So, what do you do all day?

This week I really wasn’t sure what I was going to write about. I have been confined mostly to this apartment complex for most of the past two weeks due to the local “situation” and just logistics. While I am here, I am relying on the kindness of friends to get me from Point A to Point B on a daily basis, and sometimes, it just isn’t possible for them to do that, Things happen, meetings pop up, cars need repair, cows need water, white people shouldn’t be out and about…whatever the situation may be, I have just laid low for a couple of weeks now. So, during that time, I have tried to learn more Swahili which, learning the words isn’t so difficult for me, it’s the grammar. Again, this is so ironic as I am an ENGLISH teacher!! I TEACH grammar! I have long felt, however, that you either ARE a language person or you AREN’T. I really wish I was. I wish that other languages came more easily to me, but they just don’t. I understand more Spanish than I can speak (thank you college Spanish). Likewise, I understand more Swahili than I can speak. I can say a lot of basic words, but I definitely cannot carry on a conversation with anyone other than a kind friend who is willing to let me practice on them.

Another thing I’ve been doing is cooking and eating healthily. I have also tried to exercise more than I do at home. (IYKYK) Although I played three sports in high school and really love sports, I don’t like to exercise. I’m getting better at it though. And I would encourage all of you “of a certain age” to try to start doing something in the exercise realm to keep your body strong and mobile. I love yoga or Pilates, so I do a little of that. I really enjoy walking (not jogging or running), so I try to do that. I have incorporated other stretching activities into my routine to try and combat ageing (I know, vanity is a real thing, but it’s also healthy to stretch, ha ha). One supper dish that I have somewhat mastered over here is…spaghetti! Crazy, right? They sell pasta noodles at the store, so I picked some up the first weekend I was here. I make my own sauce using fresh tomatoes and canned, whole tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, fresh garlic and onions, oregano (dried), garlic powder, salt and pepper. I may never buy a jarred sauce again as it is delicious and easy to do! I have also mastered the art of avocado toast or just the avocado mixture to put on top of it. I just use the fresh avocado, a little garlic powder, a VERY SMALL amount of chili powder (it is WAYYYY more potent than the stuff we get in the states), and a small amount of turmeric powder. (You could also throw in fresh garlic and onions if you like; I am usually hungry, so I don’t bother too often with that.) And then I mash it up and spread it on the toast or just eat it alone without bread!

Finally, one thing I try to do every day is get outside and sit on the rooftop deck. Right now, I am watching the livestock in the nearby field. Piki-piki’s go by every so often (motorbikes that transport people and goods). The neighborhood kids come by after school. They will often stop at the gate and call up to me in order to practice their English. It’s really cute. It’s very peaceful and calm up here. There is usually a nice breeze, and when you aren’t in the direct sunlight, it is very pleasant. I face west usually because that is the direction my “chosen” chair faces, and I look at the neighborhood houses with their colorful roofs. Off in the distance are some beautiful houses set on the hillside. And behind me is Mount Meru, my favorite mountain. I love to take pictures of it during different times of the day to watch how the clouds change. Right now, the sky is very blue and full of puffy clouds which have completely covered the top of Meru. I can’t see it at all, but I know it is there. Meru reminds me of God’s promises: always there through each situation you face. Sometimes it’s cloudy and you can’t see His hand working, but He’s still there. Sometimes it’s really clear and you see exactly how He is moving in your life. Either way, I’m thankful that He IS. Psalms 91:1-2: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: he alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him.”