The rioting in the streets here continues. Everyone thought that the strike was over yesterday, as apparently the heads of the taxi unions made a deal to lower some prices. But the deal was so minuscule as to really be superfluous. Then came the seal on the anger and unhappiness of the people. Last night, the president announced he was going to make a speech to his people. I believe that the president here could use some lessons on diplomacy. The guy has been president for well over 25 years and people are really angry about it! But because no one wants to have a civil war or die, they've just let it slide. It appears, though, that last night the president told the people (in not so simple terms) that he really doesn't care about them at all. He acknowledged the rioting and looting and killings, and then said "I have the power and the means to stop you!" Well, if that isn't asking for trouble, I don't know what is!! And besides, if he does have that power, then why hasn't he done so? I wonder if he has any kids? This, to me, is typical parenting skills when it comes to settling disputes. You make deals; you pacify; you show love; you discuss what the differences are and try to settle them; you both do a little give and take, and everyone comes out the better, with more respect and allegiance on both sides. You don't just say, 'cut it out or I'll stop you!' If I were an angry citizen, I admit, that that would make me say, 'wanna make a bet????' So, everyone in our community here are more than a little nervous. There is still rioting, there's been reported looting and shooting (hey, that rhymes!) in the area. We've been told to limit or curtail any travel from our residences.
I've learned some very interesting things from this, though. I don't know if we'll be evacuated or not. At this moment, it is a strong possibility. Yesterday morning, as we were unpacking and putting things away, I began to lose my drive to do so. This is strange for me, as I LOVE to unpack and organize! I kept thinking to myself, "what's the point of unpacking if we're just going to have to leave and leave it all here anyway? Why should I go to the trouble if someone else is going to enjoy it?" I've been so obsessed with my shipments ever since they (the shipments) left my possession. I've worried whether they would ever come and complained about how slow they were in coming and how I just couldn't live without my stuff! Then, as I was slowly trying to organize the pantry shelves, the thought came to my mind, "Who cares if I have to leave it all behind???" I've done it before--LOTS of times!! What am I complaining about?? Yes, it took a lot of time and money to accumulate all that we have, but it IS replaceable. My family is not. My kids need stability, comfort, safety and happy parents! If I wander around sad because we might have to leave all our stuff, what message does that send to my kids, or, more importantly, to Heavenly Father? It's ok. If we get evacuated and have to leave everything behind, it will be ok! If we don't, that will be great, too! The point is, that it's not healthy to just sit around and wait. I decided to take a video inventory of everything we have for insurance purposes just in case we lose it all, and I found that as I videoed everything, I felt myself becoming detached. It was a strange sensation, but I believe it was a blessing from Heavenly Father--that if I have to let it all go, I CAN...as long as I can take my most precious possessions with me--being, of course, my children--I have all I need and more!!
Last night, Devin and I sat down and wrote down the absolute necessities of what we would need should we get the 10 minute warning. We were extremely surprised at the length of the list. It was very short!! And we wondered at why we had been putting so much stock in what we didn't have from our shipments, when we really had SO MUCH already! And that we can survive on even less! It's definitely teaching me many lessons on humility, patience and trust. Again. It's too bad that it's starting to take big huge happenings like this to remind me once again of my responsibilities to my family and my God! But, at least I remember, right? :)
This morning, when I got up, I fully intended to tackle a few remaining projects that were left from our unpacking. I started doing a few things, but just couldn't concentrate. The thought kept coming to me that I needed to pack our 'go bag' now. We may not use it, but at least it will be done and my mind will be at rest! So, I went about gathering the few things for the bag...important papers, a change of clothes and pj's, diapers and wipes, a few books and fun things for the kids, toothbrushes and toothpaste... Not much can fit into a diaper bag and one roller! But it's all we need! And after I finished, I've been able to concentrate again on my projects and my kids. Oh, I hope that's not a premonition....
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Rain Came Down
I'm really glad I started my blog! That way, I don't have to type things a million times to tell everyone, and everyone gets 'firsthand' news!
As far as evacuation, we'd be sent to our 'safehaven'. (That's a predetermined place, and I'm not sure where...) I've heard rumors that it's almost inevitable that we'll be evacuated. I've also heard rumors that it should be all fine by tomorrow or saturday. So, it's totally up in the air. I don't know if Devin would have to stay behind if we were evacuated. I feel calm, too, so I really don't know what will happen, but I'm ok with whatever does happen. I don't really want to be evac-ed. I just started to feel comfortable here. *sigh* Our guard today said that there hasn't been any destruction or violence, really, today...but there is no movement. He thinks that it should start moving over the weekend. I hope he's right. My housekeeper is still stranded. I really miss her!!!!
It rained--hard--this afternoon for the first time in a long time...so the kids and I all sat on the front porch and watched it! :) It was a nice refreshing break. It was fresh and cool, with a nice breeze! It hasn't rained in so long...and hopefully it will be that little extra blessing from the Lord that calms the people down and brings things back to 'normal'.
As far as evacuation, we'd be sent to our 'safehaven'. (That's a predetermined place, and I'm not sure where...) I've heard rumors that it's almost inevitable that we'll be evacuated. I've also heard rumors that it should be all fine by tomorrow or saturday. So, it's totally up in the air. I don't know if Devin would have to stay behind if we were evacuated. I feel calm, too, so I really don't know what will happen, but I'm ok with whatever does happen. I don't really want to be evac-ed. I just started to feel comfortable here. *sigh* Our guard today said that there hasn't been any destruction or violence, really, today...but there is no movement. He thinks that it should start moving over the weekend. I hope he's right. My housekeeper is still stranded. I really miss her!!!!
It rained--hard--this afternoon for the first time in a long time...so the kids and I all sat on the front porch and watched it! :) It was a nice refreshing break. It was fresh and cool, with a nice breeze! It hasn't rained in so long...and hopefully it will be that little extra blessing from the Lord that calms the people down and brings things back to 'normal'.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
A Quick Update
We got ALL the rest of our shipment. Our car is in Douala, has cleared customs, and was supposed to be shipped on Monday up here, but because of the rioting, etc., it will stay there for awhile. We're hoping it isn't broken into and taken apart...but if it is, we'll get the insurance money and buy a new car! Woohoo!
We did get our 'official' security notice, but it just says to take extra caution, not travel at night (duh), make sure you have enough food and water in case there isn't any for awhile (WHEW!! I'm glad we just got our 400 pounds of wheat!), and watch and listen for any problems...just have our cell phones and radios charged and turned on.
Devin just took Andrew to get the malaria test. I hope he's ok. So, we'll know within the next hour.
I miss my housekeeper...especially since my living room is CHOCK FULL of STUFF!! Lots of beans and wheat and fun stuff! :) We have our sleeper sofa all set up now, so come and visit any time! :) Ha!! But wait until the strike is over.
We did get our 'official' security notice, but it just says to take extra caution, not travel at night (duh), make sure you have enough food and water in case there isn't any for awhile (WHEW!! I'm glad we just got our 400 pounds of wheat!), and watch and listen for any problems...just have our cell phones and radios charged and turned on.
Devin just took Andrew to get the malaria test. I hope he's ok. So, we'll know within the next hour.
