I thought today “I should blog”. If you haven't noticed, I'm terrible at this blogging thing. I'd like to be better, so I'm heading the call of my random I-should-blog thought. I'm also heading the advice of my mother who not only says I should blog more, but I should also not agonize over what to write so much and just write. So... I write.
This next week is going to be a hairy one. I'm going on a summer vacation next week. I'm finishing the first semester of teaching English to Bible school students by giving them their final exam, grading it, and turning in all final grades before Friday. I'm wandering around my house with a can of bug spray in my hand, stalking innocent cockroaches who dare come into my domain. I'm looking at all the clutter in my house in a daze, wondering whether to light it all on fire and start over again when I come back from vacation, or to stay up till the wee hours and actually clean house. I'm cleaning out my freezer, which, for lack of electricity, smells like someone died in it. I'm eating up the bits and pieces from said freezer that still smell edible (for the record, I haven't poisoned myself yet). And I'm counting down the days until I can sleep a whole night without waking up drenched in my own sweat from the non-stop hot weather.
Two of those things are primary, though. First, vacation.
Vacation. What a wonderful word. But last week I almost canceled my vacation after the airline that I had booked on completely pulled out of the country without much warning (no explanation; just goodbye). I could still fly out on it, but getting back would be another thing. So my travel agent proceeded to get a refund for that leg of the trip and rebook me on a different airline. Not so easy. Very few airlines fly into my city. And my travel agent, based in the U.S., was unfamiliar with international airport codes. So the first itinerary she came up with flew me into Cote d'Ivoire (no offense, Cote d'Ivoire, but I'd rather not make a scenic stop) instead of Nigeria. She made the mistake a few more times until I could straighten her out. Both of us nearly had a mental breakdown. I started to wonder if vacation was going to be more complicated than regular life (at least the travel part). Finally, finally, we got my tickets straightened out. Relief. I probably have a few gray hairs from that, though. And so does my travel agent.
The other thing on the top of my mind. English class.
I have 15 delightful students, many of whom are older than me, all learning very basic English. This semester, we learned past, present, and future tense, and present progressive tense, as well as other fun stuff like punctuation, plurals, and the five senses.
All my students, even the ones older than me, call me “Ma”. Being in my early thirties and looking like I'm still in my early twenties, this is completely odd to me and makes me feel old. But I'm getting over it, slowly. The other day, when reviewing the five senses for our upcoming exam, one of my students raised his hand. “Ma,” he asked, “when you say five sentences, what do you mean? In the past or the future?” “Five senses,” I corrected. “Yes, Ma. I understand. Five sentences. But which ones?” “No, five senses,” I repeated. He looked annoyed and confused. So I had to sound out “senses” and “sentences” slowly, several times for him, and define both. Just when I think my students are finally grasping English, we run into little vocabulary problems like this one. But I'm proud of them. They have worked hard. Some of them never went to school as children, and now they are in Bible school, studying to be pastors and missionaries, reading and writing for the first time in their lives. That takes determination. And they are learning English on top of it. They all get an “A” in my book. But I'm sure the final exam will determine otherwise.
And there you go. That's the random happenings in my life this week. At the end of it, I shall find myself in a quiet corner of Starbucks in the U.S., drinking a caramel macchiato, and probably still paranoid about cockroaches.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Snapshots of Life
Over the Christmas holiday, my parents came to visit me. What a great experience to have my parents see this part of my life that I have tried and failed to describe adequately to them so many times! When they first arrived, my mom said to me, “Every country has a smell. This one smells like something burning!” Well said, Mom.
While they were here, Dad took some pictures around my neighborhood, pictures I usually do not take because I never think about taking pictures of things that seem so normal to me now. Here's a few of his pictures, snapshots of my life here in Africa:
My cozy kitchen, complete with dirty dishes! It is a little bigger than it looks in this picture, with some nice counter space.
My living room, right around Christmas. You can see my coffee table overflowing with gifts from the U.S.
My back patio. Dad enjoyed sitting out at this table while he was here.
One of the many creatures that inhabits my backyard.
The glass shards on my back wall to discourage people from jumping over it.
More to come on the next post!
While they were here, Dad took some pictures around my neighborhood, pictures I usually do not take because I never think about taking pictures of things that seem so normal to me now. Here's a few of his pictures, snapshots of my life here in Africa:
My cozy kitchen, complete with dirty dishes! It is a little bigger than it looks in this picture, with some nice counter space.
My living room, right around Christmas. You can see my coffee table overflowing with gifts from the U.S.
My back patio. Dad enjoyed sitting out at this table while he was here.
One of the many creatures that inhabits my backyard.
The glass shards on my back wall to discourage people from jumping over it.
More to come on the next post!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Catching Up
Yes, yes, it's been a terribly long time since I've posted. I keep on telling myself to find something to post about, and nothing ever comes to mind. Funny that. So many things have happened over the past few months: a rat infestation in my house, some mild but rather persistent illnesses, more rats invading my house, traveling to Kenya, even more rats, and random things to keep me busy. Somehow, I guess, I didn't consider any of that post-worthy. Oh, well.
