Wander Susan Wonder

So I experienced my first rain yesterday in over 6 months. I was really excited to see it. Me and the roommates just went out and played in it. We let ourselves get soaked to the bone and when the wind blew, we would marvel at the fact that we had chill bumps on our arms. It was the first time in so long I’ve genuinely been cold. I wanted to go put on a jacket just because I could have worn it without sweating, but I decided to enjoy being cold instead. We danced around singing “Kiss the Rain,” even though we could only remember those 3 words….so we just kinda sang them over and over again.
It was a fun afternoon, and really refreshing that I can truly appreciate something like a big rain. I mean I’ve always liked rain, enjoy the smell, like watching clouds roll in, but I don’t think I’ve ever been thankful enough for it to just stand outside in the midst of it…to run and play..and take pictures…and just be a part of a moment that before had just been a routine occurrence. I’m not saying that I appreciate everything like I should….there’s stuff to be a part of everyday and to simply enjoy it…….but yesterday, I was a part of the rain….and it was amazing.

1. I’m much more selfish than I thought.
2. Learning a new language is one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.
3. Sleeping on a cot under the big African sky full of stars is way better than in a comfortable bed.
4. Water does the same thing no matter what temperature it is. Cold water is really good, but warm/hot water is just as refreshing.
5. You can do without just about anything…..but running water is the hardest to not have.
6. Everything is a process….whether it is buying groceries or getting a glass of water.
7. It is possible to sweat all 24 hours of a day.
8. I long for pictures from home or a Chic-Fil-A sandwich way more than I ever wanted a new outfit or the latest pair of shoes.
9. It takes repeated blows by a shoe to kill a scorpion….they usually don’t go down on the first swing.
10. Thinking about my friends or family get me through the hard days.
11. I can’t get through this by myself.
12. In the right sauce, stomach and liver don’t really taste that bad.
13. Attitude is everything.
14. For the time being, I’m where I’m supposed to be.
15. I can’t wait for the day that I’ll be cold again.
16. I need to be more generous….with time, with things, with everything.
17.African kids are cuter….they just are.
18. I have to take one day at a time….more than that gets too overwhelming to think about.
19. Living in close community is difficult and frustrating, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.
20. Wearing a huge tent-like dress actually keeps you cooler, and you learn to get over the fact that you look like a tent.
21. Some days, the only thing that keeps me here is the reason I came in the first place.
22. There is so much more to learn.

This is just a little tribute to the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions. I knew Roy and the boys would pull through. I am a bit disappointed that they waited until I was out of the country and unable to see any of the games to go all the way….but I’ll talk to Roy later about that and I should be over it soon. And I won a bet because of it and everything (refer to previous blog)…..so amazing. Everyone hum the fight song for me, look up at that great Carolina Blue sky and smile, and someone send me a championship t-shirt and a copy of the game. Go Heels!!

Now about a month and a half ago, maybe 2 months, I decided to get a nose ring. For those of you that are in my immediate family and might be against this decision, just read the whole story before you freak out. A woman that I worked with did it with a needle and thread. Yes, my nose got threaded and it hurt really bad. So at first I had a little string through my nose that was tied to look sort of like a ring. I got different answers on how long the string should stay in before you actually put in the nose ring. Some said a week, 2 weeks, or a month. I, being slightly impatient, voted on a week and a half, and when the same woman tried to put the stud in, my nose bled a lot and she couldn’t get it in. Well since the string was already out I thought we were going to have a problem. I was wrong though. She simply broke of a piece of straw from a broom and stuck it in the hole. Yes, at this point I had a piece of straw in my nose. This phase of the process lasted a while because I had learned my lesson and wanted to wait until my nose was completely healed. In the meantime, I had to buy a stud to go in my nose. Through a mis-communication I ended up with 2 nose rings….great now I have a back up. Well after we tried to get it in that first time and I ended up with a piece of straw, I gave the stud to one of my room mates to put in her bag. Well that nose ring is yet to be found. No fault to her. It was small and she carried a big bag. Oh well. No worries though because I have a back up. The time finally came to try the other stud. Apparently I have a rather thick nose (awesome), because the stud would not go all the way through my nose. You know what that means….back to the piece of straw. About a week later, someone I knew was traveling to the capital where there are plenty of nose rings so I asked her to pick me up one. At last, third time is a charm…I couldn’t wait till she got back. Well she did…..and she didn’t get one. She said she was afraid that she would pick the wrong one, or that it wouldn’t fit (remember….thick nose). I was disappointed, but at least I still had my piece of straw. Finally, one of the local ladies here took me to the market and got me a good price on a nose ring. And finally, I got it in. It was awesome. I liked it….everyone liked it. At last!! Well about 3 days later, I woke up, stumbled into the bathroom, looked in the mirror, and realized that the stud was not in my nose. I came back to the room, looked everywhere….really everywhere, and have yet to find the nose ring. It either disappeared, its currently floating around in my brain, or I swallowed it somehow. One of life’s unsolved mysteries I guess. I know, I know, it’s a long story with a disappointing ending (unless you’re my mom which at this point you are probably really relieved). I didn’t even get a picture of the finished product. I could go back to the market and try the whole process over for the 47th time, but at this point I’m kinda over it, and I don’t want that piece of broom back in my nose.

