Watch the Walk

Photo credit: XKCD.COM Seeing is not always understanding. I see two men arguing and the onlookers laughing slightly. I can easily observe that they're laughing. But why? Are the men not really arguing, they just appear to be? Is this truly humorous? No, islanders often laugh when they're uncomfortable. Last night as I was leaving class, I heard some strange noises and looked over to see a person being held/restrained by two other people. My first thought was that they were attacking the person. No, the person was possessed by an evil spirit and they were protecting the person from harming themselves or others. Seeing is not always understanding. But the longer I'm here, the more I get things. I understand better what's really going on. My friends are more real with me about the way life is. And through understanding I can speak Truth into their lives more effectively.

In language learning, you quickly realize that, while some grammar boxes are the same, others are completely different. It's the same with word meanings. In English we might say that to need and to want are different words. In Clovish (the language of Clove Island) they are the same word. In English we might say that we raise people, plants, and animals. In Clovish we use a different verb for each type of growth. As we learn the language, we create new boxes to understand it better. The same goes for culture. In America, someone telling me what to do when I'm walking down the street would be put in the "rude" box. On Clove Island, it's in the "family/friends" box. Only those who care about you will say things like that. Or the fact that every.single.person asks if I'm married and why I'm not married. I have to consciously take that from the "annoying and rude" box and put it in the "normal and matter of fact" box. People being...

Big fruit bats This is Africa, folks. I was reminded of that quite a few times last month as I was wrapping up vacation and traveling back to Clove Island. I had several foreigners unloading on me about various things they were experiencing that seem to be common to Africa: The customs official they fought with over the definition of "multiple-entry." The corruption that is rampant. People who say they believe one thing and then act in contradiction to that (not limited to Africa, folks). The yes that means no, because you really shouldn't have put me on the spot. Personally, I'm over most of the things, most of the time. It's just some things some of the time that manage to get to me. And there's no real escape. It kinda hit me when I was traveling back from vacation recently. I wasn't all that far from Clove Island. Just a long hop on a large plane and a shorter hop on a smaller plane. But travel is rarely simple despite all that. I arrived at the airpor...

I've taken a bit of a break from blogging, but hopefully this post will end that hiatus. After reading over various post drafts that I started and never finished, here's the one I dusted off and finished to share with you: One of my little friends. On the harder, lonelier days I start thinking. Yes means a thousand no's. My "yes" to being here means I'm not a million other places, yet it's one of the best "yes's" that I've said. I'm here. Not home in Washington. Not with family. Not anywhere else but here. And I have to trust that Gd put me here. Not there. And He's got the whole world in His hands. I've got friends here who I enjoy spending time with. I've got opportunities here which would look different elsewhere. But most of all, I've got peace that this is where I'm supposed to be. And that's the most satisfying bit. Last week a friend came to talk with me after class and share what was going on in her lif...

This wrap is traditional to Clove Island. It's traditionally worn like a sari, but over a full outfit, adding style and propriety. Like many other things, it can serve multiple purposes. Here are just a few ideas: 1. Tortilla steamer: homemade tortillas need to steam a little after being cooked. The island wrap is perfect for this. 2. Sweat rag: what better use when you're sweating like crazy on a hike and are wearing yards of extra fabric? 2. Blanket: cold on a "winter" night? Time to break in that new island wrap by wrapping up in it! 3. Curtain: hang it up and you've got privacy anywhere! Too bright out? Hang an island wrap and you're "covered." 4. Carrying bag: not enough hands? Tie it up and sling it on your back. 5. Baby sling: an alternate on the carrying bag concept. 6. Beach blanket: packs small and spreads out large. 7. Towel: forgot your towel? Just pick up your "beach blanket" and towel off! 8. Tablecloth: want a "pi...

Picnicking before the month of fasting begins I find it intriguing how an entire society can change to revolve around fasting.  -- Every morning I hear a guy running around at 2AM telling people to eat before the sun rises. -- Some nights the bakery next door will be baking bread at midnight. It's easier to smell fresh baked bread when you're allowed to eat it, rather than when you're fasting. -- Shops stay open later in the afternoon, but then open later in the evening. Instead of being closed 1-5, they're closed 3-8. This way people cooking for their "breaking the fast feast" can shop later in the day rather than first thing in the morning. Shop owners who are going to pray at the last call to prayer reopen their shops after prayer. -- Everyone is thinking about fasting. At the beginning of the month, the question everyone asked me was always "are you fasting? Did you fast today? Are you able to fast?" Now the question is "How many days did yo...

how's that for a huge nose stud? All fixed! On my last trip to Kenya I got my nose pierced. My nose healed nicely and, when a friend gave me a gold stud for my birthday (to match the style most women with pierced noses here have), I pulled out the old one and put in the new one. The new one didn't fit very well, so I pulled it out and adjusted it with a handy pair of pliers, then put it back in. Three weeks later, I rubbed my nose and the nose stud broke! I'm guessing I killed its' structural integrity when I amateur-fixed it. Now, I've been told that nose piercings close up pretty quickly, so I put an earring in to keep the hole open. Unfortunately, I own zero stud-style earrings. My housemate was kind enough to loan me a pearl stud so I could go out of the house without a dangle earring in my nose. I went off to a nearby town to look for either a new nose stud or a jeweler to fix my old stud. The goldsmith at work After a couple re-directions, I ended up waiting o...