Watch the Walk

 Ever since learning the term "housewarming" I've been a bit curious about why it would be called that. Why would we call it a housewarming when we invite a lot of people over to the place we've recently moved into? Why not a "new house party" or a "snack and see", to borrow the "sip and see" of a baby shower? Of course, I've since looked up the origin of the word and it turns out that people would actually bring firewood with them to a housewarming party and work to warm up the new house for its owners. And then I spent a few months in Kenya. Where we were staying, in the Nairobi area, the nights are cool and the days are warm, and the weather is temperate enough that no one has central heating or cooling. In a place like the islands, on the coast next to the Indian Ocean, we might wish for air conditioning. There in Nairobi, however, a house that's been moved into recently is distinctly chilly.  And what better way to take the c...

Every language has words which, when translated into English, require a phrase instead. See the example below: Ruma - to send a person on an errand The struggle with this is, as you learn a language, you find these single words in replacement for an entire phrase to be convenient. "I want to ruma you" - wait, how do I say that in real English? "I want to send you on an errand." or maybe "I want to use your services for something." or "I want you to do something for me." But wait, in English it's kind of rude to just say "I want to..." Actually, you should ask permission. So now the Island-Language-Sentence actually has two adjustments needed to make it good English. "Can I send you on an errand?" Oh, let's consider that again. More natural English would be to change the subject of the sentence and put the hearer as the subject: "Can you run an errand for me?" Aha! Now we've landed on decent English. And I...

 I was visiting Clove island, walking through town, examining what had changed in the last 6 months. A few buildings painted, a couple of new walls. But what was really striking? The number of new shops that had opened!  A new shop for car oil. A new mini market. Another food shop. It seemed like the business district was booming, and when I arrived at the office I commented on it to my colleagues. But their response surprised me: "It's because of the economic crisis."  Wait, what? Evidently, when people are worried about where their food will come from, they look for a loan or a gift to get them started in business, with the thought being that, at least until inventory runs out, they'll have a source of income or food. Especially with food shops, you can eat your inventory until it runs out. Even if you don't have money to restock, it's a temporary fix. I was intrigued by their explanation, but still a little doubtful if theirs was the only interpretation. So...

I sat working in the office, typing away at my computer. Suddenly I started hearing shouting outside, along with the sounds of someone being kicked or punched. I wasn't so excited to look outside and investigate, but soon the other people working in the office were all looking and reporting what they observed: The police were beating someone up.  I don't normally notice the police offices next to our office building, but this last week they've been hard to ignore. It actually turns out that the police weren't beating someone up for no reason. The person was resisting their efforts to... ... give him a hair cut. Yes, the police seem to have decided to clean up the city by grabbing men and boys with hair they deem too long off the streets and forcibly giving them a hair cut! Beware to the youths with fancy do's that involve a lot of hair on top. Their hair isn't respectable in this conservative city. Men who work hard and don't take the time to go to the barbe...

I'd had a busy week. I both hosted and participated in a workshop, as well as continuing normal life in the evenings (studies, meetings, check-ins, meals with others). By the time Saturday came, my list of things to catch up on was feeling a bit overwhelming. Laundry needed to be folded. Other laundry needed hand washing. Dishes. Straightening. Finance paperwork. Reports. And I had a doctor's appointment too.  As I expressed to Mitch the overwhelming list that was awaiting us after going to the doctor, his response caught me by surprise. "After the doctor, let's go to the beach." The beach?! How could I relax on a beach when the disaster of a house was awaiting my return? But something in my spirit prompted me to agree. We could go to the beach, then when we got home, tackle the work together. And you know what? It was exactly what I needed. We descended to the rocky beach, settled on a couple of benches, listened to the waves, read the Word together and prayed. A...

Recently, my husband and I were taking some new colleagues through a set of orientation materials, including some culture "Do's and Don'ts". Many of the items we could rate as True or False, some of them, as with many other parts of life, were distinct gray areas.  Don't talk while in the bathroom: true Avoid religious conversations except with close friends: false (good luck trying to avoid that!) But one of the items always makes me laugh a bit: Don't expect events to start late or take a long time. FALSE One key to happiness is accurate expectations. And if residents of this island expect things to start on time and end quickly, well, that's a recipe for unhappiness! For example: we were invited for a ceremony celebrating the end of an English class in a nearby village. They said it would start after the evening prayer. So... if prayer is at 7:15... then we'll start at 7:30? Our little delegation didn't even bother coming until after 8pm, and...

The other day we were expecting some guys to come over and help on a project. Since it was starting in the morning, I made a thermos of tea and a double batch of waffles for them to enjoy before starting work. I was feeling fresh and prepared, ready for the first event of the day. This group of guys typically shows up hungry and demolishes anything set before them. Well, the time arrived and one guy showed up... with a snack in hand! And when we asked about the whereabouts of the others, we discovered they weren't coming. Oh well, the one guy ate what he needed, and the leftover waffles went into the freezer for our breakfasts. The previous week I ran into a friend on the path who said he would drop by that afternoon to say hi. I let my husband know that his friend would be coming over, and we intentional stayed around the house in the late afternoon so we wouldn't miss him. He didn't show up that afternoon, but then came the next day in the evening, wanting dinner! How cou...