Our refrigerator runs on gas here. That means you have to change gas bottles and mess with the “striker” and all these other things that sound technical but really just get you dirty. If a particular gas bottle isn’t burning very cleanly, soot builds in the pipes behind the frig. Currently the gas bottle on our frig is causing so much soot that I have to clean it out everyday. Basically what happens during this process is I first squeeze behind the frig getting soot all over the bottom of my feet. Then I remove a couple of pipes from behind the frig and clean them out with a special brush. This causes soot to fly everywhere, kinda forming a black cloud all around me….awesome. Then I have to clean up all the chunks of soot while in the process making black footprints all over the kitchen. I have become pretty professional at cleaning soot and even change into a special chimney sweep outfit everyday. I always get Mary Poppins flashbacks of the chim chiminey scene while performing my daily chore. After everything is done, I relight the frig, wash my hands for about 15 min, and then go outside and wash my feet. Hopefully this won’t be the routine everyday for the next two years…..ugh.

1. Running a generator—I know how to check the oil, the gas level, when to change the oil, and more importantly how to turn it on and off. 2. Walking in the dark—when you’re trying to conserve electricity (because the electricity comes from solar power and on a cloudy day you might be out of luck), you get pretty good at finding your way around in the dark. I would only recommend this if you know your way around somewhere really well…and always wear toe protection. 3. Changing a gas bottle—the frig and stove run on gas…and those gas bottles eventually run out…just hand me the wrench. 4. Eating with my hands—actually eating with my right hand only. Whether it is salad, sauce, rice, macaroni, or esh (similar to play dough), all you have to do is form a little pocket with your fingers and shove it in. This process becomes a little more challenging when you have to pull meat off a bone with only one hand. 5.Keeping a scarf on my head—this takes some practice, but with certain twists and tucks behind the ears…it can happen. 6. Washing Dishes—I, by NO means, know what’s going on in the world of the kitchen, but since my roommates can cook, I have developed into quite a dishwasher. I’ve even conquered my fear of grabbing the wet, gross leftover food that is in the drain after the dishwashing is finished. 7. Killing Bugs—crickets, grasshoppers, flies, scorpions…and other unidentified creatures. Hunting down these insects has enhanced my cat-like reflexes. 8. Holding/Drinking hot things—the calluses have formed…and I’ve concluded that the Starbucks sleeves for your cup are overrated. 9. Sleeping through the call to prayer—It’s over a loudspeaker right next to my house at about 4am…doesn’t phase me. 10. Eating carrots and cabbage—never touched them in the states…will pretty much eat anything you put in front of me here. This new fact will make some of my family very happy being that they are cabbage farmers. 11. Talking on Skype—there’s a delay…you just have to wait for it.

Ok, I can’t watch TV here, and I’m not up on the latest news, but I do know that college basketball (my favorite sport to watch) is in full swing. Now all who know me well know I bleed Carolina blue and one of my goals in life is to become friends with Roy Williams. Well, one of my teammates here doesn’t feel the same way about the Tarheels, and consequently he tends to trash talk about my beloved team most of the time. All who know me well also realize that I’m not good at sitting quietly while someone trash talks my team. As a result, I’m currently involved in a pretty huge bet. The Tarheels have to win the National Championship. Now I know that’s a pretty lofty goal, but if anyone can do it, Roy and the boys can. WHEN they win, my coworker has to walk hand in hand with a couple other male coworkers through town in traditional dress (guys here hold hands all the time, so it won’t be uncomfortable for them, but a group of American guys holding hands down the street is a different story). If my boys don’t win, I have to dye my eyebrows black again (refer to previous blog). So I just want to ask everyone to pull for the Tarheels this season, especially with March Madness is coming up. Yall have to pull them through since I’m out of town for the time being. Me and my eyebrows will greatly appreciate it. GO HEELS!!

