Things that strike me as odd:
The man next to me on the minibus wearing brand new Nike shoes with pink bunny socks.
The Muslim girl next door singing, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows but Jesus.”
If I want to get my haircut, I must go to a hair “saloon.”
Heterosexual men walking down the street holding hands with each other.
Everyone has a cell phone but no one has talk time.
Bugs in my cleavage.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
I’ve been thinking about what the two IVEPers said at our retreat last week. With MCC’s International Visitor Exchange Program, young people from all over the world come to live in North American for a year. They live with a host family and volunteer at a local agency of some kind. Our Zambian friend was in British Columbia last year and what struck me about what he said was how lonely he was. When he visited different churches, he was not greeted, not even by one person. Here greeting is so important and I am learning to greet everyone with a handshake when I enter a room. To not be greeted is awful and I’m sure that is what many Africans experience in the North American churches. So if you see an African – be sure to greet him or her with a smile and a handshake! (By the way, check out MCC’s website to find out how you can host an IVEPer!)
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Peter wins the award for being the first one to get malaria in our family! On Monday he knew something wasn’t right so he went to get a malaria test. The test he took came back negative but that is quite common. But we are pretty sure it is malaria. Thankfully, his symptoms weren’t as dreadful as some because he has been taking a malaria prophylactic. But he has been feverish off and on, drained, achy, and with frequent headaches. He has taken medicine for it but malaria likes to linger, we hear.
When we were being commissioned at Pasadena Mennonite Church, we made a bet with Dale and Marika, who were also being commissioned and are now working with MCC in Uganda, as to who would contract malaria first. All bets were on Dale but it looked like Peter won. Come to find out that Marika came down with malaria on Monday as well, so it is officially a TIE!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Brendan was thrilled that he had a playdate with a classmate this afternoon. He went over to Han Gyul’s house, a Korean boy whose parents are missionaries here with SIM. He had Korean food for lunch and had a good time playing.
In the afternoon, I met with Brendan and Jason’s teachers at their Open House. Brendan’s teacher said that he is doing very well and a model student. However, he always looks very stressed because he is trying so hard and he feels he has so much to catch up on because he skipped Grade 1. He is perfectionistic and a pleaser, plus he has to work very hard to understand the different accents. When I talked with Brendan about it later, he confirmed that he is stressed at school but mostly because of the bad behavior of the other kids. The teacher tells him that he and one other Korean girl are the only two good kids and the rest are bad. He is very frustrated that the teacher is not more strict so that they can actually learn. He had the same problem last year in Pasadena as well. It just really bothers him, so much so that he gets headaches.
Jason’s teacher says that he has adapted really well and is beginning to talk more British so that other kids understand him better. He is not that interested in fine motor movements, but is starting to like writing letters and numbers. One thing that she appreciates is that Jason doesn’t notice color of skin and plays with everyone. He is knowledgeable about many things and can talk intelligently on a variety of subjects.
After our little conference, Jason’s teacher, Ms. Pieri said that she had a question she had to ask me. I am the first American she’s ever known, and there is something she has always wanted to know. I was very curious about this burning question. Then she asked, “What is a corndog?” She hears Americans talking about corndogs in films and she always wanted to know what that was. I explained it to her and she wrinkled up her nose and said that she wouldn’t ever eat it because she is a vegetarian. But at least her mind has been put to ease!
