So, I live about a 10 minute daladala ride from Tukuyu. It took me 45 minutes today to get to Tukuyu. Argh. And during that 45 minutes, I had to argue with the driver about the price of the fare (he tried to charge me 1000 Ts /=, the fare is 500/=...and it's weird, even as I was arguing with him, I felt ridiculous - I was arguing about less than 50 cents. But it's the principle of it.), fend off people asking me for money (because, I'm a mzungu, I must be rich), fend off men hitting on me, and try to pretend not to be totally miserable. But after 45 minutes, I reached my destination. I am dreading going back...
Other than that, things are going well. I spent last weekend at Matema Beach (Lake Malawi) with Theo, Kate, Deb, and 5 of the kids from the Olive Branch. The Olive Branch is an NGO that takes care of orphans. I am not calling it an orphange, because it is not. There are a total of 14 kids, and they're much more like a family than an orphanage. All the kids were great. Many of them had never been to a beach before, so it was really fun to watch them swim and play in the sand...and get to be kids. Not to mention, it was really fun to be on Lake Nyasa with my friends and get to go swimming and WEAR PANTS! It was really gorgeous. Unfortunately my replacement camera broke, so there are no pictures. You'll have to take my word for it. Good news is that I should be getting my camera (the one that was stolen was found!) back in February.
Things are going really well at site. I am making some friends, and learning some Swahili. I had about a half hour argument (mind you, mostly in Swahili - some English words thrown in) yesterday with two of the teachers about how they thought I was damned to hell because I didn't think drinking beer was wrong, if done in moderation. They insisted that I never drank again becaue the bible says you shouldnt. I tried to explain that I don't think the bible should be interpretted totally literally and that you need to find the message behind the words. So, I thought the bible meant that you shouldn't drink in excess and since I don't, hamna shida. But they disagreed thoroughly, so I brought up the example of how the bible says that the sun moves across the earth. And this is obviously untrue. The sun is stationary, and the earth moves. At which point they told me I was being to scientific, and that I should never ever have even 1 beer. I changed the subject. But, no harm done...they made me dinner last night!
I hear that the snow has finally arrived back in the states! That's fun. I hope everyone is staying warm and having a great holiday season!
the end
10 years ago
The sun isn't stationary. The entire solar system is moving inside a galaxy that’s moving inside a universe that's moving and expanding. How are you supposed to be teaching physics if you’re not even schooled on the basics? That’s it, I need to come over there to make sure those kids start getting a proper education and you don’t start telling them the earth is a cubical block that the universe revolves around.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry about your frustrating transportation experience and frustrating conversation with your fellow teachers especially the beer and the bible thing.
How do the teachers feel about wine? Do they have a problem with Jesus turning water into wine in John 2, or do they object to 1 Tim 5:23 that suggests drinking wine is a good thing or better yet, how do they celebrate the Lord's Supper? Or are they asking you to be John the Baptist (aka a Nazerite - see Numbers 6). I believe the most appropriate reference is Romans 14:19-21 that talks about eat and drink and being at peace (not causing another to stumble).
Be encouraged and thanks for doing this very good thing.