I have written up multiple posts since arriving and diligently saved them to my flash, but had forgotten that I need to save them in an earlier version of Microsoft Word to be able to open them on Nigerian computers! Alas, this will just be a quick, less-insightful and less-descriptive summary than I what I have already written (and will try to post later).
We made it to Jalingo safely after 48+ of travel! It's SO GOOD TO BE BACK! It's like stepping back into my former life and it's wonderful! I couldn't ask for anything more.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Jalingo, Here I Come!
Plans
After being back in Iowa for almost two years, I’m super excited to be heading back to Jalingo, Nigeria on Sunday to do some work with a team through the Iowa-Nigeria Partnership of the United Methodist Church. While I’m a little uncertain about the exact nature of the work I will be doing, I know it will include some computer and leadership training of the church leaders, checking out the EmpowHER micro-lending program that was recently implemented, celebrating the high school graduation with the students that I taught and last, but certainly not least, to catch up with some near and dear friends while I’m there. Please pray for our group over the next month that our work and interactions with the people of Nigeria will positively impact one another.
Expectations
As I was running around getting my packing done at the last minute before heading to Omaha to celebrate my cousin Beth’s wedding (Yay and Congrats!) I was reflecting on how different the preparations are this time returning to familiar territory as opposed to embarking blindly into the unknown. I know that toilet paper and laundry detergent are available 10 steps outside the compound where I’ll be staying and aren’t necessary to pack. I know that my friends LOVE the little Crystal Light drink mixes and will be excited to get some. I know that despite my strong desire to pack sweat shirts, sweaters and fleeces due to freezing everywhere inside in the US, they are rarely needed in Nigeria! I know how quickly things can change everywhere, so I’m looking forward to seeing how things have evolved and progressed since I’ve been away.
Perspective
It was a big deal for my parents to send me off to Nigeria for a year that first time (much bigger for them than for me!) However, I think I prepared them well because this time, they keep saying, “at least it’s only for 5 weeks!” Additionally, my time in Nigeria has made them thankful that I signed a contract to teach in El Salvador, which is in the same time zone, and has constant electricity! :) Perspective is everything.
After being back in Iowa for almost two years, I’m super excited to be heading back to Jalingo, Nigeria on Sunday to do some work with a team through the Iowa-Nigeria Partnership of the United Methodist Church. While I’m a little uncertain about the exact nature of the work I will be doing, I know it will include some computer and leadership training of the church leaders, checking out the EmpowHER micro-lending program that was recently implemented, celebrating the high school graduation with the students that I taught and last, but certainly not least, to catch up with some near and dear friends while I’m there. Please pray for our group over the next month that our work and interactions with the people of Nigeria will positively impact one another.
Expectations
As I was running around getting my packing done at the last minute before heading to Omaha to celebrate my cousin Beth’s wedding (Yay and Congrats!) I was reflecting on how different the preparations are this time returning to familiar territory as opposed to embarking blindly into the unknown. I know that toilet paper and laundry detergent are available 10 steps outside the compound where I’ll be staying and aren’t necessary to pack. I know that my friends LOVE the little Crystal Light drink mixes and will be excited to get some. I know that despite my strong desire to pack sweat shirts, sweaters and fleeces due to freezing everywhere inside in the US, they are rarely needed in Nigeria! I know how quickly things can change everywhere, so I’m looking forward to seeing how things have evolved and progressed since I’ve been away.
Perspective
It was a big deal for my parents to send me off to Nigeria for a year that first time (much bigger for them than for me!) However, I think I prepared them well because this time, they keep saying, “at least it’s only for 5 weeks!” Additionally, my time in Nigeria has made them thankful that I signed a contract to teach in El Salvador, which is in the same time zone, and has constant electricity! :) Perspective is everything.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Bittersweet Endings
Describing endings as bittersweet is probably considered rather cliché, but I believe it has become cliché because of the dichotomy that it so aptly portrays. As I packed up my apartment in Clinton and said my final good-byes to friends and co-workers, I was struck by the finality of this current reality. I’ll never again live above landlords who notice my bike tires are low on air and pump them up for me or knock on my door to bring me the most delicious baked goods. There are inside jokes with co-workers that can’t be relayed to other audiences and remain humorous. Friendships have been built; we will work to maintain them, but they will change due to distance and time. Finally, leaving this set of students means leaving their insatiable appetite for love and attention and the opportunity to practice patience on a superhuman level. There is a compassionate (masochistic?) part of me that will miss that.
