We are especially blessed this Christmas to be able to spend it with Mark's parents, who are visiting for 6 weeks. They live in the Seattle area and are very busy and travel quite a bit with their Marriage Encounter work around the US and Europe so we don't often connect with them (they live in the Seattle area) and never at Christmas. Unfortunately, their first week posed some trouble. On the first day of their safari, Ann dislocated her hip, something that is a recurring problem since a hip replacement 6 years ago. So, instead of seeing lions, leopards, and hippos, she got an up close and personal tour of a hospital in Arusha. That was after a 2 1/2 hour ride in the back of a landcruiser on bad roads and a total of 6 hours after the dislocation happened. Ouch. Definitely not the adventure she was hoping for. Amazingly she was in pretty decent shape within a few days! They will be finishing the rest of their safari later in January.
Another special treat this Christmas was having Mark's dad give the sermon last week and today at church. He's quite a good preacher and it was fun to have him share his gifts with the community and hear him again. I've learned to be prepared, though--no story or past episode is sacred--you'll never know when you might end up in a sermon, or get called on for something! Today, he called on the congregation to share any Christmas memories they might have. We heard from people from Ghana, Cameroon, Congo, Finland, Sweden, Tanzania, Germany, and the US. Everyone talked about the foods they ate. It was interesting to hear that sharing a meal together is a focal point of celebrations around the world.
We had a wonderful (hot) Christmas, after a funky Christmas Eve. Mark and a friend from Canada and 2 boys from our
church took off very early on the 24th (4 am) to climb Mount Longido. Under the threat of dire bodily harm should they be late for any Christmas Eve family activities, they climbed to the top (about 9,000 ft.) and must have kept a brisk pace, since they were home by 4:00. They had great views and saw several herds of buffalo along the way (one of the reasons you have a guide whenever you head out for a bit of hiking here). While he was trekking the bush, the kids and I made some Christmas cookies, a rare treat as I really don't like baking much! Lots of butter, sugar, and mess turned out a great batch of colorful shortbread cookies!A couple days before a tree branch came down on the power line to the house and things had been wonky since then. On the 23rd we had very erratic power and very low--finally, the fluorescent lights wouldn't light, the power would blink on and off rapidly for 20 minutes, then go off for a half hour, then on for 10 minutes or so, then off again. Normally, this 
would be maisha ya Tanzania (life in Tanzania) and something that is on the order of the day. However, when you're preparing to head out on a trip for 9 days and you're trying to wash clothes (remembering to leave time to air dry on the line, except when it rains, which it did most afternoons this week) and you have some concerns about the food in your freezer because it's already starting to soften...well, then you start paying a bit more attention to the ramifications. Without a washing machine, Mark took to the yard to get the job done, a sight that, when combined with me wandering out to open the gate, horrified our garbage man. He couldn't believe we didn't have "people" and that a man was doing laundry. Given that this was happeing around 4:30 and everyone had left work about 2:00, it wasn't all that strange. Actually, on any given day, it's not that strange to find us actually working at our house! Later, we were attempting to iron clothes in a house where the rooms were almost completely dark but there was enough power to heat the iron up a bit, so it was a bit like ironing by Braille! FINALLY, after an earlier visit and a few calls to Tanesco, a truck showed up about 10:30 and tinkered with the lines and voila! Electricity! Soooo useful for washing and ironing and, I don't know, seeing. Of course, being tired by that point, we pretty much turned off the lights and went to bed!
would be maisha ya Tanzania (life in Tanzania) and something that is on the order of the day. However, when you're preparing to head out on a trip for 9 days and you're trying to wash clothes (remembering to leave time to air dry on the line, except when it rains, which it did most afternoons this week) and you have some concerns about the food in your freezer because it's already starting to soften...well, then you start paying a bit more attention to the ramifications. Without a washing machine, Mark took to the yard to get the job done, a sight that, when combined with me wandering out to open the gate, horrified our garbage man. He couldn't believe we didn't have "people" and that a man was doing laundry. Given that this was happeing around 4:30 and everyone had left work about 2:00, it wasn't all that strange. Actually, on any given day, it's not that strange to find us actually working at our house! Later, we were attempting to iron clothes in a house where the rooms were almost completely dark but there was enough power to heat the iron up a bit, so it was a bit like ironing by Braille! FINALLY, after an earlier visit and a few calls to Tanesco, a truck showed up about 10:30 and tinkered with the lines and voila! Electricity! Soooo useful for washing and ironing and, I don't know, seeing. Of course, being tired by that point, we pretty much turned off the lights and went to bed!
Up until we moved to Tanzania and we all stopped sleeping in, it was not unusual for us to be able to sleep until 8 or 8:30 on Christmas morning before the kids got up. This year I was severly chastised for being in bed at 6:45! Like last year, there were no presents under the tree when the kids went to bed. They are optimistic and pretty confident that presents are coming, but not being able to see them, they really have no idea what to expect (and no expectations of anything, either).
