Dear _____,

Neighbor practicing the recorder late one evening…  All those minor scales made me feel like something spooky or mysterious should have been happening.  (But it was an entirely ordinary evening.  Which I’m totally fine with.)

 

Trio of bulls with formidable horns…  Is it weird that I (and every other pedestrian) just walk right past you as you rummage through trash on the side of the road, and no one seems the least bit perturbed?  No is like, “Man, those creatures are scary – look at them horns!”

 

BBC radio…  Yes, the rare occasions that tune in listen to you are mostly because I enjoy the accents.  But I always end up learning something, too.  The other night I learned a bit about the thumb piano.  Isn’t it a cute little instrument?

 

Honk-happy bus driver…  Ow, my ears.  Please?  Not so loud!

 

Pair of turkeys perched on a brick wall…  I don’t suppose you’re much into trivia, but did you know that Benjamin Franklin thought turkeys should be the national bird of the U.S. instead of the bald eagle?  And on an unrelated note, where were you Thanksgiving Day?  Your presence was missed at the table.  Or more accurately, on the table…properly dressed and cooked, of course, not in your present state.

 

Jambon de bœuf [literally “ham of beef”]…  You don’t taste bad, but I feel like you’re a contradiction of terms.  Ham?  Beef?  Two different animals, man.

 

Piles of cement bags and rebar…  You make me feel like I’m back at Home Depot.  Okay, not quite.  You remind me of when I was working at Home Depot, let’s put it that way.  (Miss you guys!)

 

Transmission towers…  Um…are you supposed to be sparking like that?  I find it a bit unnerving.

 

Singing lady walking behind me…  It had been an exhausting day – I was about done with sand and feeling stupid and having people laugh at me.  Then as I was walking home from the store, I heard something that seemed familiar somehow.  So I strained to hear what you were singing.  “We hope in You, oh Lord…”  It was a song I’d heard in church.  How cool is that?!

 

French radio station…  I could have danced (or cried) for joy when I was flipping through stations one night, and realized I could understand not just isolated words and phrases, but several solid minutes of news commentary.  (This does not happen all the time, but the fact that it happened at all is cause for rejoicing.)  And hey, you even mentioned California!!

 

Baton-twirling security guard…  Hey, don’t hit me with that thing!

 

Car rapide…  I’m always caught off guard by the random bits of English I see here from time to time.  You had “I love you” painted across your front bumper, complete with a heart and arrow.  I almost laughed out loud when I saw that.

 

Polite motorist…  I’m used to guys on motos nearly knocking me down, then speeding off on their merry little way without the slightest pause.  (I’m sure these incidents have taken several years off my life already.)  So when you nearly ran into me as I was crossing the street, I expected the same thing.  You actually looked back and said, “Sorry!  So sorry!”  I have to say, that courtesy made my day.

 

 

Incredibly small, incredibly cute gecko that has taken up residence with me…  You have absolutely no idea how happy I am to have another gecko.  I didn’t think it was possible for geckos to be smaller than Rue was, but you are.  My first thought for a name was Ebenezer, but that name is longer than you are!  So…Eb it is.

 

Girltalk…  Thank you for this timely read on comparison.

 

Kari Jobe…  Thank you for this beautiful version of “Be Still, My Soul”.  Stillness is something my soul needs more of these days…

Yesterday in class...

Normally class consists of sitting at a table for 4 1/2 hours with my helper, Marie-Claude (more on the typical session in another post).  Yesterday we escaped the classroom and paid the local zoo/park a visit.

I took exactly four pictures before my camera's battery went kaput.  (Guess what language that comes from?  No, it's not French.)

So I whipped out my phone and continued like nothing had happened.  (Okay, that's not exactly what I did, but it sounded more exciting that way.)

I like shadow pictures, but this one is just weird.  Or more specifically, I look really weird.  What's up with that odd-shaped lump on my side?  I mean, I know I was carrying my tote on that side, but I didn't realize it would look like that.  Anyway...

You could almost forget you're right in the heart of a city with over two million people...

