Making Memories

Wednesday and Friday are the days we teach English to the drivers.  Some days we have one student and today by the end of the class we had 5.  It was also the birthday of one of the students, Manuel.  So I made banana muffins and we sang Happy Birthday in English and the students sang it in Portuguese.  There are no birthday candles so we just put a match in the muffin and sang quickly before the light went out.  I think this will be a memory for not just this one driver but for all.  It shows that we enjoy our time with them and they are important.  What fun we had.

While on R&R I bought clocks to teach telling time.  Time is counted here in Angola in the military way. Many foreigners do not know this way of telling time and it is also very difficult for the drivers to think in the AM/PM way.  So for the past few sessions we have studied different ways we will talk about time.  It was quite educational for all.  I believe that the drivers were surprised that the plans for English classes were in my mind while I was on vacation.  Just always trying to find a way to make things easier for them.


After class, I went to the market with a Danish friend and looked for fabric to make quilts for my kids.  My daughter wants a quilt for her bed and one of my daughters in law would like an oversized lap quilt for their sofa.  Neither asked me to do this, but are gracious and willing for me to make these to keep me busy.  Now you remember that everything here is so crazy expensive and if I am looking at fabric from Holland then it is.......but I want to make these from African fabric and that is really quite reasonable.  It ranged from $14-$20 for 6 meters so a fabulous find.  The issue.....and there is usually some glitch in the plans.....is that the colors and prints are not necessarily easily put into a quilt......but then that is the challenge, isn't it?  So, I am washing the fabrics today, will iron them and then start with a pattern that will show the beauty of these and will also look good in the kids homes.  I'm actually really looking forward to this......

Currently there is quite a bit of food in the market......so with veggies plentiful we are gathering and storing for the winter......actually, since we are south of the equator it is summer when the rains make the roads impassable and food scarce.....storing anyway.....the prices are still crazy....oil, sugar, flour, paper napkins....$60.00....and we are not talking about fancy napkins or large bags of staples....but it is available and I'm thankful.

One of the gentlemen likened living in Soyo to awakening one day and finding you are in the middle of the ocean on a small raft.  You protect everything you have on the raft and waste nothing and you pick up anything that floats by and find some way to use it as you live here.  I think it is a good analogy.

So I'm really enjoying my life here.....it is much easier right now without rain, mud, and heat.....each evening we sit outside and look at our garden grow and enjoy the cool breezes.....and I'm trying to find ways to make memories each day.....I wonder if I'll ever get to do the hospice???????