So getting up and seeing everything laying out is quite a treat! The kids loved their books and movies (I'm a bit embarrassed at buying more movies here than I'd ever have imagined!) They included Calvin and Hobbes comics, books in the Peter and the Star Catcher series (great for the pre-teen set), 2 seasons of M*A*S*H, a season of the Dukes of Hazzard (that one's for Noah and his dad), and the new Harry Potter. Santa brought them each lots of candy and a magic wand, so we spent much of the morning being hexed and jinxed and narrowly avoiding 
a poke in the eye! Because of the power issue and the laundry crunch I dropped plans for a more interesting breakfast than the usual toast and cereal and we opened presents and headed off to church, something that we don't normally do on Christmas Day.
So getting up and seeing everything laying out is quite a treat! The kids loved their books and movies (I'm a bit embarrassed at buying more movies here than I'd ever have imagined!) They included Calvin and Hobbes comics, books in the Peter and the Star Catcher series (great for the pre-teen set), 2 seasons of M*A*S*H, a season of the Dukes of Hazzard (that one's for Noah and his dad), and the new Harry Potter. Santa brought them each lots of candy and a magic wand, so we spent much of the morning being hexed and jinxed and narrowly avoiding 
a poke in the eye! Because of the power issue and the laundry crunch I dropped plans for a more interesting breakfast than the usual toast and cereal and we opened presents and headed off to church, something that we don't normally do on Christmas Day.In our previous lives, we usually spent Christmas Day with just us. We visit our extended family in the summer when we have more time and the weather is better for traveling. So spending 
Christmas with a big group is something new for us. We had a fabulous ham dinner with LOTS of potatoes and terrific pie and wonderful company. Our friends Tom and Sally hosted with their daughter and her husband and their 2 friends, as well our friends Mike and Maguy 
(lately from Alberta) and her mother from the Congo. Last year we spent Christmas with Tom and Sally and her other daughter and her family, so I guess we're slowly getting to know the whole clan. They live in Seward, Alaska, in a house with no running water, no plumbing, and no electricity. Hmmmmm, that sounds vaguely like some place I know! Ava found a coloring buddy, and the boys disappeared to spend some rare time playing Wii (although I did notice a few older "children" heading back for a game or two as well). There was definitely something for everyone and it was wonderful to be able to share Christmas with old and new friends and family all together.
Christmas with a big group is something new for us. We had a fabulous ham dinner with LOTS of potatoes and terrific pie and wonderful company. Our friends Tom and Sally hosted with their daughter and her husband and their 2 friends, as well our friends Mike and Maguy 
(lately from Alberta) and her mother from the Congo. Last year we spent Christmas with Tom and Sally and her other daughter and her family, so I guess we're slowly getting to know the whole clan. They live in Seward, Alaska, in a house with no running water, no plumbing, and no electricity. Hmmmmm, that sounds vaguely like some place I know! Ava found a coloring buddy, and the boys disappeared to spend some rare time playing Wii (although I did notice a few older "children" heading back for a game or two as well). There was definitely something for everyone and it was wonderful to be able to share Christmas with old and new friends and family all together. 
We spent some time on Christmas Eve reflecting on those blessings after a few days of trying to get meals done, laundry done, bathing done (no electricity means no hot water) by Christmas morning! The fact that we have access to electricity is really a blessing when so many don't. My housekeeper, for example, has not had electricity for many months due to a glitch with Tanesco (we paid to connect it, the guys did but pocketed the money and didn't turn in the hookup to Tanesco, and now everyone in the neighborhood is being punished by not having it reconnected, which will eventually cost $500, which is an impossible sum) and has not had water for almost a month for no explainable reason.
Often, when people come to visit for a week or so, stay in hotels or with us, .and enjoy the good restaurants here, they are struck by two things. One is that poverty is everywhere. The other is that Arusha is very modern in many ways and has quite a few amenities for the missionary/expat crowd and for those others that can afford them. When my mother and sister visited in May and June, we were on a 3 week struggle with having any water at our house. This week with Mark's parents we struggled with getting electricity. Suddenly, all the things you count on to be efficient and accomplish the task of the day are not available. Even after almost 2 years, it wears on you more than you think it would. I'm told that after 10 years, it wears on you more than you think it would. It's hard for "outsiders" to understand. We laugh (or sometimes wince) when we hear that we are living in the lap of luxury. There's no doubt that we are in a privileged class compared to most Tanzanians. Everything else aside, our education and access to information and resources is something that most people here will not ever have. We continue to be surprised by being overwhelmed and adjusting after 2 years!
Maisha ya Tanzania. It's what you say when things aren't going the way you want them to and there's nothing you can do about it. It's a reminder that you can't fight most of those things and that you have to figure out how to deal with it if you're going to be able to live here. Today we were happy to say "maisha ya Tanzania ni nzuri sana." Today life in Tanzania is very good! We are so thankful for so many good things that have come our way, for the support we have received during the hard times, and for friends and family near and far. We are looking forward to a very special trip to Egypt, truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the chance to share that with Mark's parents. We will be spending a week there and will be back on the 3rd, so tune in for updates on events from there. Then, it's back to work and life!
We wish all of you the very best Christmas, one of peace and blessings and reminders of the most precious gift that was given to us on this day so long ago. Here's to an uneventful and blessed 2008!
No comments:
Post a Comment