(And here's where my camera died...)

There were about seven or eight lions in this cage.

He was by himself and appeared to be quite bored.  He kept pacing back and forth, back and forth.

And then there was yet a third lion cage.

You probably can't even see these little guys.  To be honest, I'm not sure what they were exactly.  Some sort of fox-like creatures.  They would hardly stay still for a minute, so it was kind of hard to get a picture at all.

The crocodiles were ready to eat us.  Eeek!

Oh, what wouldn't I do to have eyelashes like an ostrich...

Howdy there.

It's just as well you can't see this thing better.  It's a wild boar (or related to a wild boar), and it's not exactly a pretty sight.

Rabbits at a zoo?  Yup.  There were also pigeons and a horse...which was hilarious, considering how common they are throughout the city.

We went back to see the big cats again.

Doesn't he look majestic?  Somewhat fierce and intimidating, but majestic nonetheless.

And finally: When I am tempted to be discouraged with my progress in French, let me at least be thankful that I'm moving faster than this creature.

Hello, Monday

 

Is the weekend over already?!

 

I’m always happy to see Friday roll around.  However, last week I was not only happy, but relieved.  For some reason it just seemed like an extra-long week.  It probably had a lot to do with the amount of sleep I was getting…or more precisely, the amount of sleep I was not getting.

 

By Friday I was making more mistakes in class than usual…like saying bétail (cattle) when I meant bataille (battle) and mixing up carrefour (intersection) with cafard (cockroach).  Which was hilarious, considering the sentences I was using them in.

 

 

By now, I’ve made over 1000 recordings of various activities in class.  (And yes, I do give them titles, I just hadn’t done these yet.)

 

So many words.  Sometimes it makes my brain hurt.

 

Now don’t get all technical and be like, “Nonsense, your brain can’t hurt!”

 

Oh, yes, it most definitely can.  I speak from experience.  (Plenty of it, I might add.)

 

 

There’s a new horse in the next door.  The guy dug a hole to anchor the rope.  (I’m guessing he put a brick in there too?  A foot of sand alone wouldn’t likely be enough to secure the rope.)

 

 

Then he “fixed” the old tub that serves as a feed trough.  I’m not exactly sure what the bricks were supposed to do, but as long as the horse was happy, I guess it doesn’t matter.

 

 

By all appearances he was, because he spent the better part of several hours munching away slowly at the tub.

 

I love how this shot got his swishing tail. :)

 

 

Mom sent peppermint mocha coffee in her last package, which I’m pretty sure has to be one of the best flavors ever, even outshining pumpkin spice.

 

Isn’t it nice how they included a coupon?  Not that it will do me any good.

 

(Okay, Michelle.  Yes, I’m proving your point about coffee.  But I don’t talk about it nearly as much as I used to.)

 

Yes, my birthday was weeks ago, but this card just came in the last package from home.  In my family (or specifically, between the three of us girls), we don’t do sweet and flowery.
 

Admittedly, it can sometimes be a challenge to find cards that are funny without being inappropriate.  There have been a few repeats over the years simply because, “That was the only funny card I could find!”

 

The cards are usually addressed with a nickname the person doesn’t really care for (like a nickname long outgrown) and signed something along the lines of “Your dear, wonderful, beautiful, amazing, perfect sister…”

 

It’s how we roll.

 

- - -

 

My cellphone beeped just now to inform me I had a new text.  It was in French, but the rough translation goes like this: “For 25 francs a day, discover African proverbs full of wisdom and truth.”  Uh…thanks.  I think I’ll pass.

- - -

 

One of my recent goals was to get back into Scripture memorization again.  I started Romans 8 last week, and to be honest, I’ve not been doing very well at all.  I’m not sure if I need to take smaller chunks at a time, or try working on it at a different time of day (I’ve been doing it before bed), or if I just need to be more disciplined.

 

- - -
 

Thankfully, I haven’t had another water shortage since the one when I first moved in, but I still keep my water barrel full.  Just in case.

