Right now back in the US people are flooding the grocery stores looking for those forgotten, but much required items that make Thanksgiving just perfect. Turkeys are flying from the frozen section and landing in shopping carts as if they were flightless birds (wait...), a middle aged man is about to fight an old lady for the last can of cranberry sauce, and every one's asking the stocker boy, "where the heck are the bags of stuffing?" At the same time the temperature is dropping quickly, there may even be snow on the ground, and at every gathering people are talking about the same thing, "what are you doing for Thanksgiving? Are you going home? Do you think the Lions have a shot at winning the game this year?" For my family, I'm sure all the Thalers are planning to hit the bowling alley for their one trip of the year and if I were a little closer I would definitely be joining them.
So what does Thanksgiving look like in Kenya? Well I haven't seen any Turkeys anywhere, I'll bet most of the people around me have no idea what a cranberry is, and very few of them have had the opportunity to ever see snow, in fact it's much more like spring than Autumn or Winter. They may be interested in talking about an upcoming football game, but it features teams like Chelsea and Manchester United. This Thursday is just another Thursday, and if you ask them they may have some things to be thankful for, but they won't know why you're asking them.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining that I'm lonely or missing out on my favorite American Holiday (Christmas and Easter are pretty universal unless you're in an Arabic country or an unreached people group), but what I'm noticing is that there's a strange disconnect as I compare the hustle and bustle of what I know is happening with friends and family back in the US as compared to what's going on here. Over the past 8 years I've been in the US for every Thanksgiving and it always feels like the Holiday is such an event that everyone in the world must be celebrating it. In fact, I actually have an Australian friend who told me one year she was celebrating it with an American family in Australia! But here in Kenya, out side of the American Expatriate community there's nothing.
The disconnect doesn't only apply to Holidays, but to so much of life. Occasionally, I take a moment to stop and actually think of what my life was like before I arrived in Kenya on January 28 and it seems like someone else's life. It's almost like that was a movie I saw and then came into this life. So many of the characters featured in the story of my life in Michigan are little more than occasional Facebook cameos in the story of my life in Africa. I don't mean to diminish the significance of those friendships (man this is a post that could really alienate people if I'm not careful), but really other than occasionally popping in to send a message of encouragement or make me laugh they don't really have anything to do with my daily life. I'm sure in the same way I seem like a distant memory to them much of the time. And I know that when I return on January 26 this life will become that exact same thing.
Even more disconnected is the world. Right now Kericho, Kenya feels very real and tangible. I can smell cooking fires in the houses around me, I can see the green grass in the bright sunlight, and I can feel the soft dark earth in the places that never seem to get quite dried up before another rain comes. At the same time, when I picture Michigan my first impulse, even in July and August, has been to see it the way I left it in January, dreary, snow covered, and -10 degrees. If I really think it over I know that the seasons are changing, but from here even that seems a foreign concept. Technically speaking we have two dry and two rainy seasons, but for all practical purposes the difference isn't that noticeable.
I don't really know where I'm going with this, but I guess I just felt this was a good opportunity to try and relay to anyone who's interested just how it feels to be so far away. I guess if you've ever spent a long period away from the place where you grew up or where you live, you have an idea what I'm talking about, and if you haven't you're probably not interested in my blog. I guess the reason we feel this disconnect is because wherever we are the world and our lives are already so beautiful and complex we can only sense so much and then to be able to comprehend that AND the other world and life we've been in previously is just WAY too much.
And that brings me to a God thought, think about your sense of strange disconnectedness and then think about the fact that God doesn't have that sense. He is all places, all times, and all knowing. So even as I sit in the Kericho "spring" in November 2009 He is with me and also you in the North American late autumn, or the Australian summer or wherever else you may be. Now consider that He was just as with you in another place you've come from that now feels very far away and strange. Guess what, He's still there right now and knows the weather both there and where you are now. If you can wrap your mind around that, go see a shrink because you're just crazy.
By the way, think of your poor cashier when you set you 15 pound turkey on the belt. He or she has been lifting thousands of these heavy icy things in the past week and is getting very tired, not to mention he/she may have to work the holiday AND will definitely be in on Black Friday as well.
Showing posts with label Adkins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adkins. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A day in the Life
As I've been uncertain of what to write about here I think this time we'll just go for a basic topic... A day in my life in Kericho, Kenya.
I am now living in Kericho and working with John Makibior in the Media department at the Africa Gospel Church head office. I live in a small house on the compound that is referred to as "The Trailer" because it is a converted trailer. To get a sense of this small but homey living space check out my Facebook group "Adkins Media On Location."
Last night I started writing about my typical day here in Kericho, it wasn't very interesting. Then today came along and I had a rather unusual day! So I'll write about that day!