I miss my housekeeper...especially since my living room is CHOCK FULL of STUFF!! Lots of beans and wheat and fun stuff! :) We have our sleeper sofa all set up now, so come and visit any time! :) Ha!! But wait until the strike is over.
Strike, You're Out!
Well, here we are on this fine Tuesday morning, with breaking news from the Yaounde front. I was going to wait until everything that's been going on blows over, but I just heard that there's a slight chance that it might not. So, going on the chance that it may be awhile before I get on the internet again, let me update everyone on what's going on here with us.
Here in Cameroon, there are a LOT of taxi drivers. I mean, a LOT! And apparently, the country puts a cap on how much they can charge to drive people places. When prices of gas, etc., raises, the taxi drivers don't make any money, so every once in awhile they go on strike for a day or two hoping the government will raise the cap and let them charge a little more to make up for expenses. Well, this time, they started their strike and things are getting a bit out of control... I'm not sure when it started, but on Sunday night it got really violent in the city of Douala...a bunch of people were killed and there was shooting and riotings at the airport there. The Elders down there are stuck in their house. (Something like this happened on my mission, too...I remember being stuck in my apartment and hearing shooting and rioting and stuff...) Anyway, it hasn't stopped. I guess yesterday they let people out to loot the city. The taxis are also on strike here, and they've blocked all the roads leading in/out of Yaounde. (as a matter of fact, my housekeeper left here on Saturday, and was supposed to be back today...but she's stuck where she is until all the craziness stops...) We're hoping it doesn't get violent here in this city. It may get to the point where we're not allowed to leave our houses (meaning Devin wouldn't go in to work...) and it isn't official yet, but they're advising us to have a 'go bag' ready, just in case an evacuation is necessary. No one thinks it will go that far, but, well, just look at Chad last month! So, keep us in your prayers...we're safe, but we don't really want to get evacuated. It's usually a pretty quick thing, but apparently, this time the President isn't doing anything at all about it. Not a really smart move on his part.
On another note, Andrew got really sick yesterday. We took him in this morning, and I thought he had an ear infection. No ear infection. They tested him for bacteria/amoebas, but it tested negative. He fell asleep at 9:30 am and slept for 3 hours, and when he woke up he had a fever of 102.4. I gave him some ibuprofen and it's gone down, but he is supposed to go in this afternoon for a malaria check. Please pray it's not malaria!!! I don't want to be med-evac-ed to Paris for a month. I don't speak French well enough, and it would be miserable...and Malaria in infants is not cool.
We're supposed to get our last shipment of HHE and consumables this afternoon...so I'm hoping for that so we can have some food in case this strike continues and we're not allowed to leave our houses to go shopping.
But, on a higher note...maybe a high C...I feel much better today than I did yesterday! :) And Josh and Claire are doing well, too! :) And so is Devin!
Here in Cameroon, there are a LOT of taxi drivers. I mean, a LOT! And apparently, the country puts a cap on how much they can charge to drive people places. When prices of gas, etc., raises, the taxi drivers don't make any money, so every once in awhile they go on strike for a day or two hoping the government will raise the cap and let them charge a little more to make up for expenses. Well, this time, they started their strike and things are getting a bit out of control... I'm not sure when it started, but on Sunday night it got really violent in the city of Douala...a bunch of people were killed and there was shooting and riotings at the airport there. The Elders down there are stuck in their house. (Something like this happened on my mission, too...I remember being stuck in my apartment and hearing shooting and rioting and stuff...) Anyway, it hasn't stopped. I guess yesterday they let people out to loot the city. The taxis are also on strike here, and they've blocked all the roads leading in/out of Yaounde. (as a matter of fact, my housekeeper left here on Saturday, and was supposed to be back today...but she's stuck where she is until all the craziness stops...) We're hoping it doesn't get violent here in this city. It may get to the point where we're not allowed to leave our houses (meaning Devin wouldn't go in to work...) and it isn't official yet, but they're advising us to have a 'go bag' ready, just in case an evacuation is necessary. No one thinks it will go that far, but, well, just look at Chad last month! So, keep us in your prayers...we're safe, but we don't really want to get evacuated. It's usually a pretty quick thing, but apparently, this time the President isn't doing anything at all about it. Not a really smart move on his part.
On another note, Andrew got really sick yesterday. We took him in this morning, and I thought he had an ear infection. No ear infection. They tested him for bacteria/amoebas, but it tested negative. He fell asleep at 9:30 am and slept for 3 hours, and when he woke up he had a fever of 102.4. I gave him some ibuprofen and it's gone down, but he is supposed to go in this afternoon for a malaria check. Please pray it's not malaria!!! I don't want to be med-evac-ed to Paris for a month. I don't speak French well enough, and it would be miserable...and Malaria in infants is not cool.
We're supposed to get our last shipment of HHE and consumables this afternoon...so I'm hoping for that so we can have some food in case this strike continues and we're not allowed to leave our houses to go shopping.
But, on a higher note...maybe a high C...I feel much better today than I did yesterday! :) And Josh and Claire are doing well, too! :) And so is Devin!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Another Day
Well, today was not one of our best days. I think part of the reason was that we didn't have anything planned to do...at all... and when there are no plans, nothing really gets done. It took Josh until after lunch to finally get dressed. Andrew is sick (I think it might be an ear infection...I'm taking him in to the Dr tomorrow morning for a check up). Claire was restless. I couldn't concentrate on anything, hoping that our shipment would get here today. Well, it didn't. It's coming in the morning, which is ok, too. Tomorrow is going to be a VERY busy day!
We did all get attacked by a gigantic dragonfly today, though! I left the door open, and when I walked back inside, something big and buzzy hit the back of my head, then proceeded to make himself at home!! Ha! None of us thought that was funny. Josh and Claire barricaded themselves in the kitchen while I tried to shoo the thing out. I opened up the patio door from the dining room and it flew out...only to turn around and fly back in the front door! Ha!! then, I couldn't find it. It would come flying out at random times to make an appearance, then disappear again. We turned on all the air conditioners on high, hoping that it would get cold and slow down. Apparently, it worked! It decided to hang out with a big bunch of boxes, and when I went to shoo it out, it just half-heartedly flew up, then into a big box. So, I closed the box up, took it outside, and it flew away! (This all took about 4 hours!! The kids screamed a lot when the poor dragonfly was dive bombing around the rooms looking for a way out...and, I admit, I joined them a few times!!)
We did all get attacked by a gigantic dragonfly today, though! I left the door open, and when I walked back inside, something big and buzzy hit the back of my head, then proceeded to make himself at home!! Ha! None of us thought that was funny. Josh and Claire barricaded themselves in the kitchen while I tried to shoo the thing out. I opened up the patio door from the dining room and it flew out...only to turn around and fly back in the front door! Ha!! then, I couldn't find it. It would come flying out at random times to make an appearance, then disappear again. We turned on all the air conditioners on high, hoping that it would get cold and slow down. Apparently, it worked! It decided to hang out with a big bunch of boxes, and when I went to shoo it out, it just half-heartedly flew up, then into a big box. So, I closed the box up, took it outside, and it flew away! (This all took about 4 hours!! The kids screamed a lot when the poor dragonfly was dive bombing around the rooms looking for a way out...and, I admit, I joined them a few times!!)
