Snowflake Gang

Thursday was Thanksgiving #1, today is Thanksgiving #2. (Our team has two celebrations, to accommodate numbers and date preferences, and I traditionally attend both!)

Yesterday was Snowflake Day. My friend Jeannette came over with her four lovely kids (and my students). We cut snowflake after snowflake until the house had the right amount.

If you look closely, the middle snowflake in this photo has MERMAIDS! That's thanks to the guy in plaid, who kindly honors my mermaid interests in his art and writing from time to time.

I'm thankful for two Thanksgivings with good friends, for fun things like snowflakes, and for this long weekend of rest.

My Canoe Almost Sank, and All I Have to Show for It Is This Kanga

The other Sunday my friend Karen and I went canoeing on Lake Victoria, as I've done many times. I like to canoe out away from shore and swim, because there is less risk of bilharzia, a parasite in the lake.

It was my first time steering, because my friend Ronit used to steer while I paddled. We had a wobbly ride, but it was OK. After swimming, I got back in the canoe first as Karen held it steady. Then she hoisted herself in the boat... Only as she got in, I flew out! (In retrospect I realize that I have always gotten in the boat first, but sat in the middle where I could balance the boat for the second person. Since I was steering this day, I was in the back and therefore not the right place to keep the balance.)

The canoe filled with water. We flipped it over. It scooped the water right back up as it turned. I wasn't sure what to do and started to think of swimming (a long ways) to shore with a water-logged canoe.

However, a small ferry full came by. They saw us and went off course to save us. They pulled up alongside and quickly hoisted us into their boat. Many Tanzanians can't swim, so they thought we were in more danger than actuality. The ladies covered us with kangas (traditional wrap-around cloth used over skirts, with a proverb written across the bottom), and some men pulled our canoe onto the ferry.

I thanked them, explained what had happened, and assured them that we'd be fine if they'd put our canoe (now empty of water) back and help us in. The man I was talking to found this reasonable and told the rest of the forty-some people on the ferry. They disagreed. Strongly. The whole ferry was yelling back in forth in debate over our safety. Most were sure we'd drown if we were allowed back in the canoe. It soon became clear that we were going with them... soggy and without money (nor Karen's trousers, which had been lost in the spill!)... to an island an hour and a half out into the lake!!

We weren't too upset at the change of plans. We were curious to see the island. It was such a fun day! The man who I spoke with on the boat showed Karen and me around the island, as he managed his fishing business. He also bought us tea and bread... and a kanga for Karen so she'd have something to wear when she returned the one she was borrowing! Kanga's come in pairs, so I got the other half for sun cover. He wouldn't accept us paying him back (and his family is having us over for lunch Sunday). We got to see life on the island and ride the ferry twice, on top of our lovely swim! Plus, we didn't drown, only lost one pair of trousers, gained a friend, and each have a new purple kanga with an esoteric proverb. I couldn't have dreamed up such a day. Only God has that good of an imagination:).

My only regret is that I didn't get to take pictures of it all.

Wycliffe World Day of Prayer

Today we came together at the office to pray. "We" is all of the Tanzanian staff (translators, operations personnel, cleaners, etc...) and missionaries (translation advisers, linguists, teachers, etc...). Wycliffe organizes this day of prayer every year, and each office around the world observes it in their own way. We prayed for the needs of our office and for specific translation, literacy, and personal needs around Tanzania and the world. I enjoyed praying in a group with some of the Tanzanian staff, because I don't get to see them very often (the learning center where I teach is not at the office.); I got to hear what prayer points enthused them or brought up questions. I also enjoyed sharing tea and lunch, singing and prayer with the whole group.

This photo shows The Lord's Prayer, with one line per each of the languages translated in our office. For more photos of the day, see The Mara Cluster Project (our office) FB post from today.

Drawing Challenges

This semester I'm teaching two art classes on Fridays, one for the older students and one for the younger. The older students are tackling drawing skills related to proportion, angles, shape, etc. It's pretty challenging stuff, so extra satisfying to see the kids applying the new concepts and growing in their drawing. This Friday we went outside and drew the house that is on the same property as the learning center. The kids did well, despite the ants and bees!