Monday, February 23, 2009

And the sicknesses began...

Nearly immediately after returning to Mbale from my visit with Jane I hit that really tough stage of culture shock. That stage includes a strong homesick feeling. So my first week back I was tired, adjusting to school again (with a new teaching schedule that has me teaching from 8:30-2 since my prep is not until the last period but I have study hall 2nd to last, so I use that as prep usually and end my day a bit earlier), and battling the tough stage of culture shock. The next week I got malaria. I was sick with that for about a week and took about a week to recover and gain my energy back. January and the first part of February was a really tough time physically, emotionally, spiritually. I thank you all for your prayers. God has and is answering them. I am feeling fine physically now and pulling through the other side of this stage of culture shock. I’m not as homesick and my excitement for being here is beginning to return. My focus was not where it should have been and I’m trying to place it back on God. The last week has been much better, though very busy.
This past weekend was quarterly meeting here in Mbale. The men are in Kenya on the men’s retreat. On Friday we’ll leave for Kenya for our team retreat and then finish that week with spring break. My roommates and I are planning a safari in Masai Mara that I am very excited about. Then we are going to visit the Children’s Home in Kitale on our way back to Mbale. It will be a busy week, but a very good one, I think. By the time we get back to Mbale, our newest teammates will have arrived. Vince and Joy Vigil are returning to work with Good News Productions as semi-long-term teammates (I’m not exactly sure how many years they are planning for now). We would all appreciate your prayers for safe travel, good fellowship time with one another, and a restful time during our travels.

Visit in Kenya

Just after New Year’s I went to Nyeri, Kenya to visit a friend from the University of Alabama. We met there when I was starting up things with Apwonjo, and we were connected since she is from Kenya. She was home visiting and invited me to come stay with her family. So I spent nearly a week at her home with her family. It was a very unique experience. Jane has been in America for 10 years now, so she understands my culture pretty well. Since we are friends from the context of my home culture, I felt very comfortable in her home. Also having been in East Africa for nearly 5 months plus the 2 months the year before and various cultural lessons really helped me with the culture of her family. I knew more of what to do or not to do from my own experiences, whereas previous visitors had not had the cultural experiences that I have. I don’t know if this has made any sense so far; so I’ll give a specific: greetings in East Africa are VERY important! Knowing that, I made sure to greet her family every time I saw them, when I woke up, and before I went to bed. Her mom especially really appreciated this. So, mine and Jane’s experiences and our friendship provided for a unique situation for me. Before then my visits with African families had always been visits and never reached beyond the expected formalities. Staying longer, feeling welcome and comfortable gave me interesting insight into a middle class African family’s home. Shawn had gone over some culture orientation things with us before I left. I observed how true those things were while staying with Jane’s family. Culturally, it was a really interesting, unique, valuable experience for me. Personally, it was wonderful to spend time with someone from home. I really enjoyed talking with her, hearing about home and learning about her home. I had many firsts on that trip, too: first motorcycle ride, first taste of many traditional Kenyan meals (that were really good), first solo ride on public transport, first crossing the border solo (at 5 am), first trip away from my team since I got here… It was a really good trip and I really enjoyed spending time with Jane and her family. Oh, I also met a displaced family from the clashes in Kenya last year. Mama Koi and her family were living on Jane’s family’s compound. Jane’s mom had a stroke last fall and Mama Koi has been really helpful to her. Mama Koi and her 3 children had to leave in the night in a covered truck with helicopter protection to get to a safe place. They were left in Nyeri and eventually connected with Jane’s family. They’ve become a part of her family now. Her children were precious. The youngest was just a year old, which means he was only an infant when they fled. The children were very sweet. Jane and I took them and her nephew and nieces to the park on day to play. It was really special to see those children who are so quiet and shy laughing and playing. Mama Koi was very open and told many stories about her experiences in the clashes. Usually, Jane passed them on to me since I don’t speak Kikuyu or Swahili. The trip was quite a learning experience overall.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

The rest of December

Children’s Home
I went to Kitale, Kenya just after we got out for Christmas break. The Tylers lived and worked in Kitale for years before moving to Uganda. They helped start a Children’s Home there. Jennifer, Kimberly, and I joined Shawn and Linda for the trip. On Friday we went to the home and played with the kids. Some of the girls taught me some of the games they play and then they showed me around the compound teaching me various Swahili words. On Saturday we took the kids out shopping for new clothes and shoes, which they pretty much never get to do. Unfortunately I felt pretty ill most of Saturday and Shawn wasn’t feeling too great either; so we left before the kids choir could perform for us. I should’ve written this entry a long time ago. I really enjoyed being there and playing with the girls. Two girls, relatively new to the home, really captured my heart. They speak some Swahili and barely any English. Their parents both died of AIDS. They are precious, beautiful girls. The trip was a really good trip, and I loved being at the home playing with those girls.

Jinja
After we got back from Kitale, Heidi, Julie, Jennifer, Nicole, Kimberly, and I went to Kingfisher in Jinja to relax for a few days before Christmas and Nicole’s departure. It was really nice and very relaxing.

Christmas
On Christmas Eve, my roommates and I cooked pizza for dinner. We made stockings for each other and opened those before dinner. On Christmas morning, most all of the singles met at Heidi’s and Mary Beth’s house for breakfast. After breakfast we went to a service at the church. Then we all went over to the Tylers’ for Christmas festivities. The men cooked out, so we ate hot dogs and hamburgers. Then all the kids opened their stockings put together by the other members of the team. It was a lot of fun to watch them open everything. They left a huge mess all over the floor! The adults on the team had exchanged names for presents. So we exchanged our gifts with each other, taking turns watching one another open each present. Overall, it was a really good day, and not too bad for a first Christmas away from home.

New Year’s Eve
On New Year’s Eve we returned to the Tyler household for celebration. We watched a movie, ate some snacks, and later watched the firework displays of local hotels.

I’m sure I’d have more details and specific stories about each event had I written about them sooner. I do, however, have pictures posted from most of the events on my picasa web album.