another anniversary

I have been here for one month...actually one month, six hours and a handful of minutes. I think, no wait, I know culture shock is setting in. It's not really a reaction to the environment as a reaction to who I am. College football has started back home and for the first time since I was like 10, I won't know what's going on or be able to watch it. A whole lot of my knowledge is useless here. Plus,I can't be the teacher I was at Tipton because I'm not at Tipton. Everyone goes through this. It stinks but it's reality. It's a mourning process and a time to push through to the reality that our worth is found in only one place: in the hands of Christ.

It's been a while since I've updated this thing so I don't even know what to write. I tend to have these great stories in my head, but then I never get a chance to record them. I guess here are some happenings that stand out:
1. We had a great rainstorm the other day. Rain is a treat here. The kids go crazy. One of my junior girls was standing outside and admitted that she was giggling inside. It was a great storm. The wind was blowing cool air and the temp dropped like 20 degrees. Then it just started pouring. you could see the storm coming from the distance. I let my students stand outside. It was hard to resist. It felt so nice.


The storm

2. I bought some UHT milk instead of powdered milk. It's one thing I really miss from the US-milk and cereal. (If you've never traveled outside the US, it's hard to describe how our milk is so much different than the rest of the world.) Anyways, I paid about $2.50 for 1 liter. The first time I poured it, I spilled some. Whoever said, "Don't cry over spilled milk" has never paid $2.50 for 1 liter. ;)

3. It's still hard to get used to how expensive food is here, and we're not buying prepackaged food here. If we want chicken, we buy a whole chicken (that still has all the insides intact). I know after a while I'll just have to get used to the fact that I'll spend more on food here than the US

4. I'm starting to get to know the kids better. I'm liking that.

I guess that's it for now..

Yep, I'm living in Africa

A friend asked me today if it has hit me that I'm living in Africa. This weekend I can tell you it has.

I made it through my first week of school. Pretty uneventful. It's taken me a while to get used to teaching on a regular 8-period schedule. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. I need to learn to slow my planning a bit.

On Friday night, we had a potluck in our apt building and then watched a movie on the roof. They hooked up a projector and showed it on a wall. It was surreal really. Here we were, watching Next, on top of our roof in Africa!?! During the movie, we saw two shooting stars. It was so cool.

In a 24 hour span on Sat/Sun, I think we had no electricity more than we had electricity. We had four power cuts, all lasting 2-3 hours. Three happened at night, one early Sat morning and two early Sunday morning (boo) and one when I was trying to talk with my family (double boo).
My roomie and I had a family over for dinner on Sat night so we had 4 pizzas. During that process, our mixer broke.
(We couldn't win that day.)
Fortunately we had a great time with the family. They have 5 kids, 4 joined us for dinner so we had 8 people around our table. After dinner we played spoons.

I was hoping to post pictures today, but my laptop will not work. I don't know why.

My roomie told me we can stress about these things or we can roll with it. We've gotta roll or we wouldn't make it.

Things to pray about:
1. The plane crash in Madrid. It has affected Tres Cantos, where I spent 6 weeks last summer.
2. One of our students has a bad case of malaria. It's a reality here, but it's still scary.

the ups and downs

Note: This was started 8-20. In the middle of it, we lost power so now it's a post that spans two days.

Today, for the first time, I can honestly say I wanted to be back in the states. Tipton started school today, and I wanted to be there. I guess that's a good sign as I did try to pour my heart into that place. Some days were better than others...

The day did progress nicely here though. I received some affirming words from students here which is what I needed for that day.

Life without constant electricity and water is interesting. The former is not too bad (unless you're trying to sleep), but the latter is challenging. My roomie and I were without water for over 13 hours (long story), and we were also without electricity during part of that time. Simple things like showering or using the restroom suddenly become really complicated. ;)

I've noticed that life without electricity makes us slow down. Take last night for instance. My roomie and I were able to pray, share a meal, and sit outside and talk while enjoying the cookies we made the day before. There were no distractions of computer work or watching a movie. It's nice in a way. (Don't get me wrong. I love having electricity.)



