cultural experiences

its been a while since I updated my blog...power and Internet troubles have been a bit more frequently lately. and school has picked up quite a bit as we are trying to finish out classes before Christmas. fortunately, the break does not seem to capture the minds of students quite as early here so they are still working hard and want to finish strong.

but i did want to write tonight and share my entertaining adventures from this evening. It is Wednesday and we just returned from sharing the Word on the streets and giving bread to those in need. Tonight my interpreter friend, Josie, was not able to come. Without him I knew this was going to be an interesting evening. At first we thought we would just go along with another group but any more than 2 or 3 white people attracts quite a bit of attention around town, so needless to say that approach did not go really well. Our next thought was to split up into two groups, one would p-walk and the other would share the Word. I really felt the need to lift up the other group and decided to lead the p team. Thus begins the adventure and along with Don (computer teacher), Summer (fourth grade teacher), and a ninth grade student we set out on the streets.

After about a minute we came across a group of ladies that I really felt the need to talk with. So with my very basic language skills, I am up to about three sentences and am very fortunate that greetings are so important that they consume about half of any conversation :), I began to talk to them and gave bread to them for their children. One of the ladies was particularly interested in showing me her child (I am still amazed how they carry them on their back with just a single shawl) and in all that she was telling me all i could understand was "daughter" over and over. I began to think that something was a little off but Don thought everything was okay and gave her another piece of bread for her baby. About this time a man walks up and starts listening to the conversation. He then turns to me and says "she is trying to get you to take her baby, she wants you to have her." Right, not good. Fortunately, I respectfully declined her offer and went away before I was left with all the ladies' children.

After a quick thought of thanks for the man who came by and randomly interpreted, we continued on our way. A little later Summer and I were walking side by side when two men walk past and one brushes my shoulder (a normal thing in a crowded city). As he walks by he says hello and then turns around a few seconds later and says "waz up?!?." Trying not to laugh at the man, somewhat under the influence with a bandana tied around his head, I replied "what's up?" not thinking much else about it. Two steps later he turns around and begins a stream of expletives (also not uncommon, seems they are often the only English words people know and they feel the need to share them) and then says "you look like a boxer", begins to shadow box and then goes off laughing with his friend. At this Summer is shaking, attempting to control her laughter and I can hardly believe this event has just happened. I have not ever heard that before, it was definitely a first. But it has become a bit of a joke now and when anyone needs a buddy for a walk around town, just ask the boxer.

Just a taste of life today :) It is certainly never boring.

a few stories from the week

on wednesday nights a few teachers, students and a couple of our national friends go out to give bread and share the good news with people who live on the streets. last week we had quite the adventure. we split up into small groups with one native speaker in each group so that they can interpret when needed and then we spread out in an area of the city. the group I was in had a wonderful night and got the opportunity to share with several people who were interested in learning and talking more. at the very end of the night we net a lady and her little baby. one of my students shared her story with the lady and by the end she accepted the good news :) then we returned to the van to meet the others and hear about their nights. one group shared that they had been arrested after attracting a large, somewhat hostile crowd (mostly for their protection and a stern warning against teaching in the streets) and were released after a long conversation with the police. and another group witnessed a large fight after a man tried to reach into my roommate's pocket. some of the other people there did not like that at all and decided to take the matter into their own hands. in both cases the good news was shared and took root as the police man called later to appoligize and ask a few members of the group to meet him for coffee and the people who witnessed the fight asked the members of that group to return next week.


friday was crazy hat day at school (thanks for the leaves mom, they became hat decorations :) we have three houses that the students and teachers are divided into for competitions throughout the school year and it is a big deal to win the house competition for the whole year. this was one day of competition and some pictures of a few of the teachers hats are below. saturday night was another set of firsts in the city as some friends and i decided to go to the movies and then dessert at the sheraton. going to this five star hotel was like stepping into another world in the middle of the city. we all stood in the parking lot for a few minutes in complete amazement at what we were seeing and how incredibly different and isolated it was from the real city that lay just beyond the gates. the contrasts here still amaze me.


friday and saturday also brought more fun driving time with charles....but it was all worth it as I passed my driving test and am now qualified to drive in the city :) scary thought.