I have been running low on groceries for 3 days now and each day I just put off going shopping especially as I've been quite busy at work writing and re-writing a script. Well after dinner last night I was running real low so I decided I had to go to town today.
I got to work a little after 8 this morning and worked probably until around 9. I decided to walk to town, good exercise and it's cheap, so I went out and took a short cut I learned last weekend. It was quite a nice walk though if I had really thought it through I would have left behind some of the things I was carrying. I have no idea how long it took me to get to town but I would guess 45 minutes based on the fact that i listened to a 12 minute podcast and half a CD album on the way. On the way in I passed some fruit vendors and made a plan to buy mango and pineapple on my way back.
I had 3 place I wanted to visit in town, there's the photo shop which I only know how to get to from the book shop, the book shop which I was pretty sure I could easily find from the grocery store, and the grocery store which I totally know how to get to! I went straight to the grocery store since I knew the way there, but my plan was to find the book store first so I could buy a small Bible. Well, when I got to the grocery store (Stagemat) I looked in each direction for which street looked right. I didn't see the book shop. I decided to pick a direction and start walking, nothing looked right. When the plan goes wrong go back to the beginning. I took another direction. still nothing looked right. Back to Stagemat, I asked the guard at the door if he knew the way. He just pointed me into the store. I thought maybe he was intending down the street and to the right so I tried that, still not right. Finally, I admitted defeat, I had misplace the book shop. Now it should be mentioned that this is Bethany Bookshopt, it was started by my Grandparents or Great Grandparents, this is almost like misplacing the family jewels!
Any way I decided to adjust my plan and do my grocery shopping, call a Taxi and have him take me to the book shop before coming back home. I did my grocery shopping and things were good. I called this taxi driver I know, his name is Soldier, and after a few minutes he came and got me. When I was getting in the car I asked if we could go by Bethany Bookshop first, he looked at me a little funny and then drove across the street! It was right there! Went into the shop and bought my Bible, it's a small one so I can easily pack it when traveling.
Soldier and I then headed out of town and stopped at the fruit stands I had passed on the way in. He helped me get a pineapple at the first one for 40 Shillings (about $0.50) which he said was expensive since they are out of season. Then we continued on to the Mango stand by the speed bumps and got a Mango. That was 20 Shillings ($0.25) which again he said was a rip off. As we came on to the church office Soldier explained that there's a market in town where Mangos are about 5 shillings (almost nothing). I have decided that finding this mythical market will be my next adventure!
When I got back to the house it was about 11, so 2 hours to loose a book shop, get groceries, find a book shop and get back, not too bad really.
I went back to work where I found Koech, my friend who brings chai twice a day, cleaning the office. The board is visiting us tomorrow. Koech poured me a cup of tea almost as soon as I sat down and that motivated me to keep working until lunch time.
I decided to make lunch my small meal for today so I just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was pretty good.
The afternoon was mostly spent working on my script and logging my footage from Burundi about a month ago. John, my co-worker, has been in meetings all this week so I just kept myself occupied. John did make it back some time around 4 and then we suddenly go busy straightening the place up until sometime after 5 when we came home.
Getting back to the house this evening I had to do laundry (again I direct you to facebook to see my oh so efficient "Laundry Machine"). Once the laundry was out of the way I set about taking care of my produce. I had an onion, a pineapple and a mango to cut up and store in the fridge. The onion was easy to cut, but it was a strong beast of an onion so I cried through the whole thing. Then I went for the pineapple, I'd never cut a pineapple. I figured it couldn't be too hard, but I wasn't really interested in messing up either. So I went to Google and man it pulled through for me, I fond a site with step by step instructions and photos. Turns out cutting a pineapple is exactly as easy as I thought it would be. By this point I was feeling pretty good, so it was on to the Mango! I was pretty sure I knew how to do this so I skipped google and just dove in. Well I'd completely forgotten Mangos have a hard seed in the middle. That was issue one, but should have been something I could get around. However, I think the fruit was also a little under or over ripe because rather than a nice firm inside that can be cubed it was all mushy and stringy like a pumpkin. I salvaged what I could of it and we'll see how it turns out.
Finally, I cooked dinner. When I first got to Kericho nearly 3 weeks ago the only meat I found at Stagemat was hamburgers. Only problem since has been a lack of buns. Well I found some buns today and so I dug into one of my burgers. Oh man that was good. I followed the Burger with pineapple and cookies. Oh man that was good. After I finished eating I hopped her on the internet and have been blogging ever since. It's now nearly bed time, 11PM, so I hope you will all enjoy my roller coaster day as much as I did and we'll see you again soon.
I am now living in Kericho and working with John Makibior in the Media department at the Africa Gospel Church head office. I live in a small house on the compound that is referred to as "The Trailer" because it is a converted trailer. To get a sense of this small but homey living space check out my Facebook group "Adkins Media On Location."