 

Incidentally, a barrel full of water is pretty heavy.  I don’t pick it up, obviously; I just drag it along the floor.  But it still takes a bit of work to negotiate the floor’s uneven surface without sloshing water all over the place.  (Water + dusty floor = really bad combination.)
 

I did have a minor water problem over the weekend…one of the ceramic candles (those three brown things in the picture) in my water filter broke.

- - -
 

 

Yeah, I know in the grand scheme of things this is so not important, but I really miss little Rue.  Every time I time I walk into my kitchen I find myself peering around corners, hoping to see another little gecko face.

 

Crazy how fond I became of that tiny creature.

 

…So fond, in fact, that I got to thinking about Jonah.

 

What in the world does a guy who got swallowed by a fish have to do with geckos, you say?

 

Remember the plant and how happy it made Jonah?  And God told him, in effect, “You can care this much about a plant, so how much more do you think I care about the people of Nineveh?”

 

You care so much about a little gecko, Rachel.  What about the people around you?  How much more do you think I care about them?  How much do you care about them?

 

I realize that when we’re under a lot of stress (e.g. adjusting to a new culture), sometimes it’s the little things that can push us over the edge.  That’s normal.

 

But I still have to ask myself: Do I care more about a gecko dying than I do about people dying without Jesus?

 

Deep down inside I know what matters far more, but if I’m honest, I’ve probably spent more time in past week thinking about the former than the latter.

 

Bringing it back to the example of Jonah, I’m glad we have a God who doesn’t toss us aside when we falter or stumble or fail.  His grace is bigger than all our imperfections and skewed, earth-bound perspectives.

 

…Grace is a good note to start the week on. :)

 

Actually, grace is a good note for all the time.

Dear _____,

Half-frozen orange…  Okay, that’s just plain weird.  Time to turn the fridge down (or up, I guess).

 

Time sheets (for language learning)…  I was a little anxious about having to fill out and turn you in on a weekly basis.  “What if I forget to write stuff down?”  Turns out it hasn’t been a big deal, and it’s definitely been helpful to see exactly how much time I’m spending in French.

 

Teacups…  Because you are capable of both reasoning and communicating, I know you’re interested to know why I always put you in the cupboard upside down.  To keep the cockroaches from crawling in you, that’s why!  (Actually, in the absence of cockroaches I’d still probably do the same thing.)

 

 

Crochet hooks that arrived in the latest package from home…  Yay!  Now I can make use of that lovely Fall-ish yarn I was given the other month.

 

Planner (also in afore-mentioned package)…  What a relief that you’re finally here!  I’ve realized in the last few weeks how utterly dependent I am on a good planner.  (It’s kind of like having a second brain.  Or…no, it’s like having a backup of your hard drive!  You don’t have to worry about losing all your information/ideas if something happens, because you’ve got it somewhere else.)  Planning for a week at a time with only sticky notes is far, far from ideal.  For me, anyway.

 

Little boy kicking a dog…  Stop.  Stop!!  He didn’t do anything to you!  Haven’t you ever heard the saying, “Let sleeping dogs lie”?

 

Candy Cane Lane tea…  You know your one - your only - problem?  You’re seasonal.  I don’t understand why you can’t be available all year long.

 

 

Ginger jelly…  I added you to my “tasty culinary discoveries” list this week.  Sweet, but still very gingery, and all-around delightful.  You’d be really, really good on pumpkin scones or something.  (And my mouth is now watering at the thought.)

 

Pioneer Woman…  Thank you for making me laugh, inspiring me to get out of my rut where meals are concerned, and making me hungry for all things cheesy and bacony.  (Bacony.  It’s now a word.  You didn’t know that, did you?)

 

Sweeping and dusting…  You have to be two of the most thankless chores here.  No sooner are you completed than I turn around to find yet another layer of dust beginning to settle.  Again.

 

Guy with a star design bleached into his hair…  That’s very, um, unique.

 

 

Cockroaches…  The untimely and tragic demise of my little Rue (sniffle, sniffle) has unleashed many fierce and evil feelings within me.  Now, instead of my shoe, I often reach for the Baygon.  Die.  Die!!