This last week, I had a birthday. I'd rather not dwell on the age I turned this year, but I did have a good time celebrating with friends. Because it fell so close to Thanksgiving, we had a combination Thanksgiving/Birthday dinner. The three of us Americans here shared our Thanksgiving traditions with those from New Zealand, South Africa, England, and Nigeria. And for dessert... no, not pumpkin pie. I refuse to eat pumpkin on my birthday. No, it was a chocolate birthday cake. And in honor of the many months of sleepless nights where rats were running through my house destroying things and leaving gifts for me everywhere, the cake was in the shape of a rat. Ah, yes, a chocolate rat. Now I like that kind of rat!
This last week, I had a birthday. I'd rather not dwell on the age I turned this year, but I did have a good time celebrating with friends. Because it fell so close to Thanksgiving, we had a combination Thanksgiving/Birthday dinner. The three of us Americans here shared our Thanksgiving traditions with those from New Zealand, South Africa, England, and Nigeria. And for dessert... no, not pumpkin pie. I refuse to eat pumpkin on my birthday. No, it was a chocolate birthday cake. And in honor of the many months of sleepless nights where rats were running through my house destroying things and leaving gifts for me everywhere, the cake was in the shape of a rat. Ah, yes, a chocolate rat. Now I like that kind of rat!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Widow's Offering
It's been a long time, friends. Way too long. I've been terrible at communication since I've returned to Africa in January, but now I'm vowing to get better at it.
About a month ago, there was a huge women's conference here in my neighborhood. There were 3,000 women in attendance. That means that 3,000 women were sleeping here for the 3 days of conference. No, they didn't stay in a fancy hotel and attend the conference in the hotel ballroom. All of them slept outside on mats, cooked over open fires, and sat under canopies to listen to the pastors and evangelists who came to speak to them. Many of them brought babies with them, feeding and bathing them wherever they could. Pretty much, wherever you looked, women had set up camp. It might sound uncomfortable, but the women here look forward to this every year. They see friends they haven't seen for a long time, stay up late talking, and stay up even later singing and dancing. I don't think they got much sleep. And since they were so close to my house, playing their music and talking all night, I didn't get much sleep either. Oh, well. It only comes once a year.
I attended the conference meetings one morning and felt rather sheepish because this conference is for married women only, and I'm not. But they didn't kick me out, so I guess it was okay. During the session, various offerings were being taken, and one of them was for widows. Here, widows are often not well taken care of, but the women in this conference were very concerned about providing for them. Not only did they bring money to give in the offering, but many smaller groups of women decided on practical things they could donate, things like soap, slippers (or flip flops as we call them in the U.S.), and bags of grain. The women gave joyously, knowing they would want others to do the same for them if they were widowed.
Below is some video footage of the widow's offering that I took. Notice how the women dance up to the bucket and put their offering in. This is very common here, and we often do this in my own church. Also notice the flip flops they are dropping by the buckets, the big bags of grain sitting nearby for the widows, and the little orange blocks of soap that women are carrying on their heads to the offering bucket. Although this is a special women's conference, this captures the sights and sounds I see and hear on a regular basis. And notice how everyone is wearing the same outfit? All the women in attendance bought one of these special outfits to wear. During special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, holidays, and conferences, families, groups of friends, and fellowship groups will get matching outfits made. Such a difference from the American culture where we get embarrassed if someone else in the room is wearing the same shirt as we have on! Anyway, enjoy the sights and sounds of where I live!
About a month ago, there was a huge women's conference here in my neighborhood. There were 3,000 women in attendance. That means that 3,000 women were sleeping here for the 3 days of conference. No, they didn't stay in a fancy hotel and attend the conference in the hotel ballroom. All of them slept outside on mats, cooked over open fires, and sat under canopies to listen to the pastors and evangelists who came to speak to them. Many of them brought babies with them, feeding and bathing them wherever they could. Pretty much, wherever you looked, women had set up camp. It might sound uncomfortable, but the women here look forward to this every year. They see friends they haven't seen for a long time, stay up late talking, and stay up even later singing and dancing. I don't think they got much sleep. And since they were so close to my house, playing their music and talking all night, I didn't get much sleep either. Oh, well. It only comes once a year.
I attended the conference meetings one morning and felt rather sheepish because this conference is for married women only, and I'm not. But they didn't kick me out, so I guess it was okay. During the session, various offerings were being taken, and one of them was for widows. Here, widows are often not well taken care of, but the women in this conference were very concerned about providing for them. Not only did they bring money to give in the offering, but many smaller groups of women decided on practical things they could donate, things like soap, slippers (or flip flops as we call them in the U.S.), and bags of grain. The women gave joyously, knowing they would want others to do the same for them if they were widowed.