While leaving these aforementioned people will create a void, how sweet to have “done life” with them for a time! My life has definitely been enriched and enhanced by those I have met and experiences we’ve shared!!! Now that the Clinton chapter in life has closed, I’m waiting and preparing for the adventures to come. First up, revisiting old friends in Jalingo, Nigeria June 12th-July 19th! I can’t wait!
While leaving these aforementioned people will create a void, how sweet to have “done life” with them for a time! My life has definitely been enriched and enhanced by those I have met and experiences we’ve shared!!! Now that the Clinton chapter in life has closed, I’m waiting and preparing for the adventures to come. First up, revisiting old friends in Jalingo, Nigeria June 12th-July 19th! I can’t wait!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Pondering Packing
I've been slowly, but diligently, purging many of my possessions since December in preparation for moving abroad in the summer of 2011. This process has been simultaneously interesting and agonizing! I started creating areas of purgatory for certain difficult items. Surprisingly (to me but not to statistics), most things have ended up at Goodwill or my church garage sale pile after it completes its waiting period.
Recently, I was perplexed by the idea that I was more than ready to get rid of my TV that I've had since college. I haven't hardly watched it while living in Clinton due to lack of cable and insufficient local signal, so I adapted and became completely dependent on my computer. However, I felt this strong attachment to the entertainment center that I purchased at a consignment store here in Clinton less than two years ago. Now, logically, why would one even consider keeping an entertainment center if they are getting rid of their TV without a second thought? Then, after deciding that moving the entertainment center wouldn't be fun and I should just donate it, I was seriously considering keeping my DVD player. Really?!? I eventually came to my senses that my computer has a DVD player and without a TV, it's useless!
As someone who considers them self rather detached from "things", I've come to realize I'm a lot more attached and dependent than I had initially evaluated and I have determined that often it's because things are attached to memories. I keep reminding myself that the memory doesn't have to disappear just because the "thing" does...at least I hope not because my parents' basement can't fit all the memories that I've accumulated! :)
Recently, I was perplexed by the idea that I was more than ready to get rid of my TV that I've had since college. I haven't hardly watched it while living in Clinton due to lack of cable and insufficient local signal, so I adapted and became completely dependent on my computer. However, I felt this strong attachment to the entertainment center that I purchased at a consignment store here in Clinton less than two years ago. Now, logically, why would one even consider keeping an entertainment center if they are getting rid of their TV without a second thought? Then, after deciding that moving the entertainment center wouldn't be fun and I should just donate it, I was seriously considering keeping my DVD player. Really?!? I eventually came to my senses that my computer has a DVD player and without a TV, it's useless!
As someone who considers them self rather detached from "things", I've come to realize I'm a lot more attached and dependent than I had initially evaluated and I have determined that often it's because things are attached to memories. I keep reminding myself that the memory doesn't have to disappear just because the "thing" does...at least I hope not because my parents' basement can't fit all the memories that I've accumulated! :)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Iowa Travels
Moving to back to Iowa in fall of 2009 provided me the opportunity to live in Iowa for the first time as an adult. This made me realize how I changed since leaving after college. I'm now and explorer and experiencer meaning that good old familiar Iowa provided all sorts of new opportunities that had not been previously considered.
Over the past two years, I've successfully experienced some of the touristy highlights (at least according to my world) of Iowa including the Bridges of Madison County, Field of Dreams, Effigy Mounds, Postville, Villages of Van Buren County and innumerable state and county parks with local and out-of-town friends as well as random dates. Most recently, I took in the the Pella Tulip Festival on the most beautiful spring day of 2011 with some old friends from UNI! It was most delightful!
