Watch the Walk

"You really live in a place where people don't have the Book in their own language?" my nephew asked as he swung from my arms. "Yep, but we're working on that." I answered. My older nephews have been exploring the idea of other languages, asking me for Spanish to use with kids they want to talk to at the playground, or just exploring the world of other sounds.    Another thing they've enjoyed is a game where I give them a foreign word, and then use English to describe it until they figure out what the word means.  "I really like masindza. Do you like masindza? It's long and yellow, and there's some on the counter." "Bananas!"  "Yep! Good job!" That's basically what you do when learning language on the street in any part of the world. Describe and explore until you understand how ideas are communicated. But really, it's more than just vocabulary. When we encounter new ideas, we understand them by asking questi...

Sometimes beauty hits us in the face. We look up to see the sky on fire with a gorgeous sunset. We notice an adorable child and their antics. Our first reaction is pleasure, a smile, appreciation for what we see. It stands out to us. But sometimes it takes a little more to see the beauty. You get so used to the scenes of everyday life that it no longer hits you. Your gaze slides right past amazing beauty because you see it so often. It blends into everything else. You pay attention to the things that matter in accomplishing your daily tasks, rather than zooming in on the details or out to the full picture. I have a thing for triangular tea bags Beauty is a gift, and it can slide right past us if we're not paying attention. So let's pay attention. Zoom in on the minutiae. Zoom out and see the grand panorama. Where's the beauty today? I looked up and saw the cutest house! Lentil burgers and veggies A favorite kiddo Naan dough rising My house from a distance Men praying on the...

In the president's Independence Day speech, he announced several changes in lessening the country's covid restrictions, including... OPENING THE MOSQUES (but bring your own prayer mat) Well, that was cause for celebration! Mosques here are a gathering place. Up to 5 times a day, men walk to the mosque, do their ceremonial washing, pray, and say hi to each other before continuing with their day. It's a way that the neighborhood shares news, a bond of brotherhood, and maintains their attachment to "one religion". Call to prayer from outside But since April, the mosques have been closed. Since I live across from one, it was easy to see how people were working around the government's requirements at first-- the front of the mosque was closed, but the back was open, and 10 minutes after the call to prayer was proclaimed over the loudspeaker, we could hear an "Amin" echo from inside, the voices of many men who just couldn't stay away. It took multiple ...

Sitting in the silence while food cooks Sometimes it's hard to maintain relationships over the phone. Especially with islanders who are used to the 30 second call to connect. Those calls normally go like this: Person A: Hi! How are you? Person B: Good, and you? How are your people? Person A: They're good, I'm good. What's the news? Person B: Nothing new, it's all the same. How's your health? Person A: It's good. Well, I was just calling to say hi. Person B: Ok, thanks. Have a good day! Person A: You too. And that's it. So it's easy enough to call people, but it's hard to stay connected with everything that's going on in their lives. Talk of hopes and dreams, babies and marriages, disappointments and hurts, those are all hard to talk about over the phone. So when we stopped visiting for awhile due to COVID-19 concerns, relationships took a bit of a hit. We continued to call, to maintain the care in relationships, but so muc...

I started to write this post a couple of weeks ago, but, as life goes, never finished it. And then they finally announced cases of COVID-19, so it seemed irrelevant. But hey, you get to enjoy a snippet of island life... after the fact. Our international borders closed on March 23rd, but the first case wasn't announced until April 30th. Even after unofficial reports started coming about cases, it still took awhile for the government to announce cases. But without further ado, as of late April, you could find many people on the streets still declaring boldly that we were a nation without COVID-19. But why? We closed our borders and we're isolated from the world: This seems reasonable. First, they implemented mandatory quarantine in a government facility for those coming from specific countries, then they closed flights from countries with more than 10 cases of the virus, and then they finally stopped all international passenger flights. So it seems like a group of islands co...

 ... or debate. Or something. Our local English curriculum has three levels, with the third level requiring a much higher level of communication than the first two. So a locally-run program recently decided to add a "Level 2+" class between levels 2 and 3 so students are better prepared to get the most they can out of Level 3. For several years now, we've included a group skit as part of the final exam for Level 3 English classes. So how can you add an extra portion to the Level 2+ exam? The answer they decided on: ENGLISH DEBATES! Well, I'm familiar with formal debating-- you have teams, you research your topic, prepare your arguments, and when the time comes, you defend your ideas with logic, fervor, and respect for the other side. (okay okay, I'm not talking about political debates, I'm talking debate club or academic debates) So on Sunday we were invited to observe and help grade the first ever English debates on this island. It was intense, ...

A road becomes a river I love a good rainy day. There's something peaceful about being inside while listening to the rain, or walking in the rain with an umbrella as the water rushes around you. Here on Clove Island it's rainy season right now, that season where the clouds close in for days at a time (a welcome break from the broiling sun), bringing rainstorms, thunder and lightning. The rain has a way of changing things though. Societal obligations change when it's raining. It's not uncommon for someone to call and say that the rain has "closed them in" so they won't make it to whatever had been planned for a particular hour. Classes continue, but sometimes the timing of a rainstorm can cause half the class to skip or be late. Social visits are timed around the rain. And sometimes people get stuck places. The visitor that was just dropping by will instead stay for a couple of hours, eating with you, taking a nap, and just waiting for...