Can we talk for just a minute about language learning? And not just learning another language, but learning another language in a country where English is widely spoken. Learning a new language is never easy. In high school we were required to take a foreign language. I took French because there was 1 French teacher and she was easy and 3 Spanish teachers, only one of which was easy. Clearly, French was the best option. And I enjoyed it too. However, there are very few things I can remember in the French language. I know some basic Spanish (like 1-10 and how are you) because it's easy to pick up in America. And when I went to Ecuador and was submersed in the language, it seemed easy to pick up. English, French, and Spanish all have similarities. They've all be relatively easy to learn, even just the basics.
Here, we're learning Hausa. Hausa is not like English... in any way, shape, or form. I take that back, it uses the same alphabet, minus 3 or 4 letters. It sounds different. Hausa uses tones... of which I cannot hear. Take for instance the word gibi. Depending on the tone it can mean the Lord's Supper or it can mean the day after tomorrow. There's a big difference in those two things. In Hausa, you roll your r's and "swallow" some of the sounds. Not to mention, as with most languages, there are different dialects. There are places that use the p sound where an f is. There are places where people use a word to mean husband that in other parts mean a married women's boyfriend. We are doing barefoot language learning - meaning, we each have a helper that comes 4 times a week and we tell them what we need to know. And even though they speak good English, sometimes it takes some time to get across what we need to learn.
We had our first assessment about 6 weeks ago, and we both passed. But sometimes it's just really hard to progress to the next level. For me, I can understand a lot more than I can speak. I understand it because I know a few words in the sentence and use context clues (there's an elementary school teacher out there smiling because I still use context clues) to figure out what they're saying. Trey is great at speaking the language, but he doesn't always understand what is being asked of him. I would say we make a pretty good team. When we were traveling the other day we stopped at a checkpoint and Trey greeted the police in Hausa. They got excited, as they always do when we speak Hausa to them, and began to ask him more questions. I relayed what the officer asked to Trey and he then responded in almost perfect Hausa. Like I said, a good team.
Language learning isn't always easy, nor is it always fun. But what is fun is seeing the response we get from people. With English so widely spoken, they don't expect ex-pats to learn Hausa. When we can greet someone, answer simple questions, and tell them we're learning Hausa and we understand "kadun-kadun" (small-small) it changes the whole mood of everyone involved in the conversation. It shows people that you care enough to talk to them in their heart language. We've been at it for about 2 months and today was our last day with our helpers for at least a month. It will be difficult to come back and jump right in where we left off. We will forget things, and that's a little frustrating. So, pray that we will retain more than we think and we'll be able to continue to learn and pick it up quickly.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
pink or blue?
Sweet or Salty
Supposedly cravings can determine the gender. They say craving sweets & it's a girl. Craving salty (or sour, which I'm not sure those two tastes even go together) it's a boy.
Results: I could basically open our salt shaker and drink it. Anything sweet I eat has to be followed by something salty. However, I have had a random craving for chocolate milk, but that's probably because it's just not that easy to get here. Anyway, salty cravings would indicate a boy.
Baby's Heartbeat
They say 140+ beats is a girl, and below 140 beats is a boy.
Results: We've ranged from 140-160 bpm. This would indicate a girl.
Shape of Belly
They say you can tell gender by the way the mother is carrying. If you're carrying high and it's shaped like a watermelon, it's a girl. If you're carrying low and it's like a basketball, it's a boy.
Results: Well, since I'm not exactly showing very much, this one is hard. However, I do feel that I'm carrying low, but that could change easily. For the fun of this post, we'll give this one to the boys.
Chinese Birth Chart
Basically, you can go to this website and fill in the information. They'll tell you the gender prediction according to the Chinese calendar.
Results: The Chinese say it's a girl.
Mayan's Prediction (of course we have to get cultural here.. first Chinese, now Mayan)
The Mayan's based gender prediction on the mother's age at conception & the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If they are opposite, one even one odd, it's a boy.
Results: The Mayan's say it's a girl.
Side You Rest On
If you tend to lay on your left side to rest, it's a boy. Right side, it's a girl.