Wise Sayings
1. Josh's prayer the other night:
"Bless Uncle Danny that he can be safe from all the bad guys and not be dead, that he can always win, and that he can have lots and lots of food to eat like he always likes to do!" (I have NO idea where any of that came from...)
2. I was teaching the kids about consequences to choices the other day. Later that evening, I heard this conversation:
Claire: "If you don't give me that [toy] Josh, you're going to have consequences!"
Josh: "What are consequences?"
Claire: "Consequences are the things that you eat with noodles and broccoli and sausage!"
Josh: "Mmmm, that sounds good!"
3. After Josh cut Claire's hair, I gathered it all up in a baggie and showed it to Claire.
Claire: "Can you put it back on?"
Mom: "No, sorry, you have to wait for it to grow back."
Claire: "Well, I'll just take a bath and my hair will grow back!"
"Bless Uncle Danny that he can be safe from all the bad guys and not be dead, that he can always win, and that he can have lots and lots of food to eat like he always likes to do!" (I have NO idea where any of that came from...)
2. I was teaching the kids about consequences to choices the other day. Later that evening, I heard this conversation:
Claire: "If you don't give me that [toy] Josh, you're going to have consequences!"
Josh: "What are consequences?"
Claire: "Consequences are the things that you eat with noodles and broccoli and sausage!"
Josh: "Mmmm, that sounds good!"
3. After Josh cut Claire's hair, I gathered it all up in a baggie and showed it to Claire.
Claire: "Can you put it back on?"
Mom: "No, sorry, you have to wait for it to grow back."
Claire: "Well, I'll just take a bath and my hair will grow back!"
Friday, February 22, 2008
Unpacking and Life Begins...
When we were unpacking the kids were so excited to have lots of fun toys, but, as is normal with small children, the excitement was sadly temporary! Because, off to the side was (drumroll please) packing paper!!! Piles and piles of packing paper!! They used it as houses and tunnels, and had a ball!!
It's such a breath of fresh air having outside toys to play with finally! They can spend hours and hours out there riding around! And there's hardly any fighting at all!!! Andrew is just learning how to ride his 'bike'. I can see him going slowly--and backwards--into the garage!! :) What a funny kid! Just yesterday he started to figure out how to make himself go forward, but the backward thing was sure funny!! :)
Another fun update from us, I talked to Devin, and our last shipment is HERE! It's at the airport! But, because today is a half day (as is every Friday...but I have absolutely no complaints about that...) they're not going to pick it up today, so it'll be here Monday!!! AND our car is in Douala (the coastal city) and should be here to our house either Monday or Tuesday!!! Whew!! So, next week, we should be all set again and have all our stuff... That will be nice. And just in time, too, as I think that we have just enough diapers to get us through the weekend! :P
And here's a super cute picture of the kids sitting on the living room table.
It's such a breath of fresh air having outside toys to play with finally! They can spend hours and hours out there riding around! And there's hardly any fighting at all!!! Andrew is just learning how to ride his 'bike'. I can see him going slowly--and backwards--into the garage!! :) What a funny kid! Just yesterday he started to figure out how to make himself go forward, but the backward thing was sure funny!! :)
Another fun update from us, I talked to Devin, and our last shipment is HERE! It's at the airport! But, because today is a half day (as is every Friday...but I have absolutely no complaints about that...) they're not going to pick it up today, so it'll be here Monday!!! AND our car is in Douala (the coastal city) and should be here to our house either Monday or Tuesday!!! Whew!! So, next week, we should be all set again and have all our stuff... That will be nice. And just in time, too, as I think that we have just enough diapers to get us through the weekend! :P
And here's a super cute picture of the kids sitting on the living room table.
First Hair Cut
Ah, yes. The joy and the sorrow of the first haircut. It's always that great milestone in a baby's life--when, in my eyes, they are no longer a baby! They're growing up. There was one difference with this first haircut today. It wasn't the first time of this little person's hair being cut. It was the first time of this little person's cutting someone else's hair. I admit, I wasn't paying attention as I should have been. I was looking up a few things on the internet. The children were quietly playing (which should have given me a clue as to what was going on...), and when I came downstairs, I saw hair all over the living room, and this:
Yes, Claire now looks like a boy. Josh found a package of scissors. Naively, I thought that since they were still in the package, it would deter him. Not Josh! He opened them up, and Claire asked for a haircut! So, he gave it to her! Lucky I caught it when I did, or there would have been even less. I think this is something that almost every mom of little girls has to go through (at least once)...so I admit that it was somewhere in the back of my head, but I really wasn't prepared to come downstairs and see all the sweet curly bouncy locks shorn off of my sweet beautiful little girl! I cried and cried...and still tear up a bit when I look at her. I know there are worse things, but it was a shock! She's still beautiful and sweet, and it will grow back, and Josh isn't allowed to use scissors for awhile...
Yes, Claire now looks like a boy. Josh found a package of scissors. Naively, I thought that since they were still in the package, it would deter him. Not Josh! He opened them up, and Claire asked for a haircut! So, he gave it to her! Lucky I caught it when I did, or there would have been even less. I think this is something that almost every mom of little girls has to go through (at least once)...so I admit that it was somewhere in the back of my head, but I really wasn't prepared to come downstairs and see all the sweet curly bouncy locks shorn off of my sweet beautiful little girl! I cried and cried...and still tear up a bit when I look at her. I know there are worse things, but it was a shock! She's still beautiful and sweet, and it will grow back, and Josh isn't allowed to use scissors for awhile...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Shipment #1 is HERE!
Yes, you heard right. Shipment number one...But I digress. There's been so much going on (little small things all add up so quickly) and I haven't had a moment's rest, but now I want to do some updating so everyone will know we're still alive and kicking!
Tuesday was another beautiful super hot day here in downtown (well, not really downtown) Yaounde, Cameroon. It started a new thing for Josh. Every single Tuesday and Thursday here they have playgroup for the little kids who aren't in school. So, since Josh isn't in school yet, he goes, too. He's surrounded by 1-3 year olds (it seems that EVERYONE here sends their kids to preschool once they hit about 3-4) and quite frankly, acted like them, too! I was discussing this problem with my neighbor who homeschools her kids. Well, she invited Josh to join them with their homeschool during playgroup time! I asked Josh if he'd like that, and his eyes got really big and shiny and his grin was contagious! He was SO excited about that idea! I don't know how much sleep he got, he was just so excited! and telling anyone who would listen that he was going to go to 'school'!! I felt so much gratitude for my neighbor in suggesting this. I just haven't know what to do! I know he's too old for the group, but what else could I do? I could keep him here and do our homeschool stuff, but he wants to be with other kids...so it solved the problem! So, Tuesday morning, Claire and Andrew went with Pascaline to go to playgroup, and Josh and I went next door for 'school'. It was fantastically wonderful!! Josh sat still, listening intently to everything, and participating when appropriate, and even came up with some answers that I didn't know he knew! good job, Josh!! They learned about sound and how it works (natural vs man-made, and vibration...) and after all their activities, etc., he turns to me and says, "Mom, that was FUN! Now I know what Vibrating is!!!" It was so cute! He was on cloud nine all day! I was so pleased and happy! He's becoming much more content here, and his uncontrollable tantrums have lessened. This move was much harder on him than any of us expected it to be, but he's coming out of it (and so am I! HA!!), and will be the better for it. He's such a good, smart kid. He's going to love going to school here in the Fall!!
