Hello,
The power is back on, the internet is working, and I am ready to blog.
Yesterday was a unexpectedly crazy day. Brian (he is a missionary, he is the one with 5 kids under 7, I might have messed up that age before, but Julie is 7) told me that there were some kids in their program (Hope Alive!) that were from the deaf school. So Dorothy (who is a Ugandan that works for Hope Alive!) took me to the deaf school because she has been their contact. We went via public, taking a taxi (remember that is actually van that runs like a bus) to the school…in the pouring rain. We waited about an hour to talk to the headmistress. I told her about my project and she seemed skeptical. I am not sure exactly what she is skeptical about, but she sure seemed it. Skeptical that she will be able to help me? That I can do this research project? I don’t know, but after some convincing she agreed to meet with me next week. So that is the plan.
So shortly after I got home, I got another call from Brian. He invited me to dinner with his family at a restaurant in Garden City (the mall). I’m sorry, I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but I remember that its theme was Native Americans. No joke. It had a ton of things for kids to do – two trampolines, a kids movie playing, three videogame consoles, places to color, and probably more. So needless to say it’s a great restaurant for a family with 5 energetic kids. I had a cheeseburger and chips (French fries). But I need to tell you about the horrible realization that I had during this meal. I have forgotten what American Heinz ketchup tastes like. This is how I know: Heinz ketchup is hard to find in
This is Abby. She is two. And she pretty much always looks like this, even when she’s not on a trampoline.
Here is a picture of Brian and the youngest two kids, Emily and Christian, who are both 1 year old. They are climbing out of the enclosed trampoline.
So today has been incredibly low key. I went to the bank and bought airtime for my cell phone. But for the rest of the day I have been working on my research and reading for pleasure.
Pineapple is so much better here; it is a lot sweeter. We had it with ice cream tonight. The ice cream was vanilla, strawberry, and lime flavored. It was actually a really good combination.
So that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow looks like it will be another eventful day. And a shout out to Grandpa – get better so I can come visit in September (I love you too Grandma)!
Sarah
2 comments:
When I first went to Cuba, tagging along with a group from the Divinty School, we were taken to visit a school for the blind outside Havana. We were given a tour, and then taken into a school gym where we were treated to a brief, 2 or 3 song concert by several students from the school who were part of the school's choir. The song I remember was Guantanamera, probably the most well-known Cuban song of all. The lead vocals were handled by a boy who was maybe 12 years old, and his voice was clear and angelic and perfectly on key. It was wonderful and sad at the same time. My lesson from this: our visit mattered to these kids because we opened a window into a world outside of their normal day-to-day lives. Although we felt like we were visiting their country, and spending time in their lives, they very much felt like we brought our world (and our lives) with us.
I remember when I was living in Mexico on a student exchange program, I fell in love with the food that my Mexican Mom made for us. When I got home to the USA, the first thing I wanted was a MacDonalds Big MAC. But when I tried it, it was AWFUL! It had no taste to me.
For the first two weeks after returning from Mexico, I shopped at a Mexican food store in Los Angeles and cooked my own meals at home (foods my Mexican Mom taught me how to make) cuz all the American stuff was too bland for me.
But eventually, my tastebuds got back to normal. Yours will too.
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