• Every day, I looked out the window of the house I was staying in and saw two large sheets lying on the pavement outside, COVERED in dark red peppers, drying in the sun. I also looked out to see slums in one direction and very nice homes and neighborhoods in another. There is hardly any space between the two... between anything, really, since this is a crowded city.
• I haven’t been sick... yet. :) Keep praying, though. Thank you!
• There are more older people out and about living life like others. I don’t know if that is because people here just look old or if it is because there are no homes that people in the States put older people in or if it is because people here are in better shape at an older age. The little bitty babies, on the other hand, are usually not taken out until older so I haven’t seen many infants.
• The dating scene isn’t seen. People are very private with their relationships and with guy/girl affection. They date privately before really letting their friends and family know about the relationship. If it tells you anything, I saw more guys holding hands with guys (a sign of very good friendship) than with girls.
• Another gender observation: in homes, sometimes women didn’t really seem to introduce themselves to the men in the home unless spoken to first. And, men are served before the women.
• 65% of people are unemployed here. Some people that are unemployed, though, still have money because they have relatives in other countries making money and sending it home.
• Some people here don’t call themselves black. They are “macchiato.” (I guess that goes back to their love for coffee!)
• Internet exists, slowly. Many people who have it have dial-up.
• Good water pressure happens when the shower head is higher up because the water can gain speed as the gravity pulls it down. :) Okay, not really... but maybe sometimes. That was at least the impression I got upon arrival when I asked one of the girls in the house about the showers. She told me something about how one shower was better than another because of the water falling further. :) She was right.
So sorry that those thoughts and observations were seemingly not important... they were just some things I had noted during my time here and I suppose they didn’t fit specifically in any blog so far. :)
And now for a little of my thoughts on my time here:
• One of my biggest surprises: What I see here is what I expected to be SOMEwhere... but not EVERYwhere. (We see videos and hear stories about Africa. And, with those exposures to a continent far away, we gain perceptions. However, I didn’t really believe that the life in Africa that I see on videos and hear stores about really is so widespread.) It is hard to explain. I guess the best way to say it is that I had a hard time seeing a lot of pain, deformity, sadness, loneliness, hunger and poverty. And, I know I didn’t see but a glimpse.
• One of the most surprising things I saw: Thousands of wandering, roaming people out on the streets at every hour of the day. It seemed that lots of people were simply standing around doing nothing. Coming from such a productivity-focused culture, I didn’t know what to think about so many people who didn’t seem to be completing a task. (Part of this may be another cultural aspect: in the States, we don’t often walk somewhere to get something done. However, people here must walk places to pick up things, talk to people, etc.)
• A couple things I was glad to experience were: Seeing families be a light to the nations together and seeing the projects that are in the works here with local people being involved.
One change I experienced is reflected in what I wrote in my journal:
“I saw with African eyes today. I have been blown away by people walking around all over. They seem to be aimless wanderers but I am learning that they have more purpose than I thought. They are going places, meeting people, finding food, herding animals to green pasture. Well, I started to think about what I will think about things when I go back to the States. I thought about people there and how we don’t have people everywhere walking around like here in Africa. Instead, everywhere you go, you can often see runners. People! Great! But, what is their purpose, where are they going? Back to where they started! Home! From African eyes, what kind of purpose is that?”
Coming to Africa, I hoped to see through the eyes of the Africans. I don’t know how to make that happen, but I prayed for it. I also prayed to see through God’s eyes. Still trying to figure out what all that means, but I am learning.
I wish I could write more on all of this, but it is all still being processed... more to come after Kenya, though.
Love from Africa,
Laura
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