Some of the highlights included:
*75% of the town dressed in traditional dutch attire including ginormous wooden clogs (including 300+ elementary school students walking in perfect rows!)
*Impressive hydraulics on nearly every float
*Clearest, most informative parade sound system EVER!!!
*My first taste of Dutch letters; they're delicious!
*Exposure to traditional street cleaning for the first time i.e. buckets of water and brooms.
*Perfectly-bloomed and beautifully-colored tulips EVERYWHERE!
*Spending time with friends and remembering exactly why they're my friends! :)
I've determined through my travels over the past few years that Iowa truly has "Fields of Opportunities". :)
Over the past two years, I've successfully experienced some of the touristy highlights (at least according to my world) of Iowa including the Bridges of Madison County, Field of Dreams, Effigy Mounds, Postville, Villages of Van Buren County and innumerable state and county parks with local and out-of-town friends as well as random dates. Most recently, I took in the the Pella Tulip Festival on the most beautiful spring day of 2011 with some old friends from UNI! It was most delightful!
Some of the highlights included:
*75% of the town dressed in traditional dutch attire including ginormous wooden clogs (including 300+ elementary school students walking in perfect rows!)
*Impressive hydraulics on nearly every float
*Clearest, most informative parade sound system EVER!!!
*My first taste of Dutch letters; they're delicious!
*Exposure to traditional street cleaning for the first time i.e. buckets of water and brooms.
*Perfectly-bloomed and beautifully-colored tulips EVERYWHERE!
*Spending time with friends and remembering exactly why they're my friends! :)
I've determined through my travels over the past few years that Iowa truly has "Fields of Opportunities". :)
Friday, April 22, 2011
Brain Exercise
They always say when you exercise you should mix it up as it works different parts of your body and keeps your muscles guessing. Now, I have a hard time following this because I enjoy running, but I attempt with a little Boot camp class at the YWCA here in Clinton.
However, I realized recently that the same holds true for your brain! My downstairs neighbors (best landlords EVER) invited me down one evening to eat popcorn and play a new card game with them that they'd recently learned. I was excited because it had been years since I'd played cards. It was so much fun! My brain was definitely stretched to think in a way that it wasn't accustomed to. Counting points, strategizing when to lay cards down, paying attention to what cards people were collecting, trying unsuccessfully to maintain a poker face simultaneously was difficult, but FUN!
This led me to reflect how I really enjoy when my brain gets to think in different ways. I'm hoping to get to play my flute in the local town band in Wilton before I leave for Nigeria as that is a way that I have neglected due to lack of regular opportunities.
Blogging provides an opportunity to write in narrative form. I remember when I first blogged in Nigeria it felt strange at first but throughout the year it got easier to think in a compositional way. I feel the rustiness again, but my brain is excited to stretch in this way again!
In preparation for living in El Salvador, I knew I should start practicing some Spanish again. During a visit to Chicago and stay in a hostel we met up with some other travelers from Latin America and had the opportunity to speak Spanish for a few hours. It was kind of like trying to run a 10K after laying on the couch for 5 years. However, I also remembered how much I LOVED it!
It's easy to get in a life routine where the brain is thinking in the same way all the time. These slightly divergent activities have reminded me how much I love the the "feeling" of thinking in these different ways!
However, I realized recently that the same holds true for your brain! My downstairs neighbors (best landlords EVER) invited me down one evening to eat popcorn and play a new card game with them that they'd recently learned. I was excited because it had been years since I'd played cards. It was so much fun! My brain was definitely stretched to think in a way that it wasn't accustomed to. Counting points, strategizing when to lay cards down, paying attention to what cards people were collecting, trying unsuccessfully to maintain a poker face simultaneously was difficult, but FUN!
This led me to reflect how I really enjoy when my brain gets to think in different ways. I'm hoping to get to play my flute in the local town band in Wilton before I leave for Nigeria as that is a way that I have neglected due to lack of regular opportunities.
Blogging provides an opportunity to write in narrative form. I remember when I first blogged in Nigeria it felt strange at first but throughout the year it got easier to think in a compositional way. I feel the rustiness again, but my brain is excited to stretch in this way again!
