This funny English language.....

Some ten years ago, I was in the chapel at Friends Theological College in Kenya and the students were singing. It was my first week there and I was still unfamiliar with the accent. The students and African staff are fluent in English but it is their third language!

I looked at Sandy who had been there several years and whispered, "what are they singing??" I thought they were saying "Jesus is a wiener mahn" and the second verse was just as odd to me, "satin is a looser mahn". I later learned it was a Ron Kenoly song. The students loved it and I soon did too.

A couple of years later, a Peace Corps volunteer attended chapel. The song began and Lonie whispered to me, "what are they singing??"

Following is a rendition of that song. Imagine it in a small chapel with about 75 singing and clapping. It is festive and I'll bet even Jesus likes their version!!

The lyrics are: Jesus is a winner man, Jesus is a winner man, a winner man, a winner man, a winner man. Jesus is a winner man.... all the time.

Satan is a loser man, a loser man, a loser man, a loser man. Satan is a loser man...all the time.

There is a Spirit

“There is a spirit in all music, the spirit has the ability to conjure up thoughts even pictures of something that happened or you wished would happen or you anticipate happening. Music has the ability to create ideas in you and me. It has the ability to encourage us to be creative.” ~ Maya Angelou


Sunday (March 6) I was a broken woman during worship. I was still dealing with jetlag. I had just returned from an 18 day journey that touched so many emotions. I was tired but glad to be home. As the congregation sang the words to "Oh How I love Jesus", "What a Friend We Have In Jesus", and "Jesus Loves Me", I was weeping. There is a spirit in all music. I was reliving and seeing so many things of these past many days. The Spirt of God hovered near me as I began to process. I wasn't able to listen to the sermon that followed our singing. I was writing my own thoughts so I would not forget this moment. It was precious to feel the Spirit and to know that I have so much to be grateful for. It is all because of Jesus.

Here are the things brought to mind:

• recalling the tender accounts from Joseph about his early life and being uprooted from his home during tribal clashes in the 60s. Because of his own experience, Joseph is the clerk of the Friends Church Peace Team that is working to bring peace and reconciliation to today's tribal issues. I wept for Joseph and the many who struggle in their own land because of deep divisions.

• recalling the enthusiasm of the teachers who are writing lessons and teachers' guides based on the preliminary Peace Curriculum prepared by the George Fox University Team. I beamed with pride for them as Amber had told me how very talented they are. In our country, corporations have staff to write curriculum. In the Western Province of Kenya, Quaker teachers are writing curriculum.
• recalling the overwhelming awesomeness of the savannah of Africa, the vastness of it all, the beauty of God's creation. It was beautiful to see the herding animals living docilely among one another and a reality check to watch the cheetah stalk the young wildebeest.

• recalling the wantonness evidenced in the city of Amsterdam. We were advised to remain on one side of the street because of the activity on the other side. We saw marijuana seeds/plants for sale at the Flower Market. There was a kisosk with information for gays/lesbians. This is a society that needs the message of Christ.
• recalling the witness of a child, Anne Frank. The museum has an interactive question period at the end of the visit to the home. It shows the many faces that discrimination has today. How can one recall the two year hiding of a young Jewish girl who ultimately died in a concentration camp and disregard the situations that our children face today? It was sobering. "Who will all our sorrows share?"

• recalling worship just two weeks earlier with 3,000 African Christians, knowing that at the moment I am singing at Sycamore, tens of thousands are worshiping in other places. It is humbling to see oneself as only one among billions who love and worship God. "There is a name I love to hear, I love to sing its worth; It sounds like music in my ears, The sweetest name on earth"
• recalling our experience of God's care and protection when we were utterly lost for hours in the savannah of the Masai Mara where the lions roam. "Precious Savior, still our refuge"

God is good and God is in control of all these situations. In those moments, I believe I felt the heart of God and I wept for the things he weeps for. He gave me a tiny insight into His great love and care for even me.