Anyway, we got home from 'school'/playgroup, and after I had put Andrew down for a nap, we got a phone call--confirming that we'd be home to receive 3 cartons of our shipment!! WOOHOO!!!! Of course!!! I would have cancelled anything in order to be there! :) Well, we rushed around trying to get things straightened (again) and ready. Pascaline was frantically trying to finish doing the dishes before she couldn't do them anymore and i was trying to get Josh and claire to help me to clean up their toys... Well, the guys came early!! Oh dear!! And Pascaline hadn't yet eaten!! So, I made her sit and eat while the guys started unloading the cartons (and when I thought of cartons, I was thinking about the size of the boxes they sent our air baggage in -- see the pictures of Josh and Claire's houses in a previous posting--but, no, they were about 5 times the size!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and she sat down to eat FRIED PLANTAINS!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, the smell took me all the way to Guatemala and I started drooling and told her I LOVED fried plantains...and she said she'd bring me some... Ok, anyway, the guys unloaded box after box after box...good grief!!! It just kept coming!! And this was just under half!! We have 4 more cartons still on their way!! Of course, in those cartons come our sleeper sofa, dual recliner, and 2 lazy boy recliners...and our consumables... We got all kinds of fun things!! Like my wonderful Bosch! :) And all my dishes...and not one of the daisy dishes broke!! Wow!!!! I was so impressed! And I now have short sleeved shirts and capris!! YEA!! And towels and sheets and blankets...and our piano made it intact and happy! Anyway, I could go on, but sufficeth to say, it came. And there was much rejoicing! :) We worked super hard for 2 hours with non-stop picking up and moving and by the time Devin got home, Ndumbi (Pascaline) and I were kind of in a stupor! Ha!! And I, sillyhead that I am, did all this sans shoes, and boy did my feet hurt! It wouldn't have been so bad if we'd had carpet, but we only have the nice hard tile floors...
Anyway, Devin and I worked until super late unpacking every single last thing and trying to put it away as best we could. He took Wednesday off to help unpack and put things together, which was really really nice!! We now have pretty much everything all squared away and it's getting so nice and cozy! :) Hopefully next week we'll get the rest, because we didn't get any of Andrew's diapers in this shipment, and he's almost out!!!! :?/
So, Wednesday morning, true to her word, Pascaline brought me plantains!!! Woohoo!! And since I'm retarded and have never made them before, she just laughed at me, and cooked us breakfast! :) We had fried plantains with black beans and feta cheese...oh, it was heavenly!!! This morning, I made them myself, and it turned out great!! I wonder why I never did this in the states? Oh, probably because the plantains taste differently there. Oh, they're so ripe and good here!! mmmmmmmmm....
Anyway, Yesterday I was working in the playroom, getting everything sorted out, and I looked out the window at the garden, and saw the green beans were all loaded with beans!!! I've never seen anything like it!! So, I grabbed and garbage sack and ran out and picked a full 'Walmart' bag of green beans!! Mmmmmm... I gave some to Ndumbi and we had them (along with some super yummy Quinoa) for dinner!! Very healthy and satisfying and tasty!! It's fun to have so many vegetarian meals here. meat is SOOOOOOO expensive, so we use it very sparingly. But, it's better that way anyway, right??
So, our house is a little more cozy, we're doing well...today was playgroup again, but they couldn't do school due to some scheduling things, but it was ok, because the lady who was hosting playgroup today has older kids (about Josh's age) and they were out of school for a break right now, so Josh had big kids to play with and do big kid things with. That was good. He tends to throw more tantrums when he's with the younger crowd, so I'm happy to see him acting more his age. Andrew is becoming much more calm, and is getting better about not being so clingy. I think he realizes that I'm not leaving him, and he's getting more used to his surroundings, so it's all good. Claire is still silly. She changes her clothes a MINIMUM of 5 times a day now, because now that we got all her 'new' clothes (from the shipment) she wants to wear them all in a matter of one week. I don't know that our washing machine can take much more of that! (Normally, I wouldn't wash them, I'd just put them back...but if Ndumbi finds any clothing article on the floor or lying around, she just throws it in the washer. Funny.)
I have lots and lots of pictures and videos to put up, but I'm tired, and Devin is watching My Fair Lady without me!!! (We watched The Ten Commandments --Charlton Heston-- over Sunday and Monday, so I guess he's ready for another epic!) So, since tomorrow is Friday, I will do the videos tomorrow! :)
Tuesday was another beautiful super hot day here in downtown (well, not really downtown) Yaounde, Cameroon. It started a new thing for Josh. Every single Tuesday and Thursday here they have playgroup for the little kids who aren't in school. So, since Josh isn't in school yet, he goes, too. He's surrounded by 1-3 year olds (it seems that EVERYONE here sends their kids to preschool once they hit about 3-4) and quite frankly, acted like them, too! I was discussing this problem with my neighbor who homeschools her kids. Well, she invited Josh to join them with their homeschool during playgroup time! I asked Josh if he'd like that, and his eyes got really big and shiny and his grin was contagious! He was SO excited about that idea! I don't know how much sleep he got, he was just so excited! and telling anyone who would listen that he was going to go to 'school'!! I felt so much gratitude for my neighbor in suggesting this. I just haven't know what to do! I know he's too old for the group, but what else could I do? I could keep him here and do our homeschool stuff, but he wants to be with other kids...so it solved the problem! So, Tuesday morning, Claire and Andrew went with Pascaline to go to playgroup, and Josh and I went next door for 'school'. It was fantastically wonderful!! Josh sat still, listening intently to everything, and participating when appropriate, and even came up with some answers that I didn't know he knew! good job, Josh!! They learned about sound and how it works (natural vs man-made, and vibration...) and after all their activities, etc., he turns to me and says, "Mom, that was FUN! Now I know what Vibrating is!!!" It was so cute! He was on cloud nine all day! I was so pleased and happy! He's becoming much more content here, and his uncontrollable tantrums have lessened. This move was much harder on him than any of us expected it to be, but he's coming out of it (and so am I! HA!!), and will be the better for it. He's such a good, smart kid. He's going to love going to school here in the Fall!!