(crazy hat day) (the three house banners in the gym....
always reminds me of a certain teacher at dfc :)

driving

so i have to learn how to drive stick if i ever want to get out on my own here in africa. not only drive stick, but drive it in a city where traffic rules are more like guidelines really, actually mere suggestions would be closer. helpful hints if you will. traffic police make things worse and in the entire city there is one intersection with a stoplight, honestly just one. four million people, one stoplight. craziness is the best way to describe the traffic here.

right, so i decide i am going to learn how to drive. and conveniently the husband of the elementary school principal was a driving instructor in the uk. so i prepare for my first driving lesson in a itty bitty car with an older british man named charles (think stereotypical british guy and you have got the picture). needless to say the lesson was quite entertaining especially because there was about 100 feet of space i could actually drive in due to people parked everywhere to watch a football match. so i just practiced going back and forth a lot and i thought i did pretty well, only stalled the car like ten times or so in the course of an hour. he said i did alright, but i think he was just trying to be encouraging :)

Sunday morning I woke up ready for an adventure, the task of riding the blue and white mini buses all by myself and attempting to make it to church on time. So I left the house at 9:30 (church starts at 10:30) and decided I would try and get a macchiato (very small cup of coffee) at a little tea shop before getting on the bus. Unfortunately, there were tons of people there and no seats because the church next door was just about to begin service. So I went down the road, bought some oranges, and then decided to try the buses. And then my learning for the day began. Lesson #1: never ask how much before boarding the mini bus, even in the local language, because then it is free day for high prices on the dumb foreigner. So after that I could not get a fair price and I decided to walk to the next stop and try my luck there.

Lesson #2: walking alone as the only foreigner is not so much fun, everyone has to say something and they assume all foreigners have lots of money. So my only response was to smile, say hello, and pray while I walked. Lesson #3: wearing sandals with really dry feet while walking the not so clean roads of the city is not the best of plans. Somewhere along my walk I picked up a rock, piece of glass, or something that cut my foot up really bad. So no not only am I the only white person on the street, but the only one with a limp and bleeding foot. Not good. But I made it to the next stop. Lesson #4: Success comes by saying very little at all. Just get on a bus heading the right direction and then tell them when to stop. It worked great. Lesson #5: Women stand up for each other. When I finally got on the right bus, the boy did not want to give me my change and two wonderful women helped me and made sure he gave me the correct change. I am so thankful for those two women who in one simple act changed my whole perspective on the day.

It is amazing how often that happens both in the Word and in our lives. One small, seemingly insignificant act speaks so powerfully in the life of another. What an incredible lesson I learned today from those women. A simple act, that meant nothing to them, changed my entire outlook on my day. It brought a smile back to my face that they cared enough to make sure I was treated fairly. I hope I never forget to power of a simple act. Even a smile and a kind word can change the day of someone in desperate need of love. It is a truth we all know, but the reminder is always so powerful.

Lesson #6: Nothing here ever starts on time. And being late is perfectly acceptable and most of the time expected. I arrived to the house on time but we did not get started until after eleven. That did give me time to mend my cut foot though. House church was really good and then afterwards we went to a birthday party for one of the kids. I got to see the other j-men in the city there who I had not seen since my first week here and also see david, who I met at orientation, for the first time since he has been in the country. They all went out country last week on a trip and they all had lots of stories to tell of their adventures in the wild. After the party (we had pizza and ice cream….it was awesome!), I successfully made it all the way back to school by mini bus and felt like the day had been quite a success of getting out on my own.

Then Sunday night we enjoyed a bonfire and dinner together on the compound to celebrate a British holiday. Apparently in honor of parliament not being blown up, they celebrate November 5th as the disarming of the gunpowder plot. And they celebrate by lighting bonfires, shooting of fireworks, and burning a figure of the man who was caught in effigy. It was interesting to say the least and a lot of fun, especially watching kids play with sparklers for the first time.

four weeks in :)

It is so hard to believe that I have been in africa for four weeks! In so many ways it feels like I have just arrived, but in others it feels like I have been here much longer than that. It is crazy how fast it feels normal to brush my teeth with filtered water, occasionally deal with brown water in the shower, taking at least an hour to fix a basic meal, taking ten times as long to do just about anything, driving in traffic that is better described as mass chaos, buying food at the market, and communicating with my very few words of the local language.

And teaching has been wonderful! Each day begins with a devo time for all the teachers and then I get to spend the next hour in the Word with all the tenth graders. It is such a blessed way to begin each day. The I teach three math classes, eighth, ninth, and twelfth grade. Each day is a challenge, but I am really enjoying it.

Soon I will also begin leading a seventh through tenth grade d-group with some girls. There is no youth group for the kids to go to, so I hope that this group can evolve into an environment like that for these girls. A time they can get together, have fun, enjoy each other, and grow in Him.

I am learning so much about how each little success builds confidence. Just walking out in the market and buying vegetables or a coffee all by myself is such a victory :). Or being able to figure out how to get from one place to another on a blue and white minibus --- which is quite complicated at times. When all else fails, just get to mexico...a roundabout in the city.....because from there you can always get home. On Sunday I am going to try to get to church all by myself and it should be quite the adventure!