Results: Typically I lay on my left side. I can prove this because I wake up in the morning with my left ear feeling bruised. I guess I have a heavy head :) This vote is boy.
Morning Sickness
They say if you have an easy pregnancy with not much nausea, it's a boy. If you're really sick with lots of morning sickness, a girl.
Results: I'm in my second trimester and total threw up twice (TMI, I know). Talking to my doctor about the pregnancy he said, "It seems like you're having an easy pregnancy." I feel the same way, since I know people who've been much more sick than me. I also know people who have had the opposite of this wives' tale, however, according to this, it's a boy.
Acne
Yes, no one really likes to talk about it or deal with it, but hormones can bring it out. The old wives' tale says that if the mother is breaking out, the baby girl is stealing her beauty.
Results: I seriously have never had acne this bad. It's horrible. So, if this child is stealing my beauty, it better be beautiful :) This would indicate a girl.
Headaches
If you're having headaches during pregnancy, you're carrying a boy.
Results: I've definitely had some headaches. A couple have knocked me out for the day. This indicates a boy.
Baby Names
Supposedly if you can only agree on a name for either a boy or a girl, that's what you're having.
Results: Like I said at the beginning, we can only agree on a girl's name. In fact, we have several girl's names we like and agree on, even for future children, but this boy name is killer. I guess this means a girl.
So, according to these "tests" it's 50/50 :) I guess we will just have to wait and see!
Monday, October 8, 2012
weekend in the capital city
We have a great family back home (and friends too!). There were some things that didn't make it in our suitcases when we first came here and some things we've realized we wanted/needed since arriving. Not to mention, adding a pregnancy to the mix and things that come along with it. Our great family and friends compiled all of those things, packed them in a suitcase, and got them to a group in the states coming for a trip. We had to go to the capital city to pick it up from the group and decided to treat ourselves with some time away.
When we got to town, the family we traveled with took us to get pizza. This was awesome, because of course I had been craving pizza :) I like all sorts of pizza back home, but the one time I've ordered pizza here it took an hour to make and ended up being the wrong thing. Here, we were easily able to order, watch them make our pizza, put it in the oven, and it was out all within 15-20 minutes. And it was delicious!
The first night we stayed at an American hotel. It was a little pricey, but we decided to treat ourselves :) The room was nothing fancy, but it did have AC, TV, and room service. There was an American style steak house at the hotel that we splurged at for dinner. I'm not necessarily a steak fan, but this steak was pretty dang good. And Trey was more than happy with his steak.
The next morning we spent some time walking around the hotel, deciding on what all the foreigners were doing there. We headed to our company's guest house before lunch to meet the group that brought our goodies. To get there, we used an old fashion GPS, a.k.a. me & a map. We're lucky we made it there since I'm horrible with directions :) We had so much fun sorting through everything that was sent to us. We spent time with the group talking about what they're doing here and hearing their heart for all to hear the Good News.
When we got to town, the family we traveled with took us to get pizza. This was awesome, because of course I had been craving pizza :) I like all sorts of pizza back home, but the one time I've ordered pizza here it took an hour to make and ended up being the wrong thing. Here, we were easily able to order, watch them make our pizza, put it in the oven, and it was out all within 15-20 minutes. And it was delicious!
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| Delicious, yummy, satisfying pizza |
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| the bread! |
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| Kristen's steak |
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| Trey's steak & baked potatoes - with the works |
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| GPS |
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| Our goodies - filled with maternity clothes, new clothes for Trey, supplies, sheets, painting canvases, and so much more! |
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| Happy Trey with his new hat |
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| new rainbows = excited floridians |
We didn't go out until after 4:00 since it was Friday afternoon and half the city closes down for Friday Mosque. We've seen a lot of mosque's since being here, but this one is by far the most beautiful. It's the national mosque. Looking at it I thought it's so sad that something so beautiful on the outside can teach something so deceitful.