In preparation for living in El Salvador, I knew I should start practicing some Spanish again. During a visit to Chicago and stay in a hostel we met up with some other travelers from Latin America and had the opportunity to speak Spanish for a few hours. It was kind of like trying to run a 10K after laying on the couch for 5 years. However, I also remembered how much I LOVED it!
It's easy to get in a life routine where the brain is thinking in the same way all the time. These slightly divergent activities have reminded me how much I love the the "feeling" of thinking in these different ways!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Insights Gained in Clinton
My last two years of living in Clinton has contributed to increased understanding of myself and the world around me, some discoveries more profound than others. Listed below is a smattering:
1. I LOVE walking to school! Living a few blocks from my work was amazing, and it always boggled my students' minds that I walked...even in the rain using an umbrella!!
2. Coffee is delicious. After going to Hawaii and getting Hawaiian coffee I broke down and accepted a coffee pot as a gift (whereas I had previously maintained that I didn't want one because then I would just drink more coffee). I had anticipated correctly, but it brings a LOT of joy to my life!
3. The road conditions of Clinton and Jalingo, Nigeria are comparable.
4. Living along the Mississippi River is delightful...I'm going to miss running on the riverfront trail.
5. Cross-country skiing is AMAZING! I had never tried it before, but I now own my own skis so I can go anytime and anywhere I want for free! Winter is fun when there is snow and the temperatures are in the double digits!!
6. I CAN do a marathon! I had always been worried about how to eat at proper times and amounts along the course. That was what had held me back, sounds ridiculous now because it wasn't an issue because I DID it!
7. Spending a weekend in Clinton in solitude can be pleasant. In fact, once I learned to appreciate my own company (toward the end of the two years) I found many things about it quite enjoyable!
8. I determined that one of the things I loved about Nigeria was experiencing new things or ADVENTURES, and started applying it to life in Iowa: doing research at Iowa State, visiting new-to-me Iowa landmarks, and teaching freshmen!
9. Great co-workers are invaluable! While I realized this before at my previous jobs where I'd been blessed with amazing co-workers, it was even more important here where I had few, local friends outside of work...luckily, they ROCKED!
10. I really love the elderly. My friends at the nursing home here in Clinton loved unconditionally, were always happy to receive a visit, and shared decades of wisdom with me! What an honor to spend time with such special people!
1. I LOVE walking to school! Living a few blocks from my work was amazing, and it always boggled my students' minds that I walked...even in the rain using an umbrella!!
2. Coffee is delicious. After going to Hawaii and getting Hawaiian coffee I broke down and accepted a coffee pot as a gift (whereas I had previously maintained that I didn't want one because then I would just drink more coffee). I had anticipated correctly, but it brings a LOT of joy to my life!
3. The road conditions of Clinton and Jalingo, Nigeria are comparable.
4. Living along the Mississippi River is delightful...I'm going to miss running on the riverfront trail.
5. Cross-country skiing is AMAZING! I had never tried it before, but I now own my own skis so I can go anytime and anywhere I want for free! Winter is fun when there is snow and the temperatures are in the double digits!!
6. I CAN do a marathon! I had always been worried about how to eat at proper times and amounts along the course. That was what had held me back, sounds ridiculous now because it wasn't an issue because I DID it!
7. Spending a weekend in Clinton in solitude can be pleasant. In fact, once I learned to appreciate my own company (toward the end of the two years) I found many things about it quite enjoyable!
8. I determined that one of the things I loved about Nigeria was experiencing new things or ADVENTURES, and started applying it to life in Iowa: doing research at Iowa State, visiting new-to-me Iowa landmarks, and teaching freshmen!
9. Great co-workers are invaluable! While I realized this before at my previous jobs where I'd been blessed with amazing co-workers, it was even more important here where I had few, local friends outside of work...luckily, they ROCKED!
10. I really love the elderly. My friends at the nursing home here in Clinton loved unconditionally, were always happy to receive a visit, and shared decades of wisdom with me! What an honor to spend time with such special people!
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