May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.  (Ps 19:14)

Commenting

Some of you have mentioned that you have tried to comment and were not able to . I think you need a google or gmail account to post to the blog. However, you can send me an email at my aol account or post on FB. The gmail account is free but you might not want one more thing. And your posting will be public here whereas you can send a private FB or email.

Pat

Home Alone

It has been a long day. It began at 4:30 a.m., Friday, Amsterdam time which is 10:30 pm Thurs., Indiana Time. I arrived home at 6 pm, Indiana time so I think that was about 22 hours traveling. Long, long day!

We asked the night clerk to have a taxi for us. When Amber answered the wakeup call, she asked if the taxi had been called. The clerk said no. I carried some of our bags down and asked again if the taxi had been called; again, "no". So I asked more questions. Apparently the previous evening the arrangements had been made and it was "booked", therefore, no need to "call" this morning. Again, this English language can be confusing!

At the airport, the agent told me I had to pay for the second bag. I reminded her I was on a return ticket from Africa and entitled to two checked bags. Her computer did nor recognize that and she was insisting I pay 55 Euros for the second bag (that's $80 or so). I tried to convince her but she wouldn't budge so I pulled out my debit card. Her machine would not accept it and she directed me to a different concourse to pay. By now Amber is checked in and did not have to pay for her second bag. I questioned the agent again and she said "oh, she has frequent flier status". I began digging for my Delta/KLM frequent flier number. By this time a supervisor appeared. My agent is in training and didn't know how to override the system. I do get two checked bags because I am on a return ticket from Africa. There was much conversation in Dutch but the end result is I didn't have to cough up the 55Euros!!

Our flight has been changed to 7:50 from the original departure time of 8:15. We headed for security. I had bought a rosewood, hand carved walking stick in Nairobi. It was in the duffel from NBO to AMSTERDAM but now wouldn't fit in the new purple suitcase so I carried it. An agent at security saw me with a "cane" and pulled us out of the line so I wouldn't have to stand too long. Then she directed us to the priority line for the ex-ray, etc. I told Amber that we would "milk" this cane business!! And I did!!

Sidenote: I received an email yesterday, you know...the ones that everyone forwards. It said in part that in lieu of the expense of an office call at your physician's, you could just fly and get a free ex-ray and breast exam....People, this is no joke. We were "examined!"

When we began boarding, I joined the priority lane. The clerk said i didn't have a priority ticket but I showed her my "cane" and she said "that works". So Amber and I were able to get on ahead of the pack. This time our seast were not so good. We were in the middle seats in the middle section. Later I found that one section of the plane had an electrical malfunction. The lights and monitors did not work. I was not able to read long as they dimmed the aisle lights and I didn't have my own. I couldn't watch a movie or track the progress of the flight. So I listened to my iPod and slept.

We arrived in Detroit and went through immigration. When they saw that we had claimed "seeds, agricultural" products, they asked what we had. Both Amber and I told immigration it was tulips. They told both of us that it was no problem. We collected our baggage, saw a confused African man taken away by security, and proceeded on to Customs. They saw our tulips listed and sent us to a secondary check. Those TSA agents confiscated our bulbs. We tried to talk them out of it but the woman was adamant. We should have looked online for things that were prohibited. If we wanted to bring bulbs, we needed to get an authorization form. She didn't tell us where that was available and no one at the Flower Market had mentioned it. So she kept the bulbs. And mine were nice! Yellow and purple tulips and purple calla lilies. She told me it was a good thing I declared them because there is a $300 fine for bringing in illegal items. Frankly, I doubt if they would have opened my bag and looked if I hadn't listed them. She took two bags full and asked if I had any more. I have a few but just told her no.

We were told we could make it to our Indy flight so we hurried through another security check and toward Concourse C, gate 39 or something. It was a 20 minute walk/run. We missed it by 4 minutes. Now we were rebooked and sent to Concourse A, gate 77. We stopped and ate and then walked the whole length of the airport again!! Our last flight was uneventful.