Random things:
1. There is a snail outside the computer room door that is as long as a pen.
2. My classroom was painted 1.5 years ago, and the paint still hasn't dried completely.


I feel like I'm leaving so many things out. It still feels like a dream. Instead of living in a snow globe, I feel it's like a sand globe. Weird I know...It's just so much different than life in Iowa, but yet random things don't strike me as odd. I mean, seeing goats run around outside near our apt doesn't register. It's like my life has always been like this. (Maybe it's the honeymoon phase.)

More to come...

three days down

School has officially begun at DA. I have taught for three days and am still in one piece. The school is really the center of life. There are kids playing games and hanging out all the time. It is more than a school-it's a family and community.
I forgot how hard it was to start over (and what it's like to be new), and I hope to build some great relationships. I do miss Tipton and all the people there. Fortunately there is facebook and email to keep relationships going. :)

Interesting things about school:
1. There are 5 different buildings so it's like an outside school.
2. I alone have kids from 11 different passport countries. There are MKs, Ambassador/Diplomat kids, etc
3. I can't escape Husker nation. A boy in my class (who is only here for a semester) wore a Husker shirt the other day. :(
4. I find myself wanting to do hall duty. Only people in Tipton will find this humorous because I never made it to the hallway like I was supposed to. Nobody stands in the "halls" here.


Other things I've been pondering.
1. Sometimes it comes rushing at me that I live in Africa. Take for instance when I don't finish my food. Growing up I always heard "there are starving kids in Africa." I always said they could send the food to Africa. Now these people aren't a continent away. They are half a block away. Reality is hard sometimes. Really hard.

2. Begging is a natural part of life here. In fact, there has to be beggers. I know that sounds foreign to Americans, but in Islam, one of the pillars is giving to the poor. If there are no poor, then they cannot complete this pillar. I was downtown last week and I saw a beggar shopping for earrings. Don't get me wrong. Not all the beggars are like this. Some really wouldn't survive without it.


More later...

I live in Africa

Sometimes it hits me at random times to think I actually live in Africa. No matter how old I get, I can tell people I've lived in Africa. I know that may sound weird, but that's what pops into my head at random times.

Nothing really new to report. I've been busy with orientation at school. My roomie arrived yesterday, and I think we'll get along well. We, well really she, made pizza last night.

What I've learned:
*I don't really like bleach. We have to put it in our dish water and it does a number on the hands (and clothes). It's a good think I like polka-dotted clothes ;)
*We can in fact have hot water. My water has always been cold so I figured that's all we got, although I found it funny we had two knobs on our faucets. My dad informed me that my water heater probably was not on. haha
*Skype is a beautiful thing. I've already talked to my parents so if you would like to talk, let me know. It's a free program you can download, and it totally rocks.

Well back to more training. Perhaps my next post will be written by a 27-year-old. Eek. ;)

mas/more (I wonder what it is in French)

I am finally using my laptop with the wireless at school. Woohoo. I'll keep this post short, but I wanted to share more pics with y'all.






Okay, so my computer is being really weird and not letting me see the images so the captions are down here.
1. My lovely tent/bed.
2. a lizard at school; There are a lot of them, and they are surprisingly quite quick.
3. a flame tree; I love the color.
4. the soccer field and track at school; I guess this is as green as it'll get.

More things I've learned and haven't shared:
1. You pay for a taxi ahead of time and it's rude for them to ask for more money (although Danielle and I have had it happen). It costs around $5 for a 10 minute ride (I think).
2. Surprisingly we can do a lot without electricity. It has gone out every day, but it isn't too bad unless you're trying to updage a blog or sleep. :)
3. Too much bleach is definitely a bad thing! We filter our water and we add bleach. My first batch was fine but my second was not. Ouch!