Below is some video footage of the widow's offering that I took. Notice how the women dance up to the bucket and put their offering in. This is very common here, and we often do this in my own church. Also notice the flip flops they are dropping by the buckets, the big bags of grain sitting nearby for the widows, and the little orange blocks of soap that women are carrying on their heads to the offering bucket. Although this is a special women's conference, this captures the sights and sounds I see and hear on a regular basis. And notice how everyone is wearing the same outfit? All the women in attendance bought one of these special outfits to wear. During special occasions such as weddings, anniversaries, holidays, and conferences, families, groups of friends, and fellowship groups will get matching outfits made. Such a difference from the American culture where we get embarrassed if someone else in the room is wearing the same shirt as we have on! Anyway, enjoy the sights and sounds of where I live!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Just Great Pictures
When I'm back in the U.S., like I am now, it can be hard to think of what to post on this blog. Let's face it, many times life in the U.S. is very predictable and not nearly as exciting as it is in Africa! So in the meanwhile, I might as well post some pictures from my life overseas and the great photos myself and my friends have taken.
Women riding in the back of a pickup.
The egg seller on his way to the market.
I've always been curious how this guy would justify his breaking the "no standing" rule. Perhaps he's there to catch that heap of metal when it starts to fall off the truck!
The countryside.
A sunny day.
The old man and the chicken.
Women riding in the back of a pickup.
The egg seller on his way to the market.
I've always been curious how this guy would justify his breaking the "no standing" rule. Perhaps he's there to catch that heap of metal when it starts to fall off the truck!
The countryside.
A sunny day.
The old man and the chicken.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Meanwhile, Back on the Ranch...
Since I've been in the U.S. the last few months, there's been some interesting things happening with my apartment back in Africa. Right before I left to come home for 6 months, I moved out of my apartment so other missionaries could move in. When I go back, I'll move into a new apartment, the one right next door, which is newly renovated. The fun of moving into a renovated apartment, especially if you know the people who are doing the renovating, is that you get to help choose what the finished product will look like (or at least in my case, I did).
The apartment was only four rooms, four small rooms, and so we all figured that it needed to be bigger, especially to accommodate an office and ministry materials that I use. Two rooms were added on the back, a bathroom and a kitchen. Masons and workmen spent long days building the addition.
As you can see, construction work in Africa is much more difficult and involves a lot more manual labor than it does in the U.S. The men carry concrete back and forth on their heads in pans.
Finally finished.
Working with a carpenter, I helped design the kitchen cupboards, which is a big plus for me who spent the last two and a half years moping because my canning pot did not fit into any cupboard and thus had to live in a dusty and precarious position on a shelf. So of course, I designed one of the cupboard shelves with my canning pot in mind. Without a proper workshop, the carpenter constructed my lovely cabinets outside my house...
then after the house was painted, he installed them.
One of the most interesting rooms in the house is the dining room, which was once the teeny, tiny kitchen. Now it is a narrow and rather classy looking dining room with my newly purchased dining room set (I had to sell my old set and actually buy a smaller table to fit into the narrow room) and my buffet. On the wall is a cupboard that was built right into the wall. Before the house was repainted, the room was blue. Here is the before...
and the after.
During construction, the living room was a storage place for all the lumber.
It sure looks better after painted and with furniture in it.
Even the front of the apartment was changed. The covered porch was knocked down by hand...
and repainted.
It looks like I live in a prison cell with all those bars, but it's good protection.
Finally, just because it's a great picture, not because it has anything to do with my house, here is my plumber who stopped by the house and cleaned out my water tank for me because it was full of black slime. It involved climbing into it and scrubbing it out in the blazing hot sun. He has such a great attitude.
I am truly thankful for such great friends and all the people who put so much time into my new apartment.
The apartment was only four rooms, four small rooms, and so we all figured that it needed to be bigger, especially to accommodate an office and ministry materials that I use. Two rooms were added on the back, a bathroom and a kitchen. Masons and workmen spent long days building the addition.
As you can see, construction work in Africa is much more difficult and involves a lot more manual labor than it does in the U.S. The men carry concrete back and forth on their heads in pans.
Finally finished.
Working with a carpenter, I helped design the kitchen cupboards, which is a big plus for me who spent the last two and a half years moping because my canning pot did not fit into any cupboard and thus had to live in a dusty and precarious position on a shelf. So of course, I designed one of the cupboard shelves with my canning pot in mind. Without a proper workshop, the carpenter constructed my lovely cabinets outside my house...
then after the house was painted, he installed them.
One of the most interesting rooms in the house is the dining room, which was once the teeny, tiny kitchen. Now it is a narrow and rather classy looking dining room with my newly purchased dining room set (I had to sell my old set and actually buy a smaller table to fit into the narrow room) and my buffet. On the wall is a cupboard that was built right into the wall. Before the house was repainted, the room was blue. Here is the before...
and the after.
During construction, the living room was a storage place for all the lumber.
It sure looks better after painted and with furniture in it.
Even the front of the apartment was changed. The covered porch was knocked down by hand...
and repainted.
It looks like I live in a prison cell with all those bars, but it's good protection.
Finally, just because it's a great picture, not because it has anything to do with my house, here is my plumber who stopped by the house and cleaned out my water tank for me because it was full of black slime. It involved climbing into it and scrubbing it out in the blazing hot sun. He has such a great attitude.
I am truly thankful for such great friends and all the people who put so much time into my new apartment.
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