I have always been clumsy. There has just about always been some kinda bruise or scratch from me bumping into something or falling down, etc. Here is no different. I have broken so many things since I’ve arrived here. Here’s a list:1. Thermos-people use them here to carry hot tea and coffee. I was carrying one when I dropped it and the bottom fell out and tea went everywhere (books, papers, a phone, etc)2. Two faucets- If you turn them off too hard the knobs come off and water starts to spray everywhere. You then have to run outside to cut off the water (I’ve gotten pretty good at it)3. A Bowl- I was having fun killing flies with a towel and hit a bowl off the counter that consequently, it shattered everywhere.4. A glass-a really nice one actually. I was washing dishes and it fell off the drying rack and once again….shattered everywhere.5. The bathroom door- I went in there and closed the door and then it wouldn’t open again. My supervisor had to drive over with a crowbar and pry me out. As a result, the door doesn’t even shut now.As a result of all this clumsiness, the people I work with ask me what I’ve broken about everyday, and me and the roommates keep track of how many days I go without breaking anything. So far my record is a 4 day streak. We’ve only been in this new house a few weeks so there is no telling how this list will grow over the next 2 years….I’ll keep you posted.About a week ago, I got some henna. It kinda looks like a tattoo but it only lasts a week or two. It’s done in really cool designs. While I was getting it done the ladies were telling me where all they get it. Hands (which is where mine is), feet (for married women only), eyes (like eyeliner), and eyebrows. I was just listening and never said I wanted it in those places or anything. The next thing I know is that the henna lady is coming at my eyes. I kinda freak out because I think she’s gonna put it on my eyes like eyeliner and I couldn’t see this black dye substance going very well near my eyes. Well, my local friend said she only wanted to do my eyebrows, and I guess since I was relieved it wasn’t going to be on my eyes, so I said ok. Well currently I have jet black eyebrows. This wouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that they are usually really light since I have light brown hair. I came home, looked in the mirror and scared myself since I looked rather goth-like, and immediately started scrubbing. Too bad it didn’t help. Thankfully, the blackness is beginning to fade, but I still gave everyone, including myself, a good scare…and laugh.

I just moved into a new house. I really like it, but there’s always little things to get used to. The first few nights anywhere I don’t always sleep well, but last night I had a little help in staying awake. I woke up about 3:30am to a very high pitched chirping sound. Now this isn’t just a chirp here and there but a long continuous chirp that strangely resembled fingernails on a chalk board. Well apparently a very strong lunged bird was trapped somewhere in the ceiling right above my room (lucky me) and was letting me know about it. What are come tactics used to fall back asleep when a bird is screaming in your ear? Well at first I just tried to cover my ears with my hands. I could still here the awful noise faintly, but it seemed to be working until my arms got really tired. Next I tried to fill my head with some good noise from my ipod, but I had to turn the music up so loud to drown out psycho bird that there was no way I was falling back asleep anytime soon. Finally I wrapped my pillow around my head with my face down on the bed and my headphones in playing music. I finally was unable to hear the blood curdling chirping, but I became pretty hot as a result of my current position. There were times that the bird of evil would stop his wretched chirping and I would thankfully come out of my pillow dungeon, but he started back up as soon as I got comfortable. I checked…he wasn’t actually in my room so I don’t know how he knew that my being comfortable was his cue to start up again. After about an hour or so (not exaggerating…really an hour or so), the bird finally found another part of the ceiling to go to, or lost his voice altogether (who cares which one is actually true). By the time he did leave it was already getting light outside so I only had a couple precious hours to sleep. What a night.

I have become somewhat of a spectacle in my country. I don’t exactly match the native skin tone here so I tend to stick out, even when I dress in the cultural lafye (see previous blogs). Most of the time as I’m walking down the street I can hear the faint cries of “nasara, nasara” (white person, white person), and I immediately see heads pop out of doorways waiting for me to come by. Some of these are kids who run away either crying, screaming, or laughing as I pass by and greet them. Some people just kinda stare me down without saying anything, and a lot of people are really nice and come up to talk to me.I usually hear a few chuckles after I attempt to say something in Arabic. There have even been times when swarms of children start to follow me and I kinda feel like the pied piper. Who needs a musical instrument to get people to follow you when you have light-colored skin? Being a constant star in the white people show can be frustrating at times, but fortunately I can usually laugh at the situation. Hopefully people in my town will get used to seeing me soon. Until then my staring role in the white people show continues.