Anyway, we got home from 'school'/playgroup, and after I had put Andrew down for a nap, we got a phone call--confirming that we'd be home to receive 3 cartons of our shipment!! WOOHOO!!!! Of course!!! I would have cancelled anything in order to be there! :) Well, we rushed around trying to get things straightened (again) and ready. Pascaline was frantically trying to finish doing the dishes before she couldn't do them anymore and i was trying to get Josh and claire to help me to clean up their toys... Well, the guys came early!! Oh dear!! And Pascaline hadn't yet eaten!! So, I made her sit and eat while the guys started unloading the cartons (and when I thought of cartons, I was thinking about the size of the boxes they sent our air baggage in -- see the pictures of Josh and Claire's houses in a previous posting--but, no, they were about 5 times the size!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and she sat down to eat FRIED PLANTAINS!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, the smell took me all the way to Guatemala and I started drooling and told her I LOVED fried plantains...and she said she'd bring me some... Ok, anyway, the guys unloaded box after box after box...good grief!!! It just kept coming!! And this was just under half!! We have 4 more cartons still on their way!! Of course, in those cartons come our sleeper sofa, dual recliner, and 2 lazy boy recliners...and our consumables... We got all kinds of fun things!! Like my wonderful Bosch! :) And all my dishes...and not one of the daisy dishes broke!! Wow!!!! I was so impressed! And I now have short sleeved shirts and capris!! YEA!! And towels and sheets and blankets...and our piano made it intact and happy! Anyway, I could go on, but sufficeth to say, it came. And there was much rejoicing! :) We worked super hard for 2 hours with non-stop picking up and moving and by the time Devin got home, Ndumbi (Pascaline) and I were kind of in a stupor! Ha!! And I, sillyhead that I am, did all this sans shoes, and boy did my feet hurt! It wouldn't have been so bad if we'd had carpet, but we only have the nice hard tile floors...
Anyway, Devin and I worked until super late unpacking every single last thing and trying to put it away as best we could. He took Wednesday off to help unpack and put things together, which was really really nice!! We now have pretty much everything all squared away and it's getting so nice and cozy! :) Hopefully next week we'll get the rest, because we didn't get any of Andrew's diapers in this shipment, and he's almost out!!!! :?/
So, Wednesday morning, true to her word, Pascaline brought me plantains!!! Woohoo!! And since I'm retarded and have never made them before, she just laughed at me, and cooked us breakfast! :) We had fried plantains with black beans and feta cheese...oh, it was heavenly!!! This morning, I made them myself, and it turned out great!! I wonder why I never did this in the states? Oh, probably because the plantains taste differently there. Oh, they're so ripe and good here!! mmmmmmmmm....
Anyway, Yesterday I was working in the playroom, getting everything sorted out, and I looked out the window at the garden, and saw the green beans were all loaded with beans!!! I've never seen anything like it!! So, I grabbed and garbage sack and ran out and picked a full 'Walmart' bag of green beans!! Mmmmmm... I gave some to Ndumbi and we had them (along with some super yummy Quinoa) for dinner!! Very healthy and satisfying and tasty!! It's fun to have so many vegetarian meals here. meat is SOOOOOOO expensive, so we use it very sparingly. But, it's better that way anyway, right??
So, our house is a little more cozy, we're doing well...today was playgroup again, but they couldn't do school due to some scheduling things, but it was ok, because the lady who was hosting playgroup today has older kids (about Josh's age) and they were out of school for a break right now, so Josh had big kids to play with and do big kid things with. That was good. He tends to throw more tantrums when he's with the younger crowd, so I'm happy to see him acting more his age. Andrew is becoming much more calm, and is getting better about not being so clingy. I think he realizes that I'm not leaving him, and he's getting more used to his surroundings, so it's all good. Claire is still silly. She changes her clothes a MINIMUM of 5 times a day now, because now that we got all her 'new' clothes (from the shipment) she wants to wear them all in a matter of one week. I don't know that our washing machine can take much more of that! (Normally, I wouldn't wash them, I'd just put them back...but if Ndumbi finds any clothing article on the floor or lying around, she just throws it in the washer. Funny.)
I have lots and lots of pictures and videos to put up, but I'm tired, and Devin is watching My Fair Lady without me!!! (We watched The Ten Commandments --Charlton Heston-- over Sunday and Monday, so I guess he's ready for another epic!) So, since tomorrow is Friday, I will do the videos tomorrow! :)
Monday, February 18, 2008
Art Show
*Sigh* My house is just feeling back to normal again. Our friends that have been staying with us left last week, and I must admit that I was sad to see them go. It was really fun to have someone stay here with us! They were here for almost 2 weeks, and, to me anyway, it didn't seem like very long at all! It was almost like having family here! :) We would all hang out after the kids were asleep and just chat or watch a silly movie (Flushed Away and Meet the Robinson's were big hits, I think!) or play a game (Mega-Death Uno!!! YEA!!!) and just enjoyed ourselves. Not that we don't do that stuff after the kids go to bed anyway, but it's been quite a long time since we've played 4 person games with four adults...and without the kids trying to interrupt every few seconds! :)
So, I haven't written more than a few words here and there...but I suppose there isn't lots to tell. I'm feeling much more comfortable here now. I don't have panic attacks every time someone leaves the front door open for longer than a millisecond, and I've even gone outside AFTER DARK!!! (just to take the trash out) We're starting to feel a little more comfortable with the language, too, and while I'm not fluent in speaking, I can understand almost everything anyone says to me (even though I look really silly when they ask me something, and I sit there for a minute trying to do some translations in my head...English->Spanish->French...) and I understand even more written French, so we're getting better. Between the two of us (Devin and I) we can translate all of our church materials and other things in French, so that's fun. I am thoroughly enjoying my little English class! We have so much fun! Hopefully, they're learning, and surprisingly, I'm learning lots of French from them!! :) They're cute little kids! I think this has to be my favorite calling of all time! I've never had a primary calling before, and I LOVE it!!! I'm enjoying being with Joshua right now, too, as he is struggling, but he sits on my lap during singing time, and if I know a song in English, then many times I'll sing it in his ear, or I'll sing the song in French and translate it for him, and I translate all the things the teachers say for him so he doesn't feel so left out when he doesn't understand. At first I was afraid that this calling would be bad for my kids, since they don't usually behave very well in social settings if I'm around, but I think it's a very good thing. Heavenly Father knows what He's doing, of course!!! :) He knows this is what we need!
We've decided that, for the most part, we're going to buy our 'groceries' from the local markets. Devin went grocery shopping on Saturday, and since I'd been a little silly on Friday and got some SUPER cool African artsy things (I'll take some pics...and it wasn't completely my fault, for I had Devin come with me and he picked out most of the stuff!! Ha!!!!) we didn't have much left for groceries. Oh yah...we need food... So, armed with about $10, Devin went out to find bread and some fresh veggies. He came back with a bag of rolls, 3 loaves of bread, a HUGE bag of carrots, 5 or 6 HUGE zucchini, 2 giant pineapples, and a bunch of green bell peppers!! LOVE the market!! And, since we don't really know what the going prices are yet, and we are white, so people tend to raise their prices for us (thanks...), the amount he paid was probably a bit high! So, I'm sold! Pretty soon, all we'll need is veggies and a little meat, so if we shop the markets, our grocery bill will be very low! YEA!! And how fun is that? And we help the local economy. All in a day's work, eh? I felt pretty good about that.
