More updates.

On Saturday, Tim, John, Sherri, Abdu, Daayibu and I went on a hike on a nearby mountain. It was pretty exhausting but I’m glad I went. We got pretty high up and I tried to take the best pictures I could but the area is so dusty you can’t see as well as I would like. These mountains are pretty close to where we’re living. It took no more than five minutes to walk to the start of them. I’ve never lived anywhere where I can just look in the backyard and see gigantic mountains. It seems so out of place but I like it. We started at 7:30 in the morning. It took a little over two hours to get up and a little under two hours to get back down. If anyone that went on the past Vermont trip is reading this, it was equivalent to that exhausting of a hike. When we got back I took a shower, ate some cereal, rested for a little bit and then organized the shop a little more.

In the late afternoon Bob, Tim, John, Bethany, Abdu and I played soccer. Bethany, John and Bob’s team won 6-5. For dinner we had beans and rice with tomatoes and onions. After dinner Bethany, Sherri, John and I played a card game called Dutch blitz. I had never played it before but it was fun. It’s a very fast paced game with everyone slapping down cards on the table in sequential order as fast as they can. I’m more of a thinking card game type of player. After Dutch blitz, Joan, Bethany, Sherri and I played a game of hearts (thank you very much Julie/Julie’s family for teaching me how). It was a lot of fun. Pretty soon I think we may play a game of canasta and I’ll teach everyone how to play spades at some point (thanks again to Julie/Julie’s family). Mom, I think I forgot to pack the deck of cards you bought me for Christmas but I did grab another deck that was laying around in my room during my last minute, hectic packing. So it’s okay, I have some cards. After playing hearts we all went to bed.

Today I woke up at 8:45 and headed to church at 9. It’s just a quick walk up the road. The service lasted a little over two hours. It started out with some lively singing, in English. Then there were some announcements. Then there was some more singing in a native language. Next came a Bible reading, some more singing and then the sermon. It was spoken in English by the pastor and translated every few sentences or so into a native language. Then there was some more singing, the offering, and then the benediction. The service was pretty lively and just about everyone claps in rhythm to the songs. Many of the men were dressed in collared shirts and slacks while the women were in colorful dresses.

I’d say the thing I miss the most about being in America, besides my close friends and family of course, is the variety of foods. Oh my goodness we don’t know how good we have it with the simplicity of going out to a grocery store with a wide selection of goods. For the most part it seems people eat a lot of bread with jam, cheese or butter. Dinner at the Lokkers has been wonderful every night. Friday night was taco night and it reminded me of being home when my mom would make us tacos. Delicious. The Lokkers have all been very nice and generous in opening up their home to me for meals and socializing. I’m very blessed to have them right now.

Cleanliness isn’t nearly as big here as it is in the states. I’m not sure how often people in this area take showers, maybe once every other day or every couple days. One thing is for sure: not everyone uses deodorant. It’s okay though. It doesn’t bother me as much as you’d think it might. Also, I gather people don't wash their hands as often here as they do in the states. And it isn't a big deal if you touch someone else's food. This trip has made me quite a bit more relaxed about germs as result. I kind of have to be. I used to carry hand sanitizer with me a lot in the states but now I don’t worry about it. As long as I wash my hands after going to the bathroom or being in the shop, it’s all good. I went from one extreme to the other: working at Subway we could NEVER touch a person’s food. We had to always use plastic gloves to handle food but here it’s just whatever.

I forgot to say in my last blog at one point on the way to Banyo, when Bob and I passed a few little children on the side of the road, they shouted, “Nasaara, nasaara!” Nasaara comes from the Arabic word for “Jesus of Nazareth” but they just use it to describe any white person since the majority of white people in this region are Christians. I thought it was pretty funny.

I’d have to say I’m enjoying the weather here much more than in NJ. I definitely prefer dry heat to bitter cold. The nights are cool but not so cold I need to wear anything more than a t-shirt and pants. It’s pleasant. My hands are doing much better. They’re not red and cracked anymore like they were this past fall and winter in NJ.

That’s it for now! Until next time…