We arrived at 3 pm, worn out! Amber's husband, Jeff, the kids, Madison and Cooper, and my friend, Amber's mom, Donna, were there to meet us. All of our luggage arrived and we were on our way home by 3:30. I was home by 5:30, showered by 6 and just have this to finish and the mail to look through. Then rest!

Here's a few random pictures.

This is the kind of vehicle we traveled in for the safari.



This is the room at Fairmont Safari Club. I tucked Amber in one night and told her she was a princess!! That made me the Queen Mother. This is tent camping at the ultimate!!



Upclose and personal....just a good zoom lense.



The Mara with a Masai boma. The "limbs and branches" are a fence like structure around the homes. The savannah goes on and on.




Couldn't resist the purple heather in the window boxes in Amsterdam!!



Paintings, Perches, Praises

The first photos are of our room at the Eden Hotel. The laugh is the “view from the room”. We are on the 4^th (5^th actually) floor and our window is more of a skylight. I cannot see out it without standing on tiptoes…but the canal is out there!



Canal is across the street beyond the trees.



Twin beds pushed together. Less than 12 inches at the end.



As you can tell, this is my side.

We slept in a bit but were off to the Van Gogh Museum early. We stopped along the way and had a muffin and tea. The little kiosk on the grounds had plastic sheeting surrounding the tables and blankets on the chairs. It was cold!

 I was impressed that the grounds are fitted with purple benches, purple trash cans and purple lamp posts. Amber took my photo…. Pat Posed Pensively on Purple Perches…or something like that!!!

We went on to the museum and queued. As we waited Amber struck up a conversation with two women who suggested we go to the Dam area for lunch. A large group of preschool/kindergarten from the Montessori school got in line. This was a field trip for them. I told Amber that we take Indiana kids to the pumpkin patch and the Dutch take their children to see Van Gogh!! The museum was well done; the art was separated by his evolving styles. He was self admitted to an asylum at one point and it was rather apparent which paintings were done in that period.

In the gift shop I bought myself a murano glass ring. I bought Ricque and Kim murano glass bracelets when I was in Rome and often wished I had one of my own…so now I have something of the glass!

From there we went to the Rijksmuseum where we saw the works of many artists. There were several Vermeer and Rembrandt paintings. The displays also included silverworks and porcelain. Antique delft and many Japanese pieces were included.

We took the tram (electric streetcar) to the Dam Centre and walked up and down streets to find a restaurant. When we asked for some directions, a man told us to stay on the right side of the street. We settled on an Italian restaurant. Amber had prawns and mussels. I had a Panini and Tiramisu and tea. We shared a bruschetta.   (40 Euros or $60 for lunch!). As we left, we asked about shopping. The server told us to stay on the side of the street where we were…not to cross. We stopped in a few shops as we made our way back to the tram. I found a tulip vase in delft so I was very happy. The shop had antique delft as well as new so the prices ran the whole gamut!!  The tulip vase is a unique shape and some were over 200 Euros. Mine was a fraction of that!!

(The reason for keeping on this side of the street is that on the other side is the homosexual community. This was evident by an information kiosk. The societal mores of Amsterdam are quite liberal.)

Back on the tram we stopped off at the Flower Mart. Amber wanted a shopping bag for our return. She had a specific one in mind so went off to find it while I tarried at the first flower vendor. I bought more tulips!! Some are for gifts. I planted four or five dozen last fall so am not even sure where mine are coming up this spring. However, two different vendors have told us the same thing. It is ok to plant tulips now as they have been dormant but give them lots more water. So as soon as the plants begin popping through the ground, I’ll get these in with them!  That should be in a few weeks! The vendor told me that tulips originated in Turkey and at one time, it was illegal to take them out of Turkey. I saw in the Rijksmuseum that before the fall of the economy...back in the 1800s I think....one tulip bulb sold for 15,000 guilders. From the article, it was obvious that that was a lot of money. Now tulips are a mainstay in the Dutch economy. The vendor also told me that in the summer, there are thousands of people in the flower mart.