Saturday we spent driving around, enjoying the "modern" city. Seriously, with it's divided highways, smooth roads, big buildings, almost constant power, and some decent public transportation, it's the most modern city we've been in here. We even were taken to a grocery store that could make us forget we're in West Africa, that is until the power went out and they switched to the generator :) We made our way over to another restaurant where we enjoyed some delicious humus dip - comparable to Red Elephant's humus dip. We were even offered ice for our drinks. We just looked at each other and laughed. We decided against the ice since we weren't sure if it came from filtered water, but just to be offered it was nice.
We really enjoyed the time away and yes, we realize that a lot of it was focused on food :) We are excited that we get to go back this weekend since we are flying out for some training. We hear there's a pretty awesome pool at a different hotel that we plan to spend some time at :)
Saturday we spent driving around, enjoying the "modern" city. Seriously, with it's divided highways, smooth roads, big buildings, almost constant power, and some decent public transportation, it's the most modern city we've been in here. We even were taken to a grocery store that could make us forget we're in West Africa, that is until the power went out and they switched to the generator :) We made our way over to another restaurant where we enjoyed some delicious humus dip - comparable to Red Elephant's humus dip. We were even offered ice for our drinks. We just looked at each other and laughed. We decided against the ice since we weren't sure if it came from filtered water, but just to be offered it was nice.
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| What, you mean you've never seen a soccer game in the middle of an off ramp? |
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| public restroom - or lack thereof. |
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| Humus & Pita Bread |
We really enjoyed the time away and yes, we realize that a lot of it was focused on food :) We are excited that we get to go back this weekend since we are flying out for some training. We hear there's a pretty awesome pool at a different hotel that we plan to spend some time at :)
one of those days...
Today. It was one of those days for me. You know, we all have them. Days that, for no good reason, are just bad days. Nothing went terribly wrong. It was just a bad day. Let me just take you through my day.
We woke up the morning away from home. We were in the city we need to be in to check out of aliens in order to travel internationally. I guess you can say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. We went to the office to check out. We sat with the man in charge as the paperwork was filled out. After it was done, he mention something about a fee. We had heard nothing of this before, and bribes being a regular thing here made us suspicious. I didn't like doubting this man because he's been so nice and helpful before. But in that moment, I got irritated. He let us leave with our paperwork and without paying anything. He said we could talk to a colleague and bring the money back by. We leave, call her, and sure enough, a fee was needed. So then, I just feel horrible for not believing him.
Now, we're trying to leave the city to get back to our house in good time. We needed gas (which our car takes diesel) and there happens to be a gas problem in the city - gas being petrol, not what we needed. We drive to the front of the line where the attendants are annoyed with us. The national with us tells them we need diesel. They understand and tell us to pull up, outside the gate, near the diesel pump. We sit there for a while and then the attendant tells us to pull into the gate... and at the gate, another attendant yells at us, that we're doing something wrong. The national gets out and tells him what we're doing, and then gets frustrated, gets in the car and we drive off. Eventually we found another station with diesel. So, we set out to get to a new road that is faster to get out of town. We end up on a dirt road with massive potholes, I mean the kind you can lose a car in. Now, all of this is actually a normal day here, but remember, today was just one of those days.
We finally get out of the city and on our way. Only now, I'm starving. I lay down in the backseat trying to ward off the hunger, only it's hard to sleep because of the horn. You see, going through towns on the way, the horn has to be honked often. People run out in front of the car, children are walking home from school, and cars pull onto the road without looking. Which leads me to something else that bothers me here - the fact that road rules are not necessarily followed. They have a road safety book with rules very similar to a western country, but all the rules seem to be relative to the situation at hand. Again, these are things I've dealt with on a daily basis here, but today it just rubbed me the wrong way.
By the time we got home, all I wanted to do was eat some fast food for dinner. Something quick and easy. Luckily, this city does have some western style restaurants. They're not fast by any means, but at least I didn't have to cook it.
During training, people told us about these days. They don't happen often, but when they do, they're pretty difficult. I don't say all of this to complain. Most days this stuff doesn't bother me. It's just part of living in Africa. But today, it did. At training, they told us on days like today we need to rely on the Lord more than anything. So that's how I'll end my evening. Resting in Him and His Word, because that's all I can do on this day.
