Is it cultural or personality?

I find myself frustrated at times because of this confusion. I constantly have to sort out if this person’s advice is true to the culture I find myself in or if it is their interpretation of the culture because of their own personality and preferences. I’m sure I’m driving the other white people crazy here. Some of the advice that I receive I take it like I would take advice from anyone that I just met, with a grain of salt. I have to weigh everything I hear. This has gotten very old after a month.

photos

Help Mom, these are my friends.



Bora Bora, a taste of American comfort.



Local wild life, and Wayne's science lab for his biology class, don't worry he let it go after class was over.


Dedication of the new building. The president of Burundi came but more importantly the drummers came.

General Update

March 9, 2010 Tuesday
Wow has it really been a week since my last post. For those of you that don’t know I write my posts on my computer and then when I happen to go to a café or the internet works I post all that I have written. But I haven’t written anything in a week. I’m shocked!
Well let me think what happened?
Ah yes. We moved. The night with the scratching was the night before we moved upstairs. Javier moved into our apt after we vacated it. Just so you know he heard the scratching too. He jumped up and turned on the light. He assures us it was a mouse. He held out his hands to show us how big this “mouse” was. It was huge. I asked him if that was with tail. He stretched his hands larger to include tail length. Gross!!! It was at least 7in including tail. He said that he threw his shoe at it and it scampered under the front door. We had cloth there to deter it but I guess his will to enter our room was stronger than the hold that the rag gave. It’s all good though. The new apt I’m told had a rodent problem a few months ago but they welded a stick of rebar along the bottom of the door to close off the opening and now rodents can’t enter. Good deal.
Another thing that I’m not missing is the lack of mosquitoes up here. There were some the first day but we make sure that we close the door when the sun goes down. We still use the mosquito net at night but it’s really not needed, but I’m not a fan of malaria so sleeping under the net is a must.
We yet to have a two beds but sleeping on a queen bed under a larger net is much better than the double we were on before. They told us that they would deliver one last Friday and it’s Tuesday but this is Africa. We are just waiting. It will be nice to have our own rooms and our own desks for our make shift offices.
It’s also nice to have a fully functional kitchen (as good as it can be, still no mixer).
The day we moved up here we had a birthday party for Javier and Brandon. Tortillas were fun to make and gifts were even better to give. Stephanie and I searched high and low for their gifts and we think we did a pretty good job. Javier’s favorite color is red and he talked about wanting an African shirt. We found one. Brandon is learning how to play Burundian instruments and we found him a corn husk mobile of people playing those instruments. He loved it.





Tuesday last week I started to feel a cold coming on. It was at full strength after my class, nothing like a sore throat and feeling sleepy to brighten a day. I spent most of the week lying in bed, drinking tea and reading Charlotte’s Web. I brought it along with me. I would read two chapters and then fall asleep and then wake up get more tea and read and sleep. Not too bad. Yesterday I did plan my lessons for Thursday’s class. I figured I would need to be prepared to teach even if I wasn’t feeling well.
Not all a bucket of roses! Let me tell you about the evil that is in this apt! I was in the shower the other day. It is wonderfully hot! The shower down stairs has a heater on it but it just takes the chill off. The one upstairs is hot. I reached up my hand and my thumb touched the heater, where the water comes out. Stephanie came running because of the scream I let out. The stupid shower heater shocked me. Now I’m not a scientist but if there are streams of water coming out of something and you are under the streams and are not getting shocked you would think that when you touched the thing that you wouldn’t get shocked but the pain in my thumb speaks against that thought. I’m so confused! I now avoid lifting my hands any higher than my head.
I told you before about Bible Group. This week they are leading chapel. It was so funny entering chapel yesterday and getting on a choir robe with the students. I felt like I was one of the team. It’s so nice to hang out with my peers, even though they don’t know I’m their age. I met a girl Daniella. She is so sweet and fun to hang out with. Her English is great. We played a few games of Uno yesterday and she was telling me all about her family. It’s nice to get to know the students, the reason why I came.

