Simon's Nairobi Diary - Archive 3

23 September 2005 4:43pm

The day has been minimally active so far. Greek class this morning was fantastic, and each day I grow closer to reading the OGV version of the New Testament, the Original Greek Version. Seriously though, writing out sentences like Ιησου φιλει τον ανθρωπον (Yesu philei ton anthropon "Jesus loves humanity") is one of my greatest current joys in life.

That and the fact that this community has never once ceased in its welcome of me. That and the fact that I have close friends and brothers and sisters and have been here under three weeks. That and the fact that, while preparing preparing a papaya for lunch today with the guys on the floor, my fingers actually pruned. My fingers have typically only pruned while swimming.

Uh yes, I am equating consuming the papaya with swimming.

22 September 2005 9:17pm

Today, in class we were discussing the idea of having a learned grasp of the Bible and fighting the misinterpretation that has used the bible to justify evils like Hitler by the German Church of that day (minus Bonhoeffer and the like), Apartheid and racial segregation, the crusades, the Spanish inquisition, the list goes on. Even the devil quoted scripture to tempt Christ to command stones to turn to bread. It reminded me of a John Stewart quote: "Christianity is kind of like the atom. You can slice it one way and you get this clean efficient power source that can light the world, and then you can slice it the other way and get the atom bomb and worldwide destruction." The final thought was how healthy it is to be careful when using scripture to speak on behalf of the Lord, because casual quoting of scripture can be used to justify pretty much anything.

Anyways, what amazed me was how the discussion never ceased despite the power failing twice (class in the dark) and gorgeous yellow birds entering and leaving the classroom through the windows. I was the only one being disrupted by these occurances. This culture is so relaxed and deliberate. Often a class ends and students just remain to talk more about the issues among themselves. Students are so incredibly eager to learn here, but the desire never spills into misplaced intensity, like the redeyed-furious-coffee-guzzling-runner students at other institutions I have attended.

21 September 2005 8:35pm

More pictures have been posted. And I'm trying to grow mutton chops.

I'm tired today. The exhaustion comes from getting up very early and going into Nairobi to get all my paperwork and IDs for the next two years. I have officially moved from tourist visa to resident alien. Hmmm, from tourist to resident. It would have been a big deal. Yet I realized, as I began to smugly walk out of the beehive Immigration Office, that I am still nothing but a tall Hans Brinker.

Inattention was to be the theme for the evening till I got a beautiful long email from a friend that lifted the stupor. Well, that and the cold scrubdown. I say scrubdown because we use a washbin, boiled water, and a washcloth to shower. Usually we just boil the water and bring it in the bathroom, but today I had the joy of a cold scrubdown. The roommates are desiring to conserve the propane, se la vie. Life has never been so full.

20 September 2005 8:51pm

It’s an interesting sensation, having a cockroach in the mouth. Oh don't worry Momma, I haven't stooped THAT low in my diet. The altercation happened when the little piece of pestilence decided to sneak into my peanuts. I tipped the bag back without looking and received an experience only relatable to Bushmen and contestants in the second round of Fear Factor. It’s a good thing I have the mandible delicacy equivalent to a brain surgeon, or else I would have chewed. And there is not much worse than a chewed cockroach. When their exoskeleton is fissured its like a champagne bottle, as evidenced by the sponge pattern above my desk. As the mercury has been climbing this past week, the population density of my flat (Q7) has experienced a curious exponential growth curve. Wanna see? Click here.

But, shackin' up with these critters goes almost unnoticed. How can the scope of my attention sink to the table top when I am consistently brought up to the heavens by the stories of the humble people surrounding me? And it has resulted in such transformation within me. For my friends here, the Christ is life absolutely. No cup of water, no slice of bread, and no inhaled molecule of H2O has been void of the graces of the His Greatness. And despite the fact that they have all had close family members die from malaria, gangrene, and other western-avoided infirmaries, I see them lift their hands to the One who is coordinating the harmony of this delicious existence. What is there to fear? Truly, neither life or death, malaria or gangrene, hunger or thirst, insecurity or poverty can remove the arms of He who makes life worth dancing for. And what is some bothersome insect compared to that?

19 September 2005 7:23pm

The food here has been a bit of a change. Dinner tonight was ugali and sekuma wiki, which is swahili for corn meal loaf and collard greens. Eaten with bare hands, sekuma wiki actually translates into "strength for the week", and must have been given such a title for the poor of this nation because the meal in its entirety costed less than $2 and it fed all four of us well. Imagine if we had skipped the carrots and onions to spice up the collards. It tastes suprisingly good. All food here is cooked over a propane burner, unless it is a food that takes a fair amount of time to cook because then we use a coal pot. I miss foods that require a stove, like fresh breads and pizza. I don't even want to think about Chicago deep dish I had throughout last semester.... Giordanos with cheese thicker than a welcome mat....

Well anyways, while I am cleaning off the keyboard please gander at this picture of the kids who watched our BBall game today. I promised myself that this site would not be just another webpage of smiling African children, but the adorability factor nullified any resistance.

I was going to take a picture of the little one on the bottom, but the others rushed in smiling. I was again going to take the picture when the two on the outside stopped me and told me that they require their tires for pictures. A minute later they 'rolled' back. I promise they were not positioned by anybody. Click on it for a higher resolution.

17 September 2005 4:14pm

The 'honeymoon' feelings are beginning to subside. I woke up today missing home, and proceeded to aid my woes with a thorough reading of the historical account of second destruction of Jerusalem by Titus and the Roman Empire 70AD. Josephus was a general in the Jewish uprising at the time. When he and his army was blocked in a cave by the Romans, he convinced all of them to kill each other and then himself surrendered to Vespasian and was promoted to the Roman elite class. Considered by the Jews as a traitor, he became instead their greatest historian. I was excited to read his vivid eyewitness account of the destruction of the holy city, but was instead greeted with imagery of a thousand crucifixians of Jewish desserters. His description of the war is, by far, the greatest account of starvation, famine, despair, and ruin that I have ever experienced. My funk magnified, I began to pray that God would give me some fun and joy today, but was immediately interrupted by Rafiel asking if I would join her and other students for a movie tonight.

16 September 2005 7:48pm

'Grace Groups' were at 10am today. They serve to bring all of the community together (students, spouses, professors, maintanance, etc) and have them divided into groups that meet every Friday in a residence for prayer and bible study. We went to Te's house this time. She served us drinks and orderves: drinks being the typical tea (black tea with lots of milk and sugar) and orderves being slices of thick, golden, savory, baked sugar potato. And everybody was pleased.

Every night at five I play basketball behind the residence block. The ball is cheap and the hoop is cockeyed and the game proceedes with no-blood-no-foul and candor. Five o'clock is proper because it includes the transition from day to dusk to night, and I am blessed by the worship service conducted by the ROYGBIV that bursts from the horizon and the laughing that bursts from observers of somebody being stuffed. Yeah, this white guy might not be able to jump, but his orangutan reach results in tenacious rebounds.

So often, steeped in my affluence, I feel that satisfaction is so difficultly attained. I think it all would be easier if parties could proceed with slices of sugar potato as orderves.