The past two weeks have had their ups and downs. I think I
finally left the honeymoon stage of being a missionary. It is okay
though; I am looking towards the future! I have been so blessed to
have the opportunity to speak and skype with my friends. It makes a
huge difference also to be able to skype with my folks.
Two weeks ago we welcomed Fr. David Rucker and his son Ethan. It was
wonderful to be with them; we all had a great time together. The team
visited Father at the Catholic Hostel where he was staying. Felice
and I were very interested in the possibilty moving to this
hostel. Father and Ethan headed to Mwanza, the new Diocesan head
quarters for His Eminence Jeronymos in the northern part of
Tanzania. Father was able to give us a quick report about his visit
with the Archbishop, and there is a good possibility that we will move
to Mwanza within the next two months. This move will bring us closer
to our final destination, Bukoba, where the Holy Resurrection Hospital
is located.
A week later, Felice and I decided to move into the Catholic
Hostel just down the road from the Salvation Army compound. We would
still attend Kiswalhili lessons, get our laundry done, and eat meals
at the Salvation Army. The people at this new hostel are some of the
most welcoming and good hearted people around. Felice and I moved our
luggage into the rooms with the help of our taxi driver and the
hostel's very kind staff. We, like many women, pack heavy bags, but
important supplies are sometimes heavy. We decided to get separate
rooms this time around. We feel very blessed to have been able to
move into a more contemporary hostel. In the process we met a very
nice taxi driver named Bernard. Bernard has become our personal taxi
driver. We just call him, and he comes to pick us up. It is very
nice to have one person to call and to have someone with whom we have
a relationship. I enjoy practicing my Kiswalhili with him, and I am
finding that I am able to chat with people on the streets after I
finally decided I would start conversing in the language. Tanzanians
are not only very grateful for someone's willingness to speak their
language, but they are very patiently teaching us the proper
pronunciations.
This past Thursday Mama Jango (our Tanzanian culture instructor)
took us to one of the larger market places in downtown Tanzania. The
market was huge, and I took come very interesting pictures (please
check the website for them). Mama Jango made sure we didn't get
scammed by vendors charging us too much. She also made sure we didn't
set ourselves up to be pick pocketed. The afternoon seemed longer
than it was; we all learned a lot and were able to purchase things we
wouldn't have been able to purchase otherwise.
Classes with Christopher are going well. Christopher reminds me
everyday to "fight to learn Kiswalhili." "Fight" he says "fight
hard." Christopher is not only my Kiswalhili teacher, he is also one
of the guards for the Salvation Army, and he is also a farmer. Just
like in the states, Tanzanians have to work several jobs to make ends
meet.
I cannot believe it has been almost a whole month since I arrived in
Africa. I told Felice today, "You know what I just realized? I live
in Africa!!"
No comments:
Post a Comment