Let's see...Today's a holiday, so Devin's home. We spent the morning organizing a few things getting ready for our shipment. If it actually made it here to Cameroon on Friday (which we're pretty sure it did...although, you never know...) then we should have it here at our house by tomorrow or Wednesday! Oh Joy!!! I'm just so excited! Last night I could hardly sleep, I was thinking in my head where I wanted everything to go! I want to make sure I know where everything goes, so that no one has to go carrying things up and down all the stairs for no reason. It's going to be so nice and cozy here!! I think that I'll take some before and after pictures, and after I get everything all set up, I'll post them and everyone can enjoy the difference! :) I get butterflies in my tummy when I think about having all those fun things again! I'm going to make a big batch of bread with freshly ground wheat, and use my Bosch and my ceramic bread pans!!!! YEA!!! And I get to put up all my pictures on my walls! And use my own sheets and blankets!!! and eat QUINOA!!!!!!! MMMMMmmmmmm.... My housekeeper keeps laughing at me at how excited I get that everything's coming...but I think she'll be excited, too. It's fun to unpack. Maybe that's why I like moving so much. I really enjoy packing and unpacking and all the decluttering that happens during those phases! Oh, and I'll finally have short sleeved shirts and capris!!!!! Wahoo!!!
I've also been having a lot of fun on Amazon with their new grocery line. Devin started it! They keep having these big sales and promotions on cereals! :) So, we've been stocking up on cereal...and slim jims...and they have All Free & Clear DRYER SHEETS, which I think is awesome, because everything is SO staticky here, so that will help a lot.
Ok, so now I've gotten some of my writing bug out of me for the day. I'll post some pics of our super cool African art things, and go 'watch' a movie with Devin and the kids (which means that I'll sit and read a book on the couch while they all watch a movie). :)
1: Let's start out our artshow with what they call here 'Batique's. They are wall hangings that are hand painted and depict some scene from Cameroon. This is a village scene. Notice the pretty colors...the ladies are grinding flour, one has a baby on her back. The little boy plays with a chicken. The men sit around on their super cool stools and chat.
2: This is my favorite Batique. I loved the Animals! Someday, we'll actually go to the place where all these animals are!! Probably in about a year from now, so we avoid rainy season...and hopefully by then our friends will be back in Chad, and we'll just fly up to where they are and drive down to the park, because it's faster that way. (Oh, and by the way, these wall hanging batiques are super big. They're about 4 feet by 5 feet! So they look nice on the big empty walls...and I didn't know how to hang them up, so they're hung up with scotch tape!! Ha!!)
3: We are now moving on to the same idea with the wall hanging Batiques, but these are hand painted tablecloths (and include 8 napkins!!). This is one of my favorites! Simple and elegant.
4: Another tablecloth. Much more vibrant. The ladies all carry things on their heads here. (My housekeeper even does it sometimes when she's taking a basket full of laundry up or down the stairs. It's cool! Josh tries to do it, too...Yesterday he had a bowl on his head, and went over to Claire, took the bowl off his head, and said, "This stuff's for sale. Do you want any? How much will you give me?" Ha!!)
5: This is a super cool little bench. All the benches here are made with ONE piece of wood. They're not pieced together, they're carved right out of a big log! This one was Devin's favorite. We use it to sit on to take off or put on our shoes. (Notice the super cute little tiny pair of crocs that I found for Andrew on ebay...He looks so cute with them on!!)
6: This one just looks neat. I like the little carvings on the top, and the legs of the stool are very intricate and pleasing to the eye (too much Jane Austen lately, sorry!)
7: This one is my personal favorite. Pascaline saw it this morning and said that was her favorite, too, because it's just like the one her father would sit on in her village...so this is the Chief's Stool! cool, eh??
I hope you all enjoyed the show. If there are any requests for any of these...let me know! :P I'm also on the lookout for a few other things that they have here that are super cool...so when I find the 'right one' then I'll take pics of those, too. I find that I am really loving African art...even though I didn't think I would. But, I really ended up loving Central American art, too, even though I used to think it was tacky....Ah well. When in Rome...
So, I haven't written more than a few words here and there...but I suppose there isn't lots to tell. I'm feeling much more comfortable here now. I don't have panic attacks every time someone leaves the front door open for longer than a millisecond, and I've even gone outside AFTER DARK!!! (just to take the trash out) We're starting to feel a little more comfortable with the language, too, and while I'm not fluent in speaking, I can understand almost everything anyone says to me (even though I look really silly when they ask me something, and I sit there for a minute trying to do some translations in my head...English->Spanish->French...) and I understand even more written French, so we're getting better. Between the two of us (Devin and I) we can translate all of our church materials and other things in French, so that's fun. I am thoroughly enjoying my little English class! We have so much fun! Hopefully, they're learning, and surprisingly, I'm learning lots of French from them!! :) They're cute little kids! I think this has to be my favorite calling of all time! I've never had a primary calling before, and I LOVE it!!! I'm enjoying being with Joshua right now, too, as he is struggling, but he sits on my lap during singing time, and if I know a song in English, then many times I'll sing it in his ear, or I'll sing the song in French and translate it for him, and I translate all the things the teachers say for him so he doesn't feel so left out when he doesn't understand. At first I was afraid that this calling would be bad for my kids, since they don't usually behave very well in social settings if I'm around, but I think it's a very good thing. Heavenly Father knows what He's doing, of course!!! :) He knows this is what we need!
We've decided that, for the most part, we're going to buy our 'groceries' from the local markets. Devin went grocery shopping on Saturday, and since I'd been a little silly on Friday and got some SUPER cool African artsy things (I'll take some pics...and it wasn't completely my fault, for I had Devin come with me and he picked out most of the stuff!! Ha!!!!) we didn't have much left for groceries. Oh yah...we need food... So, armed with about $10, Devin went out to find bread and some fresh veggies. He came back with a bag of rolls, 3 loaves of bread, a HUGE bag of carrots, 5 or 6 HUGE zucchini, 2 giant pineapples, and a bunch of green bell peppers!! LOVE the market!! And, since we don't really know what the going prices are yet, and we are white, so people tend to raise their prices for us (thanks...), the amount he paid was probably a bit high! So, I'm sold! Pretty soon, all we'll need is veggies and a little meat, so if we shop the markets, our grocery bill will be very low! YEA!! And how fun is that? And we help the local economy. All in a day's work, eh? I felt pretty good about that.
Let's see...Today's a holiday, so Devin's home. We spent the morning organizing a few things getting ready for our shipment. If it actually made it here to Cameroon on Friday (which we're pretty sure it did...although, you never know...) then we should have it here at our house by tomorrow or Wednesday! Oh Joy!!! I'm just so excited! Last night I could hardly sleep, I was thinking in my head where I wanted everything to go! I want to make sure I know where everything goes, so that no one has to go carrying things up and down all the stairs for no reason. It's going to be so nice and cozy here!! I think that I'll take some before and after pictures, and after I get everything all set up, I'll post them and everyone can enjoy the difference! :) I get butterflies in my tummy when I think about having all those fun things again! I'm going to make a big batch of bread with freshly ground wheat, and use my Bosch and my ceramic bread pans!!!! YEA!!! And I get to put up all my pictures on my walls! And use my own sheets and blankets!!! and eat QUINOA!!!!!!! MMMMMmmmmmm.... My housekeeper keeps laughing at me at how excited I get that everything's coming...but I think she'll be excited, too. It's fun to unpack. Maybe that's why I like moving so much. I really enjoy packing and unpacking and all the decluttering that happens during those phases! Oh, and I'll finally have short sleeved shirts and capris!!!!! Wahoo!!!
