Language Oops of the Week [1]

From guest author: Beth


So, we were going to this production on Saturday in front of the court house-which turned out to start 2 hours later than supposed to be, but was surprisingly really good. Well, we had picked up some candied peanuts and after eating them were quite thirsty. We went to this little store that has just an open front. Kind of like a concession stand. We wanted a coke and had decided to share one. Since we were sharing, we wanted the bottle coke not the can. Well, there are NO lines whatsoever so everyone is just pressed against the counter and by the way the counter is right at our eye level. So, we finally make it to the front of the counter and are trying to put our money up there so that he will take our order, however, there are all these arm pits and hands reaching over us that are handing their money in and getting what they want. So, we decided that we just needed to speak up and say what we wanted. We know the word for coke, bottle, big, small. So I figured this would be easy. I could see the can cokes and the bottle cokes. Brandi first said coca daboose (bottle) and he brought this huge thing of water. We said La (no). Coca Cabirra (big). Well, he returned with a 2 liter!!! Oh, well. We walked around with the 2 liter the rest of the time. We almost drank it all in this 2 hours of waiting for the production to begin.

Our african apartment (in progress)

We moved into our new apartment a little over a week ago, but we are still waiting on a few "additions." We got a washing machine last week and installed a few lines to hang clothes in one of the bedrooms (instead of taking all our wet laundry four floors up to the roof). And they brought an oven...it's a convection oven barely larger than a small microwave, but hey, it heats the food. =)


We're still waiting on another "closet"/wardrobe and a table that the chairs fit under, but everyday someone tells us that it will be here "tomorrow." It's become quite hilarious, because apparently everything will happen tomorrow, or maybe they should just say, "Not today." haha! I love it.

Our bedroom, my what beautiful quilts it has! ;)

The "unpacking room". Haha. We dumped everything in here because neither of us brought queen sized sheets and we are still waiting for another closet for the other room and didn't want our stuff to be in the way when they brought that. Hopefully it will come...tomorrow. ;)

I know most of you probably aren't interested in the bathroom but ours is so cool, I just had to show it. Our new washing machine that we are VERY thankful for! We just found the brown storage unit today. It's all coming together!

Our kitchen! Don't miss the little oven! It's quite cute.
We're hoping to get more shelving...of course, tomorrow.

Our luxurious living room. It's a little messy, but that's what makes it feel at home for us, I guess. We're actually very blessed to have a nice tv, so we can watch all kinds of shows...in Arabic. Haha!

The Golden Mixer

The Golden Mixer

Two days after we arrived in our new country, a friend took us shopping for some household necessities in one of the largest stores to be found in the city. The store was really nice, but still no larger than most Wal-marts. 

As we enter the building we find the appliances and electronics to the left. This should have been our first hint: household appliances and electronics shelved in the same area. As we scanned the merchandise, our friend stepped out for a minute. In the mean time, Beth found a kitchen mixer that we need. Many random things like this can be found here but are generally pricer than we are accustomed to in the States. As she picks up the box to inspect the item, an employee immediately comes from the counter and takes it from her, speaking rapidly in Arabic or French (it's hard to tell the difference here). 

At the counter, Beth tries to explain that she was planning to ask her friend about the mixer before she made a decision on purchasing it. Thankfully our friend returns and explains that items such as mixers must be tested and registered if you want the guarantee. The clerk proceeds to fill out paperwork ON A MIXER, pulls everything out of the box, and plugs it in and tests it for us to see before we can pay and get our receipt and continue the remainder of our shopping. So the first item we purchase takes over 20 minutes. When we leave we have to register the item with the security guard and Beth signed her name in the guarantee book. 

Needless to say, the experience was nothing short of stressful, but we have a mixer that might as well be made out of gold. And we learned a lesson in grocery store shopping: You are not in America, welcome to Africa.

How to Kill a Chicken, an overview of skills I hope to never use

How to Kill a Chicken

Skills for Africa 101

Step 1: Catch chicken

Step 2: Chop head off

Step 3: Throw headless chicken into the air, allow time for muscles spasms to stop

Step 4: Retrieve chicken

Step 5: Submerge chicken into boiling water

Step 6: Retrieve chicken from boiling water

Step 7: Pluck feathers

 

Still plucking...

