Missed photo ops

This one I did get a picture of

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes the moment passes too quickly and words are all that's left. Today's post features the "pictures I wish I'd gotten."

How to ride a bicycle: one day while riding in a taxi I came upon a young man on a bicycle. Now the fact that he was on a bicycle wasn't all that unusual. Nor the fact that he was standing on the seat. But instead of coasting along gently, he was being towed by... no, you probably won't guess... a motorbike, and at a rather break-neck speed too. I was too slow to get a picture of it, but I'm sure your imagination can see how it happened anyway.

Rice isn't just for weddings. The other day a lady came up to me and some friends and started pelting us with uncooked rice. At first I thought maybe it was a way to scare off evil spirits. But no, it seems that she was just a little crazy.

King of the mountain: On the way to my team leaders' house I go down a hill that's normally well-decorated with goat poo. I started to wonder just how many goats lived in the area, because I normally only saw a few at a time, but there seemed to be evidence of more. Well, one night I left my team leaders' house and looked up the hill. There next to the road were quite a few large rocks. And every single rock had a goat posed on it. There were other goats less fortunate who didn't have a rock to stand on. But it seemed like someone had decided to decorate the hillside with goat statues, none of the quite-alive goats were moving. I counted them-- more than 15 goats! Well, no wonder the road was a mess.

How to extricate yourself from a fight: This might have made a better home video than just a picture. As I was walking away from my house through the neighborhood recently I came upon a group of girls and young women. A couple of them were obviously in a big discussion (read: fight)-- yelling, gesturing vehemently, etc. Others were taking sides. Seeing as they weren't physically fighting, I chose to walk past. Well, one of the two grabbed me on the way past-- "Abby, I need to ask you a question! Let's walk together." She essentially was trying to use me as a body shield so she could leave the discussion! Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. The other girl called her on it and I ended up in the middle of their "discussion."  Oops.

Count your blessings, name them one by one...

(I was looking back through my drafts folder and came upon this post. This was written in January 2016. Reading it brought back some great memories for me, so I hope you enjoy it.) 

First mango of the season

I remember a family camping trip when I was young. It ended with several inches of water in the tent, at which point we decided to pack up our things and move indoors. That was the only time we ever abandoned a camping situation. As we packed up the sopping wet canvas tent, sorted through mushy bread, and tried to salvage some not-quite-soaked-through firewood, my siblings and I (led by Mom) were singing Count Your Blessings.

Well, after complaining about the cold here, I feel as if I should give you all a list of the blessings I've encountered here in another part of Africa.

1) Borrowed items: I've been blessed with countless sweaters, a nice coat, slipper socks, and gloves as people take pity on my shivering self.

2) Hot drinks: I never stopped drinking hot coffee on Clove Island, but here in "otherAfrica" I'm on an almost constant diet of coffee and tea. Bonus: warm fingers, at least momentarily.

3) Wonderful hosts: all the people I've met here have gone out of their way to welcome me, to ask questions about my life, and include me in their life and activities.

4) Supermarkets: I absolutely love walking through a supermarket and seeing all the things for sale. I don't have to buy them even, nay, the sheer joy of seeing such nice things for sale is enough.

5) Cheese: well, looking isn't quite enough. I'm very happy to consume cheese that's priced normally and buy pizza or sandwiches with delicious cheeses in them.

6) Reading Arabic: it's like a secret code! Granted, I read at the pace of a geriatric snail, yet it's extremely gratifying to sound out words I see on the street and even recognize some of them.

7) Experienced people: I'm learning so much! I get to have conversations with people who have been around the block a few times and love sharing their experiences with me. Why learn the hard way when there's an easier option?

8) Pre-prepared language lessons: After planning all my own lessons for the last two years, it's been amazing to just sit down with a language nurturer who's been given the lesson plan and resources in advance. I just sit and learn! No worries about what to learn next, how to learn something, how to explain what I need from my language helper, etc., I just show up for my lesson, learn, and  practice at home. Spoiled, much?

9) Kids: the other day I went and helped a friend with a creative arts class she does at a local school. The kids there were so great. Even though I didn't understand 98% of what they were saying, they still kept talking to me, showing me their art, and asking me questions as if I understood perfectly. "Oh, you're holding up messy hands with a question tone in your voice? Yes, go wash your hands!"

Well, I could keep going, but that seems like a good start. What are you blessed by today?

Cultural differences

Even though I've been living on Clove Island for awhile now, there are still some cultural differences I find funny. It's not that they're completely unexpected, because I know that people think that way, but when I consider them in light of American norms, well, it's just not the same.

Like, for instance, the issue of body weight. I was recently told "you should gain some weight before you go home so that your family isn't worried about you coming back here." Implication: fat is good and healthy. Skinny is worrisome. So if your family is worried about your health, they'll want to see that you're gaining weight, not losing it.

On a related topic, rice is food. If you haven't had rice in the day, you really haven't eaten, you've only snacked. And an islander portion of rice could feed several American families for a day. No kidding. So what's a great meal? A heaping plate/bowl/pot of rice, topped with some sauce or slow-cooked veggies and hot pepper sauce to taste. You can't imagine the looks of pity I've received when I tell someone I had eggs and bread for dinner. Or pasta. Poor Abby just doesn't eat well enough.

Then we've got the idea of safety. Surprisingly enough, we have a seat belt law and helmet law. People riding in the front seat of the car are supposed to wear a seat belt. The person driving the motorcycle (not any passengers) is required to wear a helmet. But these laws are really only enforced a couple of districts of the city, so you often see a person driving a motorcycle with his helmet in his lap, or perched precariously on *top* of his head, or hanging off the bike somewhere. Driving into the "controlled" parts of the city, people often slow down to put on their required safety wear before continuing on. And after passing through, the restraints quickly come off again.

This last one is related to the picture at the top-- babies and dressing warm. The irony struck me as I was sitting with a friend who had just given birth, admiring her newborn baby. We were fanning ourselves from the heat, but how is the baby dressed? For winter in the U.S.-- and that's normal.

Normal.