I've also been having a lot of fun on Amazon with their new grocery line. Devin started it! They keep having these big sales and promotions on cereals! :) So, we've been stocking up on cereal...and slim jims...and they have All Free & Clear DRYER SHEETS, which I think is awesome, because everything is SO staticky here, so that will help a lot.
Ok, so now I've gotten some of my writing bug out of me for the day. I'll post some pics of our super cool African art things, and go 'watch' a movie with Devin and the kids (which means that I'll sit and read a book on the couch while they all watch a movie). :)
1: Let's start out our artshow with what they call here 'Batique's. They are wall hangings that are hand painted and depict some scene from Cameroon. This is a village scene. Notice the pretty colors...the ladies are grinding flour, one has a baby on her back. The little boy plays with a chicken. The men sit around on their super cool stools and chat.
2: This is my favorite Batique. I loved the Animals! Someday, we'll actually go to the place where all these animals are!! Probably in about a year from now, so we avoid rainy season...and hopefully by then our friends will be back in Chad, and we'll just fly up to where they are and drive down to the park, because it's faster that way. (Oh, and by the way, these wall hanging batiques are super big. They're about 4 feet by 5 feet! So they look nice on the big empty walls...and I didn't know how to hang them up, so they're hung up with scotch tape!! Ha!!)
3: We are now moving on to the same idea with the wall hanging Batiques, but these are hand painted tablecloths (and include 8 napkins!!). This is one of my favorites! Simple and elegant.
4: Another tablecloth. Much more vibrant. The ladies all carry things on their heads here. (My housekeeper even does it sometimes when she's taking a basket full of laundry up or down the stairs. It's cool! Josh tries to do it, too...Yesterday he had a bowl on his head, and went over to Claire, took the bowl off his head, and said, "This stuff's for sale. Do you want any? How much will you give me?" Ha!!)
5: This is a super cool little bench. All the benches here are made with ONE piece of wood. They're not pieced together, they're carved right out of a big log! This one was Devin's favorite. We use it to sit on to take off or put on our shoes. (Notice the super cute little tiny pair of crocs that I found for Andrew on ebay...He looks so cute with them on!!)
6: This one just looks neat. I like the little carvings on the top, and the legs of the stool are very intricate and pleasing to the eye (too much Jane Austen lately, sorry!)
7: This one is my personal favorite. Pascaline saw it this morning and said that was her favorite, too, because it's just like the one her father would sit on in her village...so this is the Chief's Stool! cool, eh??
I hope you all enjoyed the show. If there are any requests for any of these...let me know! :P I'm also on the lookout for a few other things that they have here that are super cool...so when I find the 'right one' then I'll take pics of those, too. I find that I am really loving African art...even though I didn't think I would. But, I really ended up loving Central American art, too, even though I used to think it was tacky....Ah well. When in Rome...
Water Balloons
I wanted to share a picture of Josh being hit by a water balloon. Sadly, his tantrum is not caught on camera. It seems Devin was consoling him (his scenes are legendary) so there is no sad face like Claire's on camera. But his unhappiness seemed to exceed that of Claire. He loves to throw the water balloons and gets a kick out of every kid he hits, but he sure can't take it!!! This picture is cool, because if you look really closely, you can see the water flying in the air above Josh's head--good shot, Dev!!
His tantrums are embarrassing. I hope he grows out of them someday!
Our shipment should be here tomorrow or the day after, so we're off to do some major organizing today!!
Devin just took a picture of the kids enjoying themselves downstairs...
That's hilarious!! They're so creative!! I think I'll leave that cupboard empty so they can play in there! :P Notice the stick in Josh's hand? He saw Harry Potter at a friend's house for the first time last week, and now he runs around everywhere he goes pretending he's Harry Potter with his wand and trying to cast spells on Claire. (Mostly he just tries to make her fly) Oh dear.
His tantrums are embarrassing. I hope he grows out of them someday!
Our shipment should be here tomorrow or the day after, so we're off to do some major organizing today!!
Devin just took a picture of the kids enjoying themselves downstairs...
That's hilarious!! They're so creative!! I think I'll leave that cupboard empty so they can play in there! :P Notice the stick in Josh's hand? He saw Harry Potter at a friend's house for the first time last week, and now he runs around everywhere he goes pretending he's Harry Potter with his wand and trying to cast spells on Claire. (Mostly he just tries to make her fly) Oh dear.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Did You Know?
Did you know:
When Claire needs to go 'potty', she either does this fantastic spastic dance, or she pretends she's on a trampoline (jumping up and down), and she whimpers a lot until someone finally asks her if she needs to go...then she'll say yes and run to the bathroom!
Andrew still doesn't talk very much, but he'll point and cry until you finally find what he wants, then he'll grin and make a funny grunting noise, and you know you've found it.
Despite the 90 degree temperatures, Josh still prefers his 'Dash Boots' (Long Live Napoleon Dynamite!!), because, as he puts it, it takes too long to put on his other shoes on (which are slip-on loafers and sandals)!!
The other day, Josh was talking to a friend of mine(who speaks fluent French due to the fact that her mother was French) and he said, "I know French. 'Gracias'! See?" And she said, "Well, Josh, I think that's Spanish." "No," says Josh, "I'm pretty sure it's French." They argued about that for a minute until Josh says, "I also know 'Merci'!" And my friend says, "Yes, that's French!" And Josh says, "Yah, just like 'Gracias'!" My poor kids are so mixed up... But at least he can be polite in three languages!! :)
At the Yaounde International Airport, most flights come in at night. When they know a plane is coming, they turn on the lights for the runway, etc. After the plane takes off to leave, they turn the lights off, and everyone goes home. (Devin says he once saw three planes there at once! Busy night!)
When Claire needs to go 'potty', she either does this fantastic spastic dance, or she pretends she's on a trampoline (jumping up and down), and she whimpers a lot until someone finally asks her if she needs to go...then she'll say yes and run to the bathroom!
Andrew still doesn't talk very much, but he'll point and cry until you finally find what he wants, then he'll grin and make a funny grunting noise, and you know you've found it.
Despite the 90 degree temperatures, Josh still prefers his 'Dash Boots' (Long Live Napoleon Dynamite!!), because, as he puts it, it takes too long to put on his other shoes on (which are slip-on loafers and sandals)!!
The other day, Josh was talking to a friend of mine(who speaks fluent French due to the fact that her mother was French) and he said, "I know French. 'Gracias'! See?" And she said, "Well, Josh, I think that's Spanish." "No," says Josh, "I'm pretty sure it's French." They argued about that for a minute until Josh says, "I also know 'Merci'!" And my friend says, "Yes, that's French!" And Josh says, "Yah, just like 'Gracias'!" My poor kids are so mixed up... But at least he can be polite in three languages!! :)
At the Yaounde International Airport, most flights come in at night. When they know a plane is coming, they turn on the lights for the runway, etc. After the plane takes off to leave, they turn the lights off, and everyone goes home. (Devin says he once saw three planes there at once! Busy night!)
