "presence" in Room #6 in the guesthouse :( It is truly the end of an era. (This is where you have a moment of silence to reflect upon the wonderful memories of all that took place in Room #6)...
Room #6 was the one that I shared with Grace, where she snuggled her hedgehogs while we sweated and watched endless episodes of "Smallville". It's where stayed up late into the night laughing and talking about anything and everything... until we realized how NOT soundproof anything is in that guesthouse! It's where I saw my first rat, and named him Templeton. It's where I learned to do my laundry by hand. It's where I spent countless hours splayed on my bed sweating away the afternoons before we had a decent enough generator to have any electricity in the afternoons. It was my first ever "hoffice" - home+office in the same room. Then, once we moved to our house (a long 45 second commute away), it's where I moved everything to make room for Jackie and Wes and Henry and Peter to squash in their desks so we could all have space to work! It's where Templeton's offspring have taken up residence in my desk drawers. It's where I've fought (and won a few, and lost a few) with numerous computers and printer cartridges. It's where we've met with Ministers and pastors and regular sorts of people to discuss everything and everything, from mother tongue based multilingual education to where to find more robust toilet seats. Ah, the memories...
And now it's on to a new chapter! Jackie and I spent the day clearing out the filing cabinets and cupboards, sweeping away two years worth of collected dust and rat poo, and trying to put it all back in some sort of order in the office across the way (which has, up to now, been used as accommodation by people from other organizations). Once we get it more set up (like, say, tomorrow!), I'll post a photo of my new office. It feels like a good new beginning - a good chance to have cleared away the dust and some of the cobwebs, to look back on how far we've come so far, and to look ahead to new and exciting things!
I now have my very own three-drawer filing cabinet to fill up with all the work that's coming, and a whole window all to myself. Personally, I think I have the best seat in the entire office, but that's just me. I have my desk in front of the biggest window, right next to the door, and, more importantly, right under the fan :) I no longer have to share my desk with everyone and anyone who wanted to scan anything, and I'm far enough away from the communal printer now that perhaps people will stop stealing the pens off my desk! And yet, I can still look out the window and see what's going on "out there" beyond my desk.
But man, I'm tired. It was a lot of work to cart all that stuff over to the new place, and to scrub it all down. I must have inhaled a few inches of dust today, and did I mention the rat poo? Do you want to hear something really disgusting (if you don't just skip the rest of this line...)... I found a tiny little bat carcass in my desk drawer today, too! I knew that the rats were still making it their home, so before I left for Christmas, I had taken everything out, and just left the drawer empty... I couldn't face it before now, so I had just left it closed... and today, when I opened it up... a tiny little bat carcass awaited me. But you'll be happy to know that I didn't take any photos :)
And on that note, it's time for bed... tomorrow I have some filing cabinets to organize :)
Room #6 was the one that I shared with Grace, where she snuggled her hedgehogs while we sweated and watched endless episodes of "Smallville". It's where stayed up late into the night laughing and talking about anything and everything... until we realized how NOT soundproof anything is in that guesthouse! It's where I saw my first rat, and named him Templeton. It's where I learned to do my laundry by hand. It's where I spent countless hours splayed on my bed sweating away the afternoons before we had a decent enough generator to have any electricity in the afternoons. It was my first ever "hoffice" - home+office in the same room. Then, once we moved to our house (a long 45 second commute away), it's where I moved everything to make room for Jackie and Wes and Henry and Peter to squash in their desks so we could all have space to work! It's where Templeton's offspring have taken up residence in my desk drawers. It's where I've fought (and won a few, and lost a few) with numerous computers and printer cartridges. It's where we've met with Ministers and pastors and regular sorts of people to discuss everything and everything, from mother tongue based multilingual education to where to find more robust toilet seats. Ah, the memories...
And now it's on to a new chapter! Jackie and I spent the day clearing out the filing cabinets and cupboards, sweeping away two years worth of collected dust and rat poo, and trying to put it all back in some sort of order in the office across the way (which has, up to now, been used as accommodation by people from other organizations). Once we get it more set up (like, say, tomorrow!), I'll post a photo of my new office. It feels like a good new beginning - a good chance to have cleared away the dust and some of the cobwebs, to look back on how far we've come so far, and to look ahead to new and exciting things!
