Learning new skills

It's not a skill I ever thought I wanted to have, but I'm getting pretty good at catching grasshoppers (and releasing them outside).  This morning, I saw five of them on the screen outside my bathroom.  The screen doesn't quite close properly, so I think I've found my point of ingress.  I asked them to stay outside.  That's where the grass is, after all.  I have nothing for them to eat.

A math problem for you

Here's a math problem that perplexed me this morning:

If, when Jessica went to bed last night, there were three grasshoppers in the house, and she put out two this morning, but one jumped back in, how many grasshoppers are in the house currently?

Grasshopper season.  I don't love it.  I also really don't know the answer to the math problem, either.

And man - grasshoppers here don't just jump.  Those babies FLY.  Wings and everything.  Long distances.  I can't wait for this season to end.

Happy Thanksgiving!

When I arrived back in Uganda, as I was puttering around the house on 15 November, I thought I heard gobbling sounds.  Turkeys are not unknown here, but generally aren't on campus.  It reminded me of Granddaddy Hughes, and how he made his own turkey calls for hunting (the brown bear rug is another story entirely).

So, while I heard this turkey, I saw no evidence of him.  I sent at text to Mary Jane, the SAMS missionary who lives directly behind me up the hill to ask if she heard it too.

Of course she heard it.  It was in her yard, for the Thanksgiving dinner that they are hosting tonight for expats.  As it turns out, he loved to eat desiccated coconut.

I was a bit sad that there was no gobbling today, but it was time for the bird to serve his purpose.

This is Africa

In the nearly four months I've been in my flat, there's been no light in the refrigerator. At first I thought it odd, but then thought that perhaps refrigerators here don't have lights. So it became normal.

Then, the other night, I opened the refrigerator, and there was light! Whoa, baby! Helen had knocked her head on the door of the refrigerator, and it (apparently) made the light decide to work.

We have a saying for things like this, and it's usually accompanied with a shrug: "this is Africa." Or TIA for short. 

I'll definitely file this one under TIA.

A matter of perspective

One of the things I brought with me from my trip to the US was a handful of taco seasoning packets. I can get mincemeat (ground beef with fabulously low fat) easily enough, and chapati to pretend to be tortillas (though they're a lot thicker and much more greasy and cheese if I'm willing to squint my eyes at the price.

So, a few days after I returned to Uganda, I decided to make "tacos," and invited my former roommate Joan to dine with me.  She was fascinated by how I browned the beef, added water, and added the seasonings, and was even brave enough to try cheddar on her taco.

One of her sisters called as we were eating, and Joan happily informed her that she was sitting here with me, eating tacos, "you know, those fancy things you see in movies."

Now, Joan is Kenyan, and fairly cosmopolitan at that.  It's not as though she's just from the village.  So hearing her describing tacos as fancy just tickled me to no end.

Mostly settled

Since I was up at 4:30 this morning (thanks jet lag ), I decided to begin to sort my books.  I managed to get them all on shelves yesterday after acquiring another bookshelf and chest of drawers, and I also managed to unpack all the boxes and break them down.  *whew*

When I went to bed last night, everything was out, and was a hot mess, and I'd not yet completely contended with the suitcases.  So I took advantage of a free day alone to deal with all this.  It's 5:06 pm as I type this, and man, I'm beat.  But I think I'm ready to declare a 90% victory over the stuff - I'm mostly pleased with how I categorized the books, and just about everything has a home.  And a logical home - I think I'll be able to find everything again on the first try!

One of the members of the liturgy committee, came by yesterday to give me his work to type (I volunteered; I don't mind terribly, and I'll be typing it one way or another).  In discussing the new Ugandan prayer book, I realized that I didn't have the prayer book I received at confirmation, but was fairly certain I packed.

Of course, I now question my state of mind while packing, as I retrieved the Almy catalogue from a box (no, I'm not ordering any vestments or frontals - I have no idea what I was thinking), and a book on genetics from when I was working on the FBI's DNA data bank.  But no prayer book, which makes me rather sad.  I also a missing some clothes I'm fairly certain I packed as well, which is annoying, but recoverable.  I have no idea whether I didn't pack them (see above for state of mind), or whether they were removed from my boxes after I inspected them and before they were delivered. 

But all in all, it's good to be settled.  I need to deal with my desk tomorrow, which won't take long.  And type my little heart out.

Safe arrival

Home sweet home, trying to sleep do I can contend with all the boxes that are currently in my room in the morning. *happy sigh*

Readjusting

Indication of having to adjust to being home: this morning, the kettle wouldn't turn on, so I thought it was broken. I should have known that it was fine, and the power was just off.

Ordination to the Sacred Order of Priests

November 4, 2012 was a glorious day:  serving at all three services at All Saints', seeing so many friends, then the joy and honor of being ordained a priest by my bishop.  My heart is overflowing!

Pictures are posted here, with some comments.