Friday, January 27, 2006

Sleepovers

Another cultural experience is happening tonight - our two older girls are both having sleepovers. Christy is at Angie's house, and Amber is over here with Jenny.

One teacher told me a pessimistic view of sleepovers - it's a time when little girls tell each other secrets, and then spread each other's "classified" information all over the playground the next school day. Wow! I'd like to think that doesn't happen, but it probably does to some.

Regardless, we've decided that sleepovers are a great bonding time for kids, as long as they are old enough to avoid doing something extreme. You have to trust friends at some level, and sleepovers seem to be a good expression of that trust.

So... here's to hoping we get a decent night's sleep tonight :-)

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Family Meals

How did you eat your last meal? Think about it. Ok, Sharon in Bekondo, you don't count :)

I've heard (and read) that the average North American family does not sit down and eat together at a table. Food is often eaten in the car on the way to yet another event, or grabbed on the run before heading out the door. Or, eaten in front of the TV.

Being out of North America for years at a time makes us unaware of how the average family functions (or dis-functions??), but this was vividly brought home to me tonight when one of Jenny's classmates came over after school. First, she and Jenny discussed over the phone who would go to whose house, and I recommended she come here, as I don't know anything about her family (we'll make an effort to meet them), and then I said she could come for supper if she wanted, but I didn't know if she liked tuna (tuna pot-pie was on the menu). She said she didn't like tuna, so she would bring her own supper. Ok. Well, when supper came, she sat down with the rest of us (we always have family meals, unless there is something else specifically planned, like a DVD movie). After a while, she politely asked, "Um, is this kind of, um, a tradition?" We were a bit confused, but she explained. "Is it a tradition for you to eat together as a family?" She said that her family never ate together; she always grabbed some food and ate while watching something on TV. Well, there's the proof; the books are right!

I think this is one "cultural norm" that we're not going to adopt as our own....

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Tired in Three Hills

It is 2:10am, and I'm sitting at my desk, bleary-eyed, as Laura (2 1/2 yrs. old) energetically does puzzles, "reads" books, and colors. She can't sleep, and actually, I couldn't fall asleep either before she pulled me out of bed at midnight. Maybe it was something we ate?? So here we are....

Hey, maybe we're on Cameroon time. I think it's about 10am there.... We were at Mrs. Taves' house for supper tonight, and she was reminiscing about her years in Chad, so maybe our internal clocks reset.

Who knows. All I know is that I'm tired! Good night!

Monday, January 09, 2006

Stocking Up

The Christmas season has just ended, and we have had a terrific time with relatives and friends, and an over-abundance of food. In fact, I think I ate enough Christmas goodies to cover the years in Cameroon when we might be "deprived" of all this sugar and cream and chocolate stuff.

But I don't think there is ever a way to "stock up" on time with friends and relatives to cover that time away. For me, that is truly the one negative about spending time overseas. Some people might be surprised that I would say that, as on the surface I might not seem to care, but I do. And I think that is ok - after all, isn't life, isn't God, all about relationships? Shouldn't that be the core of our existence? (Yes, I think I've been in Africa "too long" - long enough to realize that the overworked, hectic American lifestyle that so many people lead is worthless).

So this is for my relatives and friends - thanks for so much, and I miss you already!