I now have my very own three-drawer filing cabinet to fill up with all the work that's coming, and a whole window all to myself. Personally, I think I have the best seat in the entire office, but that's just me. I have my desk in front of the biggest window, right next to the door, and, more importantly, right under the fan :) I no longer have to share my desk with everyone and anyone who wanted to scan anything, and I'm far enough away from the communal printer now that perhaps people will stop stealing the pens off my desk! And yet, I can still look out the window and see what's going on "out there" beyond my desk.
But man, I'm tired. It was a lot of work to cart all that stuff over to the new place, and to scrub it all down. I must have inhaled a few inches of dust today, and did I mention the rat poo? Do you want to hear something really disgusting (if you don't just skip the rest of this line...)... I found a tiny little bat carcass in my desk drawer today, too! I knew that the rats were still making it their home, so before I left for Christmas, I had taken everything out, and just left the drawer empty... I couldn't face it before now, so I had just left it closed... and today, when I opened it up... a tiny little bat carcass awaited me. But you'll be happy to know that I didn't take any photos :)
And on that note, it's time for bed... tomorrow I have some filing cabinets to organize :)
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tonight's Typical Conversation
Jackie, "This one's definitely going to catch something tonight! It's a sensitive one tonight!"
Tanya, "Lovely! I can't wait. We're almost out of glue, as well. I used the last of it for the trap in the bathroom drawer."
A little later...
Jackie, "Did you hear that?"
Tanya, "Yeah, I did, do you think we got one already?"
Jackie, "Well, usually there's more of a snap when the trap goes, followed by a lot more thumping around."
Tanya, "Hmmm... yeah, I don't hear anything anymore. Oh well, I guess one of us will check when we get up..."
Yup, we're going to catch something tonight. It's a bit of a contest to see whether it's going to be the glue in the bathroom drawer or the set trap in the kitchen cupboard ... any hopefully it will be both!
Tanya, "Lovely! I can't wait. We're almost out of glue, as well. I used the last of it for the trap in the bathroom drawer."
A little later...
Jackie, "Did you hear that?"
Tanya, "Yeah, I did, do you think we got one already?"
Jackie, "Well, usually there's more of a snap when the trap goes, followed by a lot more thumping around."
Tanya, "Hmmm... yeah, I don't hear anything anymore. Oh well, I guess one of us will check when we get up..."
Yup, we're going to catch something tonight. It's a bit of a contest to see whether it's going to be the glue in the bathroom drawer or the set trap in the kitchen cupboard ... any hopefully it will be both!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Cool!
Yes, it's cool. We watched a dvd last night in our verandah (remember, no windows, just screens!), and it was a bone chillling 27C! I almost needed a blanket. And this morning when I woke up, it was so pleasant at 26C! Of course, in the afternoon, it was still pretty warm (like mid-30s), but a little rain shower came blowing in and completely cooled things off again. Amazing. And so unexpected. I really did expect that it would be more like 40C, with a low of 30C at night. But so far, I've been pleasantly surprised. The first night I was here, it was a bit humid and quite warm - I woke up at 7:30am to a temperature of 30C in my room on Friday morning. But tonight, I believe I will have to fall asleep with a sheet over top of me to keep my toes warm... or maybe I'll just bring my dark and handsome young Zane into my bed... but for the sole purpose of keeping the other four legged creatures out of my bed :)
Anyways, I'm slowly getting used to life back here. We had our "fellowship" group tonight, which was good. The community around here is really quite the revolving door, so one never really knows who's going to show up, or who's left the country or what. But there's always some familiar faces along with the new ones who come along, and it's always good to learn from each other and pray for each other. So I very much appreciate our Sunday evenings, even though there is quite a gap left by friends who have recently left :(
I'd best go and find my lights and take down my mosquito net and get set for the night before the generator goes off in 10 minutes! Ah, back to the routine.
Anyways, I'm slowly getting used to life back here. We had our "fellowship" group tonight, which was good. The community around here is really quite the revolving door, so one never really knows who's going to show up, or who's left the country or what. But there's always some familiar faces along with the new ones who come along, and it's always good to learn from each other and pray for each other. So I very much appreciate our Sunday evenings, even though there is quite a gap left by friends who have recently left :(
I'd best go and find my lights and take down my mosquito net and get set for the night before the generator goes off in 10 minutes! Ah, back to the routine.
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