Friday, November 23, 2007
Today is Turkey Murder Day, the day before we celebrate our American Thanksgiving. Peter and I dropped off the boys at school and headed to the market. Last week, I ventured into the area where they sell live chickens and I asked if anyone had a turkey to sell. With many hand gestures and going back and forth, we finally reached an agreement on what exactly I was asking for. They didn’t have any turkeys then but one man said he would have one for me by today. I went again on Tuesday and I was immediately recognized by everyone as the turkey lady. The man told me that I wouldn’t get a turkey on Friday because there aren’t any. So I resigned myself to purchasing two chickens instead. But this morning when Peter and I arrived, there was a man selling turkeys! They certainly look a lot bigger than chickens and I almost lost my nerve! A few nights ago, we were discussing with Adrian how exactly we should choose a chicken and he recommended that we go around squeezing the breasts and seeing which are the plumpest. That gave me the giggles and since I thought Peter would be better at that job, I delegated it to him! J So this morning, despite Peter feeling piquish from the malaria, he felt a few turkey breasts and told me who had the biggest bosom. After some negotiations, we settled on a fair price and then we had the challenge of getting the turkey home. The man selling the turkeys took a plastic bag and tied the legs together. The other man who had been helping me on my previous visits, took Tom Turkey under his arm and marched off to our car. We put him in the trunk and drove home. Problem solved.
Purchasing our turkey at the market
Carmen, Tom and "the murderer"
Yes, it takes a village to kill a turkey
Plucking feathers was the easy part
A biology lessonSo now it is done. I’ve killed my first bird, and it was a turkey no less. Quite an accomplishment for this city girl. Now we’ll see if I can adequately cook it tomorrow, which will also be a bit of a challenge.
Saturday, November 25, 2007
Why is it that children find it so hard to wake up on school days but on Saturday mornings they are up at 5:30?
Despite an early morning, we managed to have a good day. I got my (dead) turkey in the oven and other things prepared for our American Thanksgiving celebration. I made a pumpkin pie out of yellow squash that I found at the market. I had read that it doesn’t really matter what kind of squash you use because it is really all about the spices. So I cooked the squash but since I don’t have a food processor, I had to mash and chop and beat that squash until it was almost like pureed. But the pie turned out nicely, although not the prettiest of pies. About an hour before people were to arrive, I checked the turkey and it was still bloody! That sent me into a panic. With a little extra heat and a little extra prayer, the turkey got done on time! There were eleven of us around the table, representing five different countries. Everyone contributed something to the meal or to the snacks later. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent playing games and eating more. Late in the evening, six of us remained and we had a wonderful discussion about spirituality and what that means and what it looks like. It was thought-provoking and I felt spurred on to think of things in new ways and to continue reflecting and asking critical questions instead of simply accepting religious and spiritual things at face value. It was nearly 1 a.m. by the time we crawled into bed. It felt even later knowing that Jason would be up at the crack of dawn but the time together with friends was worth it!
Part of the Thanksgiving crowd
We have so much to be thankful for, including all of you who are reading this blog and faithfully praying for us and supporting us. I don’t often include prayer requests, believing that God will direct you in how to pray for us as you read what is going on in our lives. But this time I am going to include a few things for which we would especially appreciate your prayers:
- First, continued recovery for Peter with his bout of malaria this week. He seems to be better but malaria tends to hang on.
- Second, our boys are really missing their friends from home. The novelty of playing with all the neighborhood kids is wearing off. It is especially difficult because these kids don’t play in the same way our boys are accustomed. Brendan came home crying today because the other kids were yelling and hitting and saying mean things, as well as saying bad words. He is tired of being the only person who is trying to be kind, according to him. One kid told him today, “We know we have to be kind when we play on your porch but you are at our house now and we can do whatever we want.” That is really wearing on both of them.
- Lastly, tomorrow I begin co-teaching a two week course on “Counseling and Trauma Healing.” I feel a bit like I am going in blind as I have not seen how other courses are taught here at MEF. I feel like I have good material and plenty of resources to use in forming my lectures. I believe that I have something to contribute and at the same time, I am very aware that the participants have so much more experience than I have in this area. I hope to draw out the wisdom of the group and learn from them as well. I think I am pretty well prepared but nothing really goes according to plan here so I will have to be flexible. It is also the last two weeks of school for the boys with various holiday activities and then we leave immediately for Lusaka for a regional retreat so it will be a full two weeks. All that to say, I would appreciate your prayer support.
1 comment:
Thanks for this post! You made me laugh out loud! I'm so impressed, too. Blessings! Juhie
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