Rat, Mouse, or Cockroach...you decide

I cannot describe to you how great it makes me feel when I wake up to the sound of something scratching through my suitcase one foot from my head. Another amazing sound I love to hear in the night is the high pitched buzz of a mosquito flying around my head. Last night I had the privilege of having both sounds. First was the scratching from the rat, mouse, or whatever it was. Then there was the same sound across the room on the shelves that hold our clothing. I sat up with a start sitting in the middle of the bed, Stephanie behind me, still sleeping. The fight or flight reaction was going crazy in my body. I could hear my heart beating, I was looking around in the darkness franticly and I couldn’t think. I felt trapped under the mosquito net. I wanted to grab my flashlight but it was two inches from where the sound was coming from. All I could do was sit in the safety of my net. I looked at my watch (it lights up, thanks fam) 1:00am. I laid down and heard that faithful sound of the mosquito. It took my mind off of the scratching. I went in and out of sleep for a while, and then the scratching came again 2am. Stephanie needed to be informed this time. She was sure it was a cockroach. I was so encouraged by this. Sorry Wesley and Nathan but the time you spent holding the rats didn’t prepare me for wild rats. I’m sure it is because I’m still not sure what cockroaches really do still. All I know is that they crawl around and accidentally fall on their backs and I find them in the morning in my room. I can deal with a cockroach in my room. I fought with the mosquito for a while then fell asleep. 4am again with the scratching. I jerked away hitting Stephanie in the process. I apologized, rolled over and fell asleep. Tonight we are going to make some changes.

One Month of being here

Tuesday (yesterday) One Month Exactly from the time this trip began.
I got online in the morning and got to talk with my cousin, she just had a new baby and so she was up at the weird hour I was online. It was great to chat with her and check my emails and facebook. As I sat there looking at the screen I had a really good cry going on. Stephanie came in and I said, “This is why I don’t get online very often”. I am much better at compartmentalizing my life. It was the biggest wave of homesickness I have had. Stephanie came and sat with me and I ate some M&Ms that we have been keeping in the fridge. They weren’t as helpful as I thought they would be. 
I went to Bible Group and it was amazing. We sang English songs and the message was translated from English into French. If you have never listened to translated speech you probably don’t know but when you can understand the speaker in your own language and you don’t have the translation it makes a huge difference. For one month now I have been hearing everything second string or not at all. It was refreshing!!! He spoke about Moses and being used as a tool for God. It was meant for the students but totally applied to me.
After a girl in the choir that I just met told me she wanted to introduce me to her friend. I already knew him. We stood and talked for a while and then I suggest we go and play Uno. The guy had played before and was very excited about it. We found a classroom. By the end of the game there were 3 Africans and 3 Americans enjoying a good game of Uno.
The rest of the day was filled with lesson planning and correcting papers, something I do on a regular basis now.

"Dear Mom"

Dear Mom, Please forgive me but my English is lacking since I’ve been here. (“Dear, Mom” our running joke. Anytime we think that people back home would be interested in what is going on someone says “Dear, Mom”. Sometimes it changes to “Dear, Blog” but for the most part it’s mom who gets the words.

Encouragement from the middle of America

Merle just walked into my room to say goodbye. He is flying back to Kansas today. Last night Stephanie teased me saying that Merle was my BFF. I told her it was true. He was here to work on the radio station. He was a missionary here a while ago with his wife, she is now in heaven. A few weeks ago he told me that he was praying for Stephanie and me. Today before he left he asked me if it was alright to consider me one of his grand daughters. I told him that would be wonderful. I will miss him. He made things seem normal here. When everything else was crazy Merle was consistent. He would get up and work his fingers to the bone, take his afternoon nap, work some more and then have dinner with us. It won’t be the same without him.