Because we have seen so many bicycles…and jumped out of the way of a bunch!..I wanted to see if I could get some accessories for my bicycle...which I seldom ride. I wanted a bell, seat cover and fender shields. I found a bell so I’ll look online for the others. The first day here, Amber and I did not realize that there are pedestrian lanes and bicycle/scooter lanes as well as vehicle and tram. The trams are electric streetcars and do not stop at red lights. (Note: Speaking of Red Lights, there is quite an article in the tourist book about that district in Amsterdam! And...cannabis seeds are for sale at the flower market. Like I said...liberal!)

Back on the tram to Leidespleine and then we had a short walk to the hotel.  Because we had a big lunch we are planning on a “snack” supper and an evening of packing. We fly out at 8 am (2 am Indiana)…airport at 5:45 am. We have an 8 hour flight, a too short layover in Detroit and then arrival in Indy at 1:25 pm, Indiana time.  I don’t see how we will make the transfer in Detroit since we have to go through immigration and customs. I anticipate taking a later flight to Indianapolis…but miracles still happen!

This part of the journey has been lots of fun but much harder physically for me. I've walked a lot and taken 6-8 Aleve every day.But it's been worth it! Amber and I have been together for 17 days and are still having a great time!! The most difficult day was when we were lost "in the wilderness" but that was stressful because of being in the Mara afraid we would run out of fuel, not a problem with one another. We both wondered but at the time, neither of us verbalized our concern. What if we had run out of fuel? Would we have sent Kennedy? Would we have gone with him? Would we all have stayed in the vehicle hoping someone would come? There were wild animals out there and no shade in the equatorial midday sun. We know the scripture about not worrying but in the moment, we were concerned. We are grateful to God that none of those options became realities. We were protected and that little bit of fuel in the tank became much like the little bit of oil the widow had. It served us well. To God be the Glory!!

A Day in Amsterdam, Wednesday

First...let me say how wonderful it is to have free wi-fi that works!! And secondly, the people in this city are very friendly. We have asked directions over and over and have been treated graciously every time!! The service in the shops and restaurants is wonderful and most everyone is very fluent in English. It's been great so far!!

After my latte this morning we set out. I did inquire about the only two Dutch people I "know" other than the Masters and Anne Frank. I wondered if there was a site noted for Corrie Ten Boom. The desk clerk had never heard of her. She was a Christian in Amsterdam who hid Jews and was later sent to the concentration camps. She survived but her father and sister did not. The other person was Henri Nouwen, great Catholic theologian! I have read and reread his books. He died in the 1990s but Amsterdam was his home. I guess if I want to see much about him, I have to go to the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. So...we set out to see Anne Frank House. The clerk gave us directions and we trekked about 1 1/2 miles. It was very cold and windy. On the way we stopped and bought a pastry and Amber caught me window shopping and eating  my chocolate iced waffle.

I wore a sweater set (shell and cardigan) and my wool shawl from No. Ireland. Not enough clothes!!  But we persevered!!

The Anne Frank house was a moving experience. The museum is done well and there is an interactive part at the end that describes contemporary situations. You are asked to vote yes or no to the questions concerning the situations. Then they show how people have voted. It is to show how society is still discriminating against people. Thought provoking! The annex where the Frank family lived is on the 4th or 5th story and the stairs are almost straight up! Not for the weak! The rooms would have been very dark as the windows were covered at all times. Hard to imagine two years in those small quarters. There is a video at the end with Anne Frank's father. He said that he and Anne were close but he had no idea of the depth of her thoughts. He concluded saying we do not know our children. The bookshop was just that. The Anne Frank story in many languages and varying quality--paperback to coffee table editions.

bulbs and more bulbs....

