This time I was determined.
During the break, we have the opportunity to take Swahili again. Since I had made a fool of myself on the last one, I was determined not to make my instructor laugh.
Which is tough to do. In general, Kenyans are a very polite folk, and would think it would be the height of rudeness to laugh at an inept, earnest American. Last term I managed to make them laugh quite often, but...
Continue ReadingI need to confess the real reason I came to Africa.
I just didn’t want to hear `The Heart Will Go On’ ever again. I am convinced that the reason for road rage in the United States was people hearing that song and deciding that violence was the only alternative.
You can imagine my joy for the past two weeks as I passed the music building and strains of that song reverberated through the cement. That song is...
Continue ReadingAs a pet’s name, what does that conjure up? A beautiful stallion perhaps? In Africa, might it be a leopard, or even a lion?
Somehow, it is the name of Matthew’s tiny brown bunny, which likes to be held and eat lettuce. We are still puzzled by the name, but Thunderbolt is taking it in stride.
We went on a field trip to an ostrich farm last week. After a long loud bus ride with dozens of young...
Continue ReadingHow do you motivate young children to learn computer? A real teacher could tell you, but I’m not a real teacher, so I have had to figure it out on my own. There are three principles that have worked for me:
Empathy. One of the cutest first grade girls of all time, Joy, came in to computer class last term and told me that she was sad because her parents would not be coming for mid term break. Then she started...
Continue ReadingUsually, the title of each week’s email is pretty easy to come up with. But this has been a wild week, so please vote for the following after you read this:
The worst Valentine ever written
God Knows
Matthew and I claimed the eyeball
I already got to touch the intestines
I put the eyeball in the fire
Redneck hunting in Africa
I will also put a disclaimer in this week. None of this is made up. None of it ever is, but this week I need...
Continue ReadingBefore we left for our trip this weekend, I was going to entitle this update, “Camping in a skirt”. To be culturally sensitive, as an older (!) Christian missionary I needed to wear a skirt when visiting the Masai village. It wasn’t a problem for me, just a first. But this weekend was so impacting, that I couldn’t give it that glib of a title. And I don’t think I can yet share all that I gained this weekend, but...
Continue ReadingLast Friday, when I finally had a chance to talk with Grace again. I asked her, knowing the answer, if she had told her family about my song. She just started laughing and laughing and finally got out a “yes”. I said, “Oh?” And she said, “Yes I told them. Then I sang it just the way you sang it!”
Then we both started laughing. She, remembering how funny it was, and me because the tables had been turned. ...
Continue ReadingEvery evening we have devotions in the dorm. Our tradition is to invite different people in the community to come and share; where else could you have people do something like that? Last week, one of the single women came and brought a video that she made when she bungee jumped in Victoria Falls, Africa. The video was dramatic, and she gave a wonderful talk about trust and faith.
What did fifth grade boys get out of the talk?...
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