Last night I started writing about my typical day here in Kericho, it wasn't very interesting. Then today came along and I had a rather unusual day! So I'll write about that day!
I have been running low on groceries for 3 days now and each day I just put off going shopping especially as I've been quite busy at work writing and re-writing a script. Well after dinner last night I was running real low so I decided I had to go to town today.
I got to work a little after 8 this morning and worked probably until around 9. I decided to walk to town, good exercise and it's cheap, so I went out and took a short cut I learned last weekend. It was quite a nice walk though if I had really thought it through I would have left behind some of the things I was carrying. I have no idea how long it took me to get to town but I would guess 45 minutes based on the fact that i listened to a 12 minute podcast and half a CD album on the way. On the way in I passed some fruit vendors and made a plan to buy mango and pineapple on my way back.
I had 3 place I wanted to visit in town, there's the photo shop which I only know how to get to from the book shop, the book shop which I was pretty sure I could easily find from the grocery store, and the grocery store which I totally know how to get to! I went straight to the grocery store since I knew the way there, but my plan was to find the book store first so I could buy a small Bible. Well, when I got to the grocery store (Stagemat) I looked in each direction for which street looked right. I didn't see the book shop. I decided to pick a direction and start walking, nothing looked right. When the plan goes wrong go back to the beginning. I took another direction. still nothing looked right. Back to Stagemat, I asked the guard at the door if he knew the way. He just pointed me into the store. I thought maybe he was intending down the street and to the right so I tried that, still not right. Finally, I admitted defeat, I had misplace the book shop. Now it should be mentioned that this is Bethany Bookshopt, it was started by my Grandparents or Great Grandparents, this is almost like misplacing the family jewels!
Any way I decided to adjust my plan and do my grocery shopping, call a Taxi and have him take me to the book shop before coming back home. I did my grocery shopping and things were good. I called this taxi driver I know, his name is Soldier, and after a few minutes he came and got me. When I was getting in the car I asked if we could go by Bethany Bookshop first, he looked at me a little funny and then drove across the street! It was right there! Went into the shop and bought my Bible, it's a small one so I can easily pack it when traveling.
Soldier and I then headed out of town and stopped at the fruit stands I had passed on the way in. He helped me get a pineapple at the first one for 40 Shillings (about $0.50) which he said was expensive since they are out of season. Then we continued on to the Mango stand by the speed bumps and got a Mango. That was 20 Shillings ($0.25) which again he said was a rip off. As we came on to the church office Soldier explained that there's a market in town where Mangos are about 5 shillings (almost nothing). I have decided that finding this mythical market will be my next adventure!
When I got back to the house it was about 11, so 2 hours to loose a book shop, get groceries, find a book shop and get back, not too bad really.
I went back to work where I found Koech, my friend who brings chai twice a day, cleaning the office. The board is visiting us tomorrow. Koech poured me a cup of tea almost as soon as I sat down and that motivated me to keep working until lunch time.
I decided to make lunch my small meal for today so I just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It was pretty good.
The afternoon was mostly spent working on my script and logging my footage from Burundi about a month ago. John, my co-worker, has been in meetings all this week so I just kept myself occupied. John did make it back some time around 4 and then we suddenly go busy straightening the place up until sometime after 5 when we came home.
Getting back to the house this evening I had to do laundry (again I direct you to facebook to see my oh so efficient "Laundry Machine"). Once the laundry was out of the way I set about taking care of my produce. I had an onion, a pineapple and a mango to cut up and store in the fridge. The onion was easy to cut, but it was a strong beast of an onion so I cried through the whole thing. Then I went for the pineapple, I'd never cut a pineapple. I figured it couldn't be too hard, but I wasn't really interested in messing up either. So I went to Google and man it pulled through for me, I fond a site with step by step instructions and photos. Turns out cutting a pineapple is exactly as easy as I thought it would be. By this point I was feeling pretty good, so it was on to the Mango! I was pretty sure I knew how to do this so I skipped google and just dove in. Well I'd completely forgotten Mangos have a hard seed in the middle. That was issue one, but should have been something I could get around. However, I think the fruit was also a little under or over ripe because rather than a nice firm inside that can be cubed it was all mushy and stringy like a pumpkin. I salvaged what I could of it and we'll see how it turns out.
Finally, I cooked dinner. When I first got to Kericho nearly 3 weeks ago the only meat I found at Stagemat was hamburgers. Only problem since has been a lack of buns. Well I found some buns today and so I dug into one of my burgers. Oh man that was good. I followed the Burger with pineapple and cookies. Oh man that was good. After I finished eating I hopped her on the internet and have been blogging ever since. It's now nearly bed time, 11PM, so I hope you will all enjoy my roller coaster day as much as I did and we'll see you again soon.
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