We walked back a different route and went through the flower market. There was tent after tent with tulips and other bulbs. The shops along the street were filled with souvenir type stuff. We spent over an hour in and out of those shops and looking at tulips. There were bunches of 50 cut tulips for sale with the many other plants.

 After the flower market, we went back to the hotel. We unloaded our parcels, rested a bit, did some email and then were back out. This time we headed to the street market. It was nearly two miles away. It was quite a bit warmer now. This market was about three blocks long with tents/canopies on both sides of the street. It reminded me of "Walking Street" in Doumen, China. There were stores on both sides so we had many things to look at. Amber bought a couple of things including a neck scarf.




 I found purple luggage. I debated with myself for the whole three blocks of shops and on the way back through, I stopped and bought it. Then we had to carry it the 2 miles back to the hotel. Amber was very kind and after the first half mile, said "let me carry that".

We ate supper at a Mexican place. (Amber WITH the scarf and me....beginning to fade!!) Meals are expensive...at least I think so...13-25 Euros or $19-37.

The only thing left on our "to do" list are two museums tomorrow. We wanted to take a canal boat ride but it looks like that is only possible on Fri-Sat-Sun.

Rhino photo

We were right out there with them...and it started to rain!

Safari Pics

Crested Crane-seen on our "extra" drive while in the "wilderness"!

Amber has a great photo of me with the rhinos but I don't have it on my computer yet. Look forward to that one. You won't believe it! I was there and I can hardly believe it!!


Amber and I are leaving Fairmont---unaware of what the next four hours held!!




Beautiful Lion...amazingly wonderful




Mama lioness with cubbies

The lion and lioness were only about 20 feet from one another. Note the immediate difference in the savannah and the bush.





Masai village as seen from the vehicle while they were siphoning fuel. Desolate!




Vehicle of FTC, our transportation from the Mara to Nairobi.



Masai laundry. See the woman covering herself so I didn't take her photo!




The mud/dung structure "gas station". The fuel was in an old water cooler and our consumption was estimated. But we were grateful beyond words to get it!!

 

Nairobi to Amsterdam, March 1

Oh...for a second I was in trouble...the blog instructions came up in Dutch!!

On Sunday, our three tasks were to arrange for the airport shuttle, pay the bill and leave a wakeup call. We thought we could leave at 6 am to get to the airport two hours before our 8:15 flight. The shuttle runs at 5:15 and 6:45 so we signed up to leave early.



5 am...sunburned from yesterday and I already had dripped water on my shirt...off to a long day!!



We were up at 4:30, called for a porter to help with our 7 bags and in the lobby by 5:10. There were two shuttles and several men getting on. It seemed to me that there would not be room for both of us and our bags. The hotel wanted to put us in one van and our baggage in the other. Amber was not comfortable with this. The African businessmen were assuring her we would all go to the same place. I could see the start of a meltdown. I wasn’t concerned about theft and told Amber I was sure it would be ok. So we piled in with six professional looking men. On the way to the airport, I detected a French accent and asked one if he is Rwandan. He said “no, Senegal” so I confessed my lack of African geography and a pleasant conversation ensued. He was in Nairobi for a Conference of Orthopedic Surgeons of Africa. The man in the front seat had been elected president of the organization at the conclusion of the conference. I told them we were honored to be a part of the first entourage of the new president. The Senegalese continued. He has been in the US while studying on a Fulbright scholarship (impressive!!) and enjoyed California more than Chicago. Who wouldn’t??  Somehow he and Amber got to a discussion of what to see and do in Paris. (She is going there for a conference in July).