New Month New Experiences

“Wow this feels like home. It’s so normal.” I was walking up to the Vibbert’s Student Center the other day and this thought popped into my head. It’s not the first time I have had this thought. Don’t get me wrong this in no way is Seattle. I’m coming to the realization, just as my dad said, that there are certain qualities about life and a place that make it home or make it feel like home. I’m not sure exactly what they are but friendly people, knowing your surroundings, good friends you can confide in, and crazy neighbors might be on that list. Perhaps it’s that I can let my guard down. I don’t have to worry about safety, getting lost, or not being cared for. Yesterday I ventured out from the safety of Stephanie’s arm. Maybe this was because I want to belong here at HAU, not just be a visiting professor. Stephanie and Javier went to town to get on the internet and I went to choir practice. The announcement in Chapel was that those who wanted to be part of the worship team or just want to come together and sing were welcome. I totally fit in the second category. I miss my GC!!! (I find myself drawn to a church service not for the message but the one with lots of singing.)
The meeting started at 1:00pm so I wondered over there at about 1:10pm hoping that I would not be the only one in the room when I arrived, well I was the 4th person. The others were the leaders of the group. The one who greeted me at the door was the man who translated for chapel so I knew that I could converse with him in English. I asked a lot of questions about the choir and made sure I was not just welcome but allowed to join. (Culture says, everyone is welcome but not everyone is desired to be there. I’m figuring this out) To my joy I was not only welcome but they really wanted me there. In the process of waiting for things to start I was asked by 2 men if I was single. Well the first one had more class and asked me how long I was going to be here and then asked where my husband was. Even though the charm I knew what he was fishing for. Yes mom, I was wearing the ring but it didn’t help. Oh well.
I figured out that choir practice is every Monday at 1 and we sing for the Bible study on Tuesday at 1. Sign me up. They were singing all the songs in English. I was sitting next to one of my students (he’s a really good student so “student teacher hang out during choir” shouldn’t be a problem) I asked him if they were only singing songs in English because of me. He said yes. I told him I wanted to learn songs in French, Kirundi, and Kiswahili, he laughed. It helped that I knew all the English songs we sang. The leader was having difficulty with the English pronunciation on one song and he said, “Rachel knows it.” He proceeded to bring me up and have me lead it. Not what I was expecting at all. The hall was great. I could hear my voice echo though the hall with the voices of the choir under me. Wow it was a great sound. I was glad when the song was over and I was allowed to sit back down.
At the end of choir I was told, not asked, that I was going to lead that song on Tuesday. Super scary! I must have looked it because the leader said that I shouldn’t be worried and that he would be there to help. I’m encouraged by that.

Weekends!!!

This weekend was great; wandering around the city with friends on Saturday with no plan in mind and then Sunday truly a day of rest, including but not limited to a nap, lounging around, and a movie. What a good way to close out a great month. (minus the sun burn we all got while wandering the city)

Forced to Pray

Before I left I was in a study with my dear friend Valerie. The topic was prayer. I have always had a hard time praying. I think it might be that God already knows what I’m going to say, or maybe that he knows everything about me and that makes me feel self conscience. Anyway I’ve never been good at it and thought that living in Africa for a year I might want to know how to pray.
Well God had a plan for me. I went through the study and not much changed except my knowledge of what prayer is. Since being here I have had ample chance to be forced to pray. Most of the services I go to are translated for me, but translation stops as soon as someone begins to pray. I am left on my own, with my head bowed thinking about life. Thanking God for who he is and what he has done. Burundians know how to pray. Their prayers can sometimes last forever, this has improved my own stamina. I now find myself chatting with the Lord when I’m walking or sitting alone in my room. The simplest issue or discussion comes up and there I am again in conversation with the Lord. I’m liking it. I don’t feel as lonely. I know at anytime I can just open my mouth or my thoughts to him and he is ready to listen. Sometimes I find myself just talking about how I’m feeling and others I find myself wrestling with him, either way I think he is enjoying this. Perhaps this is why he brought me to Africa.

TP anyone?

