Paragraph Games

My second grade writers brushed up on their paragraph writing skills at the beginning of this semester. That means: topic sentence, related and interesting detail sentences, and a conclusion statement, question... or exclamation! One of their classmates was traveling recently, so I decided to take a break from normal writing projects to play some team paragraph-writing games. This is one of the outcomes.

Lake Flies

It's ridiculous really; I've lived by Lake Victoria for nearly three years now and I don't believe I've ever blogged about lake flies. Perhaps you thought this is a picture of dust I swept up? No, pure lake flies. And it's a very small batch too.

Sometimes I'm up on the rock, looking at the lake. I see a large cloud moving towards land. I used to think, "Strange, how could there be a big fire on the lake?" because it looks just like smoke from a raging fire. But no, it's lake flies. They lay eggs in the lake, hatch as nymphs, then rise to the air in a cloud for a quick mating season that sums up their adult lives. 

Once they hit land you need to hold your breathe to avoid breathing them in. If your house sits on the lake, as my new home does, you get a big clean up job. This was what I got off one half of my porch from just a minor cloud of flies.

Ten Things I Like About Now

I'm still in Musoma, teaching at Lake Victoria Learning Center, a place and job I love. However, I recently left my house, and my housemate left for new life adventures. I miss things about the old house (our passion fruit vine, how you could stick plastic bags to dry on the tile walls of the kitchen...). I miss Ronit (laughing together, sharing meals... That list is longer than the first!).

But sometimes missing is a good thing; it's joyful remembering (maybe with tears) and thanks for gifts God has given. It's good as long as I trust that He meant that good to end and another good to begin. And I do. I falter at times, but I do trust.

Here are ten good things I see God putting into now.

1. A stunning 30 minute walk to work passing lake, boats, ladies selling fish, etc.
2. Watching the lake from my back porch and hearing it during the night
3. Sweet commraderie with friends/family here and away via WhatsApp, even if I'm home alone
4. More time for quiet things like praying and reading and just sitting
5. Knowing that God has good plans for the future, and waiting to see what those are
6. Getting to know people here in new ways because I have more open time
7. Going to bed early
8. Being able to manage the responsibilities of house (cooking, expenses, employees, etc...)
9. Cooler temperatures and less mosquitoes
10. Having a cat around to sit on my lap and watch hunt... though I wish she'd find some mice instead of geckos

Another Office Art Installation

One of my colleagues recently shifted her position at the office. She was working with literacy and doing the office finances on the side. Then one of our branch human resource roles opened. She saw the HR role would be a better fit, so shifted.

Her former roles took place in two different offices. Now she has two desks in one office. Some days she's the Mara Finance Officer. Some days she's the Human Resource Manager for Seconded Staff and Recruitment Coordinator. (I may know her title better than she!)

Now, when you have two roles, sometimes people want to talk to you about one when you're officially working on the other. I wanted to help make it very clear which role is open for service on a given day. So, I made these name plaques. Now you can tell when the finance person is in (an HR is out) and when the HR person is in (an finance is out).  Whew!

After the Organized Chaos

I'm teaching two sessions of art this semester. Here is my younger crew. We looked at the art of Eric Carle and mimicked his process. He paints texture on tissue paper, cuts it out to make his images, then adds extra details with a paint brush. My favorite day was the complete organized chaos when they were cutting out their shapes, tissue paper flying everywhere and not one piece lost! But it was too intense to remember to photograph. So this is the final product day.

How Did My Hair Turn Purple?: Musoman Legends & Lore

It's practically not normal to walk around with purely natural-colored hair these days in the Pacific Northwest. So my brother, his girlfriend, and I were just blending in when we added a little purple to our locks. But in Musoma, purple streaks are not the common sight, and my students wanted to know, what had I done?!

So of course I told them...

• Sometimes I told them about the bear that I'd met when I was picking huckleberries in the mountains. He was so rude. He sat above me drooling huckleberry juice on my head.
• Sometimes I said that when I was at the ocean with my family, boogie boarding, an octopus grabbed me by a shock of hair and released his purple ink just at the same time as I slipped away.
• Sometimes I explained that I'd been under stress in the States, which can turn a person's hair white. But it just so happened that blueberries are a comfort food for me; I ate so many the white streak turned purple.
• As legend and lore grew (with art to match), new stories started to circulate. My favorite is the one about how, since I'm a mermaid... and everyone knows mermaids' natural hair color is purple or green or something... obviously, I've just been dying my hair a normal color all this time to stay incognito. I just missed a patch.

Mer-chicks and Aerial Octopi

A little ludicrous conversation with friends Friday night led to this title, and I wanted to use it because it makes me smile. I have no other explanation.

Or maybe it's about transformation, and being light-hearted in the midst of transition... :) Transition is afoot. After being back in my house for a couple months, my housemate of two years is about to leave Musoma and I'll be house-sitting at a new place. I'm sad to see Ronit (soaring on the motorcycle) and our house go, but I'm so thankful for the blessing they've both been. I'm uncertain about living on my own for the first time in ten years but I know God will provide good things in this new stage of my life.

He, Our Father of Lights, gives so many good and perfect gifts (James 1:17): metallic green birds, a new friendship for talk and prayer, a funny student picking up garbage with his feet, a creative useful job that fits me, a house with a view of the lake (that's where I'll be staying!), songs that speak His Word to my heart...