We neared the airport and saw a van loaded with luggage…that was on fire! Now that’s a first. Arriving at the gates, we got out and our van started to leave. I grabbed the bell captain who had traveled with and said “what about our luggage?”  Somehow he contacted the other van and they came up….all of our luggage was strapped on top….typical matatu fashion! It was offloaded and we queued for security. We were in line for 15 minutes outside the building. Another queue inside to get our boarding passes (and another 45 minutes). We joined the long, long queue for immigration departure. After several minutes, someone came through calling “Amsterdam, Amsterdam, follow me”.  Amber had her backpack sitting on her wheeled carryon. We moved forward, the backpack fell off catching her hand in the strap so the weight of the backpack cause a REAL pinch…so much that she cried out and had to stop and massage her hand to stop the pain. We were now being rushed out with the crowd. We herded ourselves outside down the street and in through a domestic flight area, through security again and into a second line for immigration.

I looked at the escalators beyond immigration and saw an old “mama” climbing the stairs that were not moving. She was dragging luggage up the stairs. I told Amber she must fear the stairs. After a few minutes, I saw two more Muslim women go to the escalator. An airport employee was assisting one. He took her to the escalator and was encouraging her. I could imagine him saying “just try”. She looked at it, stepped forward, then back. The employee spoke to her again. She just shook her head, gathered up her bags and dragged them up the stairs. Kind of sad.

Now I am finally at the immigration officer. He looks at my passport and cannot locate my Kenya visa. He kept turning to several visas from previous journeys. Finally he located the correct one, stamped it and tossed my passport at me. Was it my fault? Apparently he thought so.

Amber and I had NO FEAR of the escalators!! Our bags are heavy! We went up and to gate 10. We had to go through security one more time! I had my tiny sewing kit with the folding scissors. I had brought it to Kenya in my checked bags but after I used it in Nairobi, I forgot and put them it in my carryon. This security officer found it and of course, my scissors remained in the large round bin with hundreds of other ‘contraband’ items. Interesting that the first two missed them.

You cannot imagine the mass of humanity in the airport, in the queues. We were elbow to elbow with hundreds of people for over two hours. And then we boarded---400+ on the flight. This plane is big but not huge. IU booked our tickets so that we both have aisle seats. That has been very nice as the middle seats and window seats are much more confining.

We had breakfast at 9:30 and we were ready for it…although it was only yogurt and granola, juice and a croissant. Our flight was almost 9 hours. I slept some. Amber did not. She graded more papers.

Arrival in Amsterdam at 5pm Nairobi time, 3 pm Amsterdam, 9 am Indiana time. We went to the visitors' desk. We decided that the iAmsterdam card would not be a bargain for us.  Our hotel is close to many of the things we want to see. We bought tickets to 3 museums and a canal ride. We’ll figure the rest out as we go.

Outside the airport (have I  mentioned we have 7 bags of luggage/backpacks?) and hailed a taxi. It will be 40 Euros each to the hotel. That was about $60 each so we dragged the bags to the bus stop and paid 4 Euros each. The bus stopped about 3 blocks from the hotel.  The hotel is an old European style (I’m guessing)….tiny room, tiny bathroom, tiny elevator, not so tiny price. The lobby is up a flight of steps from the street. Our room is on the 4^th floor but in Europe the 1^st floor is the ground floor. So we are 4 levels above the ground…which essentially is actually the 5^th floor. It will be fine. But we WILL pay 15 Euros each for the airport shuttle on our way out!!

We walked a few blocks in the 39 degree weather to a street with dozens of restaurants…Thai, Argentinean, Italian, and the ubiquitous McDonald’s and Burger King. We chose Italian. I had ribs with a baked potato…excellent!!  Amber had prawns, baked potato and corn on the cob! Either we had an absolutely fabulous meal or we were just hungry for familiar food. Either way, it was great.



Maybe I should get a pink/purple Vespa for tooling around Greentown!!



Bicycles, busses and MacDonald's



Observation….we quickly learned that we were walking in the bicycle lane…several callouts and bells. Walking/bicycling/scooter/bus/streetcar is the preferred mode of transportation. There are not so many cars.  Every second or third “street” is a canal. People are friendly and accommodating to tourists. The first language on signage is Dutch, of course.