Saturday, February 16, 2008
A Hard Question
Claire asked me a difficult question the other day. She asked, "Mom, how did Heavenly Father make you?" Josh knew, though. He piped right up and said, "He just got some play dough and squished it, and then here we are!" He he he!
We all went to an outdoor boutique, and Josh got this sweet hat! It's worn by the chiefs of the villages!
Josh and Claire went to a birthday party the other day. Josh got his face painted and got some candy:
Claire got hit by a water balloon!
We all went to an outdoor boutique, and Josh got this sweet hat! It's worn by the chiefs of the villages!
Josh and Claire went to a birthday party the other day. Josh got his face painted and got some candy:
Claire got hit by a water balloon!
Friday, February 15, 2008
It's Coming!!!
It's official: Our big shipments are on a flight as we speak!! They are coming!! By sometime next week, we'll have food, clothing, kitchen appliances, toys, etc.! Oh, I'm so excited!! And, in honor of that, I'll try uploading some things...
We found a lizard on the living room curtains this afternoon.
We found a lizard on the living room curtains this afternoon.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Evacuation
Well, our adventures for the past little while all began on an unsuspicious Saturday morning. We were just minding our business, getting ready for a shopping trip with a few friends to the local markets for some bargain shopping and haggling en Francais, when all of a sudden, about 10 minutes before we were scheduled to be picked up, Devin gets a call, and he has to go in to work for a radio check. Oh well. That shoots that activity. But, it was usually a short thing, so we thought maybe I could just either wait for him, or just go because there were some other girls coming with us who are fantastic with kids (and Josh and Claire LOVE them!), so it wouldn’t be so bad. So, we piled into the van to go, and Devin told them he had to go into work, and one of our friends said she wasn’t going to be able to go because she had to get some welcome kits ready because they were evacuating the US embassy in Chad…and everyone was scheduled to be there around 11am!!! I decided that helping make welcome kits for families would be a lot more fun and worth my time than doing more shopping, so I offered to stay behind and help, too. So, the kids and I, and another family, helped get some things ready for our ‘refugee’ friends! J We were actually pretty excited, because some friends of ours (whom Devin trained with) are in Chad, and so we would probably see them! And they were looking for someone who spoke SPANISH of all things, to help welcome a lady who spoke almost no English! Yea!!! I’m useful!!! So, after the flurry of excitement getting things ready to welcome them, I dropped the kids off at home with a great babysitter, and we went over to the local hotel to welcome all these poor people. They evacuated the families of the employees of the embassy, so we welcomed a lot of women and confused children. It was crazy. I’ve heard two different versions of what happened in Chad—one: The uncle/cousin of the president of Chad came up to the president and said, “Hey, let’s share power!” And when the president said that he thought that was not such a fun idea, the uncle/cousin raised up rebels and attacked the palace and let out all the prisoners from the prisons and looted all the houses and bombed things and killed a lot of people. The other version I heard (which I think is actually the true one…but still not sure) was that a rebel from the last uprising became the minister of defense of the current president of Chad…and for some reason, the president started to suspect the defense guy of being rebellious again, so he (the president) tried to poison the defense guy! Well, the defense guy didn’t really appreciate that very much, so he ran away back to the rebels, only this time he was well armed—because being the defense minister, he now knew all the presidents top secret info, and knew how to get through all the chinks and loopholes!! Yikes!! So, the rebels raised themselves up and attacked the palace and let out all the prisoners from the prisons and looted all the houses and bombed things and killed a lot of people. Either way, they did a LOT of damage. So, when this all started, they began evacuating people and sending them here. No one knows exactly why they sent them here—probably because this is one of the safest countries in Africa, and it just happens to be next door to them. By the time they decided to evacuate everyone else that they’d left behind, they had to be a bit more sneaky about it (covert would be the word) and they had a time of getting them out!!! Whew!! But, they are all here…I think even the ambassador is here finally (which will make his wife and baby happy, I’m sure!!)—but most if not all of them have lost pretty much everything they own. Their homes have been looted—and here in Africa, if there is an open house, there will be nothing, and I mean NOTHING left in it!!—some of the homes have been smashed in, even! The embassy has holes in it…who knows what will happen now. No one is quite sure as to what they’ll be doing now. There are rumors that they’ll be sent back to reclaim and rebuild, but we don’t think they’ll send everyone back. Where will they live? So, everyone is waiting with baited breath to see what they’ll do! :/ Incidentally, the friends that I mentioned earlier are staying here with us! It’s so nice to have the extra room all furnished and ready at a moments’ notice. So, they have a nice cozy house, with a housekeeper to wash the only two pairs of pants and shirts they have left in the world, and someone to make food for them—and I have a purpose! J it’s always nice to be needed. We’re having a playgroup tomorrow here at our house, and we’ll probably have all the kids that were evacuated over here, so we might have quite the group here in the morning…and since I’m the hostess of the playgroup event, I’m in charge of providing snacks!! Oh boy. So, I think we’re going to have popcorn, blueberry muffins, and homemade ice cream! Ha! (This was mostly Josh’s idea…) Thankfully, it’s pretty much ALWAYS a nice beautiful day outside, so they’ll all eat outside. We were going to have watermelon, too, but when I went to the store, they were all out. That happens. You never really know what you’ll find when you go to the store. They didn’t have any carrots, either. BUT, across the street from the grocery ‘store’ I looked up in the sky and thought I saw flocks and flocks of these huge black birds…but, no, they weren’t birds at all—they were HUGE African BATS!!!!!! These things were monstrous!!! I remember seeing bats in St. George, and even in Idaho sometimes…but those things were these little teeny tiny scrawny things…like a mouse! So, an Idaho/Utah bat is to a mouse, as an African bat is to a CAT!!!! I couldn’t believe it! I just stood there gaping like an idiot!
Anyway, things are starting to calm down a bit more here. We are really starting to enjoy it. I’ve gotten over many of my initial fears of being here, and am feeling much less paralyzed! Ha!! I actually walked to the embassy the other day!! It’s a really nice walk. I think I should do it more often. I think that the evacuation of Chad, and hearing all the stories of what it’s like up there, has made me feel much more comfortable here. And maybe, just maybe, someday we’ll get our shipment and have our things again! :P
Here are a few pictures...one of a happy Andrew...and I'll try to post a video of us after a funny shopping trip last friday when we went to a 'museum' (which was really really tiny and the kids kept trying to shove over the wooden statues!)
Anyway, things are starting to calm down a bit more here. We are really starting to enjoy it. I’ve gotten over many of my initial fears of being here, and am feeling much less paralyzed! Ha!! I actually walked to the embassy the other day!! It’s a really nice walk. I think I should do it more often. I think that the evacuation of Chad, and hearing all the stories of what it’s like up there, has made me feel much more comfortable here. And maybe, just maybe, someday we’ll get our shipment and have our things again! :P
Here are a few pictures...one of a happy Andrew...and I'll try to post a video of us after a funny shopping trip last friday when we went to a 'museum' (which was really really tiny and the kids kept trying to shove over the wooden statues!)
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