Control Issues...
Bonjour!
I hope this posting finds you safe and dry following hurricane Florence. We must apologize for that! If you look at the map of its path, you will see that it started just off the coast of Senegal. I (Tim) became a bit of a weather geek tracking Florence. I think how it works is that storms work their way across Africa and sometimes turn into tropical depressions when they hit the Atlantic. It has inspired some funny facebook postings like this one:
In talking to friends and family, we were reminded of how quickly an event like Hurricane Florence can disrupt our lives and our sense of being in control. That is something that, we too, have come up against A LOT since being in Senegal. We frequently deal with power outages at school and at home. Internet works most of the time at both places, but isn't as reliable as what we were used to. I find myself often trying to enter grades or plan my lessons on Google Docs, but the internet isn't working (like yesterday, just before progress reports were due!). One thing we often hear people say here is that "you have to manage your American mindset and expectations with African reality." Yesterday, we had to get a new water pump for our house. DA has a great plumber who works with a lot of missionaries around here, but our water was off for most of the day Saturday. As he was arriving, I noticed water dripping from our porch. I investigated and our hot water heater was leaking. So now, cold showers until that is replaced!
There is nothing like changing homes, jobs, schools, culture and language to force you to realize that you are utterly dependent. Our community has been so kind to help with figuring out food, water, clothing, groceries, malaria medicine, mosquitoes, money, gas for our stove, phone and internet, transportation, cultural nuances, I think I could go on and on! This week, Daisy needed some soccer cleats and shin guards. Our friend Davin (who grew up here and now teaches at DA) took us to Colobane market. We flagged a couple of taxis (also an exercise in giving up control as you have an 80% chance that there are no seatbelts). We weren't able to take any pictures of the market (you have to be careful with photos in public places), but I wish I could paint a picture for you--block after block of tiny, partitioned off areas using cardboard, tarps, plastic, whatever is available. Each area, with people selling various items--belts, sunglasses, clothing, new and old, books, school supplies. Thousands of people, lots of noise, traffic, exhaust, dirt, sweat, sand, mud, smells, heat. I observed several interesting things from our shopping experience--mostly, that it is very relational. The sales person becomes committed to finding exactly the right item that you need--he showed much concern that the cleats fit Daisy just so as she tried on many pairs (which is basically digging through a pile of 50-60 cleats, all different sizes). Once we found the right ones (a challenge for her skinny feet), it was time to negotiate a price. It was so cool to watch our friend engage in the art of negotiation, which is expected and also is very relational. It is a way to show mutual respect to one another, and often involves recalling the relationship, joking with one another and a promise for continued business with one another. We also got soccer jerseys for the whole family as we hope to go to a game soon (pictures to come...)!
Here are some highlights from last week and what is to come this week:
Daisy and the girls soccer team played and beat the moms/staff women at DA. Lindsay and Daisy went head to head a few times.
Friday night, another missionary family here invited us over for tacos and games. It was a great evening of good food and conversation--getting to know the story of another family, connecting with more people in our community, and hearing the work other missionaries are doing in this area.
This week gets really busy. One big thing here is intramural handball. There is a tournament beginning on Tuesday (and lasts several weeks) and Lindsay & I are both on teams with some of the high school students. Reid's basketball team will face-off with the Dads (in oven mitts!) on Thursday, and then we have staff retreat this weekend.
Thanks for reading, following along and staying connected with us! Have a great week!
Love, the Mussers.
I hope this posting finds you safe and dry following hurricane Florence. We must apologize for that! If you look at the map of its path, you will see that it started just off the coast of Senegal. I (Tim) became a bit of a weather geek tracking Florence. I think how it works is that storms work their way across Africa and sometimes turn into tropical depressions when they hit the Atlantic. It has inspired some funny facebook postings like this one:
In talking to friends and family, we were reminded of how quickly an event like Hurricane Florence can disrupt our lives and our sense of being in control. That is something that, we too, have come up against A LOT since being in Senegal. We frequently deal with power outages at school and at home. Internet works most of the time at both places, but isn't as reliable as what we were used to. I find myself often trying to enter grades or plan my lessons on Google Docs, but the internet isn't working (like yesterday, just before progress reports were due!). One thing we often hear people say here is that "you have to manage your American mindset and expectations with African reality." Yesterday, we had to get a new water pump for our house. DA has a great plumber who works with a lot of missionaries around here, but our water was off for most of the day Saturday. As he was arriving, I noticed water dripping from our porch. I investigated and our hot water heater was leaking. So now, cold showers until that is replaced!
There is nothing like changing homes, jobs, schools, culture and language to force you to realize that you are utterly dependent. Our community has been so kind to help with figuring out food, water, clothing, groceries, malaria medicine, mosquitoes, money, gas for our stove, phone and internet, transportation, cultural nuances, I think I could go on and on! This week, Daisy needed some soccer cleats and shin guards. Our friend Davin (who grew up here and now teaches at DA) took us to Colobane market. We flagged a couple of taxis (also an exercise in giving up control as you have an 80% chance that there are no seatbelts). We weren't able to take any pictures of the market (you have to be careful with photos in public places), but I wish I could paint a picture for you--block after block of tiny, partitioned off areas using cardboard, tarps, plastic, whatever is available. Each area, with people selling various items--belts, sunglasses, clothing, new and old, books, school supplies. Thousands of people, lots of noise, traffic, exhaust, dirt, sweat, sand, mud, smells, heat. I observed several interesting things from our shopping experience--mostly, that it is very relational. The sales person becomes committed to finding exactly the right item that you need--he showed much concern that the cleats fit Daisy just so as she tried on many pairs (which is basically digging through a pile of 50-60 cleats, all different sizes). Once we found the right ones (a challenge for her skinny feet), it was time to negotiate a price. It was so cool to watch our friend engage in the art of negotiation, which is expected and also is very relational. It is a way to show mutual respect to one another, and often involves recalling the relationship, joking with one another and a promise for continued business with one another. We also got soccer jerseys for the whole family as we hope to go to a game soon (pictures to come...)!
Here are some highlights from last week and what is to come this week:
Daisy and the girls soccer team played and beat the moms/staff women at DA. Lindsay and Daisy went head to head a few times.
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| Lindsay is in the orange jersey, Daisy is the student player 2nd from the left. |
This week gets really busy. One big thing here is intramural handball. There is a tournament beginning on Tuesday (and lasts several weeks) and Lindsay & I are both on teams with some of the high school students. Reid's basketball team will face-off with the Dads (in oven mitts!) on Thursday, and then we have staff retreat this weekend.
Thanks for reading, following along and staying connected with us! Have a great week!
Love, the Mussers.
Great update! Can’t wait to see the pics of the family in the tournament:)
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