 

Four flights of stairs…  In spite of what some people say, yes, one can get used to you.  Although it’s a slightly different matter when lugging a full gas can is involved.  Huff, huff.

 

Two little boys happily tossing an empty tomato can back and forth…  Ah, imagination and contentment.  Beautiful.

 

Pick-up with six or seven dogs in the back…  You make me curious.  What exactly is the meaning of this?

 

Sister and brother-in-law…  I thought of you this week when I learned the word pyromane.  No idea why.

 

 

Gala apples…  This week was the first time I bought you from a supermarket here.  I discovered that for the same price, I have a choice of mealy-and-unflavorful golden apples (who put the “delicious” in golden delicious?!), or crisp, tasty gala apples.  I pick you.

 

Strong gust of wind…  Whoosh!  You blew a whole bunch of sand right at my face (and into my eyes) just as you lifted the cap off some guy’s head and flung it into traffic.  That wasn’t very nice of you.

 

Bus that broke down right in the middle of the road…  Nice.  What’s next?  A tow truck?  A jack?

 

Guy wearing a t-shirt that said “There’s room for all God’s creatures”…  When I saw that, I immediately had the overwhelming urge to break into song.  All God’s creatures got a place in the choir, some sing low and some sing higher, some sing out loud on the telephone wire…  But because I’m not the belt-out-songs-randomly-while-walking-down-the-street kind of person, I just sung it in my head.

 

Christmas CDs that arrived after Christmas…  Hurrah!  Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!  Er, I mean, let the celebration continue.  (Thank you two for them – you know who you are.)

 

On Learning Spanish

“Wait.  I thought she was supposed to be learning French!”  Which is exactly why I’m writing about Spanish.

I took Spanish for I-lost-track-of-how-many-years, but it was a lot.

I listened to cassette tapes (yes, cassettes!) for hours upon hours.  I listened to songs in Spanish.  Eventually, I was reading the Bible and other books in Spanish.

And I absolutely loved it.

Well I would never claim mastery, I felt like I had a decently good grip on it.

With all that time spent learning Spanish, you’d have I thought I would have ended up in a Latin country.  When I handed my “résumé” to God, He didn’t look at it and say, “Oh, wow!  Look at how much time she’s spent on Spanish.  Let’s put her in…say, Mexico.  That’ll be a good fit.”

I mean, it would have made sense.  Right?  I could have bypassed two years of language learning and pretty much dived right into ministry.  I would have been close enough for family and friends from church to visit easily.  It wouldn’t have been entirely unfamiliar (I’ve been there twice, plus, think about where I grew up).

I wouldn’t have been at all surprised if God had directed me to Mexico.

But He didn’t.

He sent me across an ocean to…West Africa.  One of the least likely places I could have foreseen for myself.

So was all that time and effort wasted?

It’s helped me in some ways: knowing some things to avoid in language learning (no mental translation to English!), knowing what is effective (lots of listening to native speakers, with pictures to convey the meaning), knowing how the process flows naturally (hearing and understanding comes before reading and speaking), and so on.

Because Spanish and French are related, I can sometimes guess how a thought or sentence would be put together in French.  Some words are similar.  Grammatical structure is similar.

But…things that are different are not the same.  I find myself wanting to say también instead of aussi (also), y instead of et (and).  I say elle (she) when I mean il (he), because elle sounds like the Spanish word for he.  I pronounce de like the Spanish de rather than “du”, which is how it’s supposed to sound.  And I’m just waiting for the day when I’m accidentally going to call some random guy Seigneur (Lord) instead of monsieur, simply because señor is closer to the former than the latter.  I’ve already almost done it a couple of times…

Anyway, as French (and the consequent struggles) is a rather large part of my everyday life right now, I do often wonder why God couldn’t have just let me stick with Spanish.

It would have been so much easier that way.  So. much. easier, I tell myself.

But perhaps He did it this way so I’d find it harder to forget that I’m just a clay pot.

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7)