Simple pleasures, take them when you can get them. I know that being hospitable to guests is important, but really 3 ply? When we arrived at HAU I couldn’t understand what was so different about the toilet paper. But after a while I figured it out that it was 3 ply. Seriously, who needs that much comfort? The problem isn’t the comfort but the way it tears off. Sorry if this is too much for some of you. The two outside pieces rip of nicely. The middle piece has difficulty and tears into shreds. Which for someone who is a little OCD about her toilet paper, this was a challenge. The beginning of the week we received a new brand. Now I didn’t know that there were so many options for TP but, there are. This brand was just like crate paper, the type you use for streamers at birthday parties, but this roll was just white, not a fun color. Have you ever tried to rip streamers? It’s next to impossible. The perforations, which were almost non existent, didn’t help at all. Today they brought us yet another brand. I was skeptical at first, but at further examination it was one ply. What, one ply! I was thrilled. Not only was it one ply but it was thicker than the American one ply and soft. Finally a good roll. Oh the simple pleasures when living in Africa.

HAU Students

Favorite look in the whole wide world, “Wow, I didn’t know that. I know I will use that. That’s so good to know, I’m glad I learned it”. I just finished teaching my language class. The topic is interesting and that drives good discussion and thought provoking activities. I love it! I told the students that time was up and so I had to cut the activity short. I explained their homework and told them class was over. Three people raised their hands. One had a question about the homework but the others wanted to discuss the activity further. Their questions were full of thoughts. It makes me happy when they want to learn, they want to know what I know. Even when I am not clear or language gets in the way they drag it out of me. They help me along. Day one I told them that I wanted to learn about their culture and how things are done. I told them I would need their help to teach the course. Well they are holding up their end of the deal. It’s such a blessing to teach at Hope Africa University. I’m so glad to be part of a community that desires to learn, desires excellence, desires change in their world.

Burundi Night Life

Last night I awoke to the sound of rain slapping the earth and a chill in the air. With the rain comes two things, cool temperatures and high humidity. I am used to the humidity now so it doesn’t bother me. The cool temperature was very welcome. The temperature rises when the fan turns off. At around midnight the power goes off. (I feel like I’m at Camas Meadows) The rain woke me up but the sound of mosquito buzzing in my ear kept me up. I waved it away hoping that it was on the outside of the net. I was wrong. I found my flashlight and turned it on. I was worried about waking Stephanie but on she slept. I found the little bugger. He was small, and fast. The mosquitoes in Washington are big and slow, easily killed. I chased him around the net for a while to no avail. I got up to go to the bathroom. When I came back I noticed a cockroach crawling on the arm of the chair in our living room. I’m not sure if it was because I don’t understand the function of the cockroach that I didn’t kill it or the fact that it is big and I would have to dispose of its body afterwards. (If someone knows the functions of a cockroach, besides lapping up the water left on the floor after showers are complete, please let me know). The mosquito under my net has one purpose in life, suck blood and I was not going to have it, not tonight. I put my head down on my pillow. I waited. And then I heard it. I grabbed my flashlight and sat up. The light went on. This time Stephanie looked over at me. I looked at her and she jumped. I apologized and told her there was a mosquito under the net. She rolled over. Then she shivered and said, “I just heard it.” I knew it was close. I chased it again thinking that this would be a futile endeavor. It was down by the foot of the bed. I just watched it for a while. Then it was on the move again. I placed my hand on the sheet next to it and quickly moved my hand as if I meant to smooth the sheets. “I got him” I called out. The light went out and I went back to sleep to the sound of bull frogs outside my window. Never a dull night in Bujumbura

Daily Grind

Feb 25 Thursday
Well this week there wasn’t much going but a lot of doing. I felt like I was trapped all week. I spent most of my time sitting in the living room working on my lesson plans and homework assignments that I’m giving my students.
I’m always happy when it’s time for chapel. Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays chapel starts at 10:15. It’s a great time to be with the students. Because we are professors they honor us by making us sit at the front of the room sitting to the side. So we are looking at the side of the stage, not the best view. Stephanie and I didn’t like it very much and tried to sit in the front row of the normal seats. We were chastised by one of the missionaries. She said that the locals don’t like us sitting there. So alas we find ourselves looking to the side.
The message is given by different people each time. Wednesday it was a student. It was very applicable. The songs are in Swahili, French, and English, normally one or two in each language. It’s great to just stand and listen to the music while I have a good chat with the Lord. It’s nice.