Until next time...

48 hours

First off, I guess I sent the wrong address so if you need my correct one, please let me know. :)

Now onto the good stuff. :)

I don't feel like I'm doing a good job of portraying my experiences here so sometime I hope to take videos. I mean, right now I hear the call to prayer from the Mosque, am sitting in mid80s at 8:15 pm, and yet am using the computer to write this blog. I am getting used to the idea of two showers a day, always having sandy feet, daily power cuts, and greeting everyone in French and hopefully soon, Wolof. The taxi rides (and bartering) are crazy. Luckily I don't do it, my friend does. No words can describe the driving really. I mean, how do you explain to most Americans that part of the "interstate" here has no lines, people walk alongside and across it, and that playing chicken on smaller roads is part of the driving process. On a side note, the prices here are comparable or more expensive than the US. It may be hard to believe but it's true. Fortunately I haven't bought much but taxi fares and a camel key chain.

Culture shock has not set in yet. Fortunately, I have been welcomed by several ladies who have taken me under their wing so I haven't had to really venture out alone (except to walk to school).

Here are the details of my last 48 hours in case you're interested:

I have been hanging out with one of the other teachers, and Danielle has been kind enough to show me around. Yesterday we went downtown. It's quite a place. Lots of stands selling things. People of course, tend to approach us, but luckily Danielle speaks French very well. She went to high school at DA so she knows how to handle situations. Yay! We ate at a local restaurant where I had chwarma (sp?). Basically it was a tortilla/flat bread with meat, french fries, tomatoes, onions, and sauce inside. (Good but different Hannah. ;) )

I went to an international church today that is in English. It was awesome. Most of the people that attend are from other African countries: Nigeria, Sierra Leone, etc. It lasted over two hours. (We never know when it'll end, just like HAC. Just kidding Pastor Ray) :) The vibrant singing and dancing were beautiful.

After church we went to the beach. I love the ocean and could get into the habit of going every weekend. The water was warm and not too rough. There were lots of guys playing soccer, people selling things (again asking us all the time), and music blaring. If I closed my eyes, it almost felt like an American beach as hip-hop and rap blared through the speakers. Then I'd be jolted back to reality by lots of voices speaking languages I don't understand: French and Wolof. Everytime someone approached, I would look blankly at Danielle who would answer. The people next to us offered us juice so we couldn't refuse. It was sort of a maalox consistency and taste with a bit of fruit. Interesting but that's life abroad.

I hope to start running tomorrow. That may be an adventure. My goal is to hopefully be able to run the sandhill with the soccer players but we'll see what happens. I was huffing and puffing walking up a teeny-tiny incline from the beach. :)

More to come...

by popular demand

I took some pictures this morning from my apartment.
This is a view from the roof. There are a lot of unfinished buildings in Dakar. People invest their money in buildings so when they can afford a wall, they build it. It may take several years before they can build another wall, but this is how they slowly build their houses.
This is looking the opposite way, more towards the neighborhood. It's pretty green right now because we have had a lot of rain.

Notice that our neighbors have a trampoline. I thought that was cool. :)
This is basically the view from my bedroom window. Unfortunately the goats were not there yet, but they like to climb on this old jail. Soccer players also come and run this hill.

Things I've learned so far:

1. How to flame bread to get the bugs off. (Some people don't flame it, but I'm new so I thought I'd better.)

2. Power cuts are much better during the day. We had two last night so sleeping in 85 degree heat at night (according to my alarm clock) with no moving air can be difficult.

3. Ca va (how are you) can be used as a question, answer, all around term. (Thanks Anne for teaching this to me and having me practice.)

4. Eggs can be left on the counter. That's where we keep ours anyway.

5. There are not as many mosquitos as I thought there would be. Yay!

Well I better go work in my classroom. More pics and updates to come.

Stay tuned. :)