 

Step 8: Remove organs and intestines

 

Step 9: Separate meat and remove claws

Step 10: Smile proudly and display your fresh meat!

snow beautiful

Beth and I playing in the snow!

Last weekend this crazy East Coast weather did another another somersault. On Monday, the snow came in a flurry, mixed with a little rain, of course, and by Wednesday, the temps were on up into mid-sixties. And I thought the weather back home was temperamental.

Despite how quickly it may melt away, the beauty of a gentle snowfall is hard to encapsulate and package with mere characters and symbols formed into words. White and fluffy, falling from the sky or rocketing across the skyline, for this Southern girl, snow is always a delight. Rarely during my childhood did we see accumulating amounts of anything but rain and mud, but recently I've truly learned to relish the quiet and beauty of a good snow.

One of my favorite things about snow is how it covers everything. It rests on the tree branches, along the deck rail, patio furniture, car bumpers, eaves, and sidewalks; a legitimate snowfall covers everything. We know that for all practical purposes, rain does the same thing, yet isn't nearly as breathtaking.

What a physical picture of the work of Christ in our hearts! Not only does he wash away our sins and cleansing with the water of the word, but he covers all our iniquity. So, all of ourselves, the sin and the flesh, is hidden under the brilliant radiance, stunning whiteness and purity of the blood of Christ Jesus. Just as snow blankets and covers the earth. God's word promises that Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) when we believe in him (Romans 10:9). We can even be whiter than a fresh snow - "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

When we believe Jesus is who he says he is and put our faith in him, God is the one who accomplishes the transformation within us. None of our good deeds are good enough for God to pardon our wrongdoings, it is only through the blood of Jesus (John 14:6, Hebrews 9:22). It's a free gift to all but you must receive it for it to take effect (Romans 6:23). Let his love cover you and make you whole and right before the Father today!

 "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Different isn't Wrong

As most of you know, I'm not one with a very diverse palette (translated = I don't try different foods). If given the option, I'll almost always go for the tried and true choice, something I've had before. Last Saturday night, I didn't have that choice. Some friends of mine were going to a Thai restaurant and I really wanted to get out and hang out, so I went along. My real strategy was to convince someone among the group to deflect with me to a more ordinary restaurant but alas, everyone was determined to eat Thai cuisine. So I gave into the peer pressure and shared a Thai sweet and sour chicken plate with a friend. To my genuine surprise, it was delicious! The chicken was moist, the vegitables fresh, and, to top it off, the sauce was perfectly sweet. I'm officially addicted now!

Yummy, yummy!

To attempt to add some meangingful value to this post, I'll quote a common theme I'm discovering in this phase of life: "Different isn't wrong, it's just different." When you try the "different", you might discover that it's better than you expected,  or maybe even better than the "same" thing you've been stuck on for forever.


Experience something different today, just for the sake of stretching you out of your comfort zone. You never know what you may find!

Friends at the Thai Diner Too!
Apparently, it's trendy to take pics while eating?!

Colonial Williamsburg

I was that little girl that LOVED playing dress up. Of course, my costumes of choice were Colonial dresses. So, I've wanted to visit Colonial Williamsburg ever since I knew the place existed. And a few weekends ago, I finally got to go!

The entire adventure was immersed in period dress, buildings, speech, manner of life, etc. It was like we literally stepped back into time. As we toured, one of our first stops was the Governor's Palace. A man dressed as a servant/butler to the governor gave us a tour of the mansion. The entire tour he acted as if we were servants about to start working to clean for the governor's party that evening.

With our period dressed guide for our tour of the Governor's mansion

We even learning proper dance etiquitte!

You'd better be on your best behavior in Williamsburg,
 otherwise you'll be punished.

Great lunch with sweet friends!

One could probably spend days seeing all the sights, watching all the reinactments, and browsing the gift shops, but we tried to squeeze as much as we could into one free Saturday. We had a great, full day! So glad we got to go and can't wait til I can go again!