We woke up the morning away from home. We were in the city we need to be in to check out of aliens in order to travel internationally. I guess you can say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. We went to the office to check out. We sat with the man in charge as the paperwork was filled out. After it was done, he mention something about a fee. We had heard nothing of this before, and bribes being a regular thing here made us suspicious. I didn't like doubting this man because he's been so nice and helpful before. But in that moment, I got irritated. He let us leave with our paperwork and without paying anything. He said we could talk to a colleague and bring the money back by. We leave, call her, and sure enough, a fee was needed. So then, I just feel horrible for not believing him.
Now, we're trying to leave the city to get back to our house in good time. We needed gas (which our car takes diesel) and there happens to be a gas problem in the city - gas being petrol, not what we needed. We drive to the front of the line where the attendants are annoyed with us. The national with us tells them we need diesel. They understand and tell us to pull up, outside the gate, near the diesel pump. We sit there for a while and then the attendant tells us to pull into the gate... and at the gate, another attendant yells at us, that we're doing something wrong. The national gets out and tells him what we're doing, and then gets frustrated, gets in the car and we drive off. Eventually we found another station with diesel. So, we set out to get to a new road that is faster to get out of town. We end up on a dirt road with massive potholes, I mean the kind you can lose a car in. Now, all of this is actually a normal day here, but remember, today was just one of those days.
We finally get out of the city and on our way. Only now, I'm starving. I lay down in the backseat trying to ward off the hunger, only it's hard to sleep because of the horn. You see, going through towns on the way, the horn has to be honked often. People run out in front of the car, children are walking home from school, and cars pull onto the road without looking. Which leads me to something else that bothers me here - the fact that road rules are not necessarily followed. They have a road safety book with rules very similar to a western country, but all the rules seem to be relative to the situation at hand. Again, these are things I've dealt with on a daily basis here, but today it just rubbed me the wrong way.
By the time we got home, all I wanted to do was eat some fast food for dinner. Something quick and easy. Luckily, this city does have some western style restaurants. They're not fast by any means, but at least I didn't have to cook it.
During training, people told us about these days. They don't happen often, but when they do, they're pretty difficult. I don't say all of this to complain. Most days this stuff doesn't bother me. It's just part of living in Africa. But today, it did. At training, they told us on days like today we need to rely on the Lord more than anything. So that's how I'll end my evening. Resting in Him and His Word, because that's all I can do on this day.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
answering the questions
Since making it official (a.k.a. by announcing on FB) that we're bringing a little Fondren into this world, we've had a lot of congratulations and excitement come our way. We are thrilled! Along with all the excitement has come some concern, understandably... we do live in Africa. So I wanted to answer some questions and concerns to let you all know how me & baby F are being cared for :) Some things are still left to be answered, but here's what's going on now.
First, I have a husband that takes good care of me. The 2 times I had bad morning sickness, he was up getting me sprite and bread. He's also been very understanding in my exhaustion & food aversions & the smelliness of our new home. Along with everything he's adjusting to here, he has a hormonal wife at his side and he's doing amazing :)
Second, healthcare. The country we're in has a lot of ex-pat workers, including an American OBGYN. So never fear, we are in good care. We love our doctor. He's been here longer than we have and has helped in answering so many questions, not only regarding pregnancy, but also being here. He takes as much time with us as we need and has my & the baby's health as his highest concern. We even have his personal cell phone number for emergencies, which we haven't had to use yet, but we have used it for general questions.
Third, vitamins. Got'em. No worries here. We have this taken care of. Luckily, I brought some vitamins & supplements with us and we were able to get folic acid here. I'm getting all of it that is needed. And the food here is much less processed. After giving the veggies a good cleaning and running the water through a filter, I'm staying healthy & hydrated.
Lastly, delivery. While we have a great doctor here, we will not be delivering here. He's great and knows what he is doing, but the facilities aren't the best. We have some options for where and some stipulations regarding getting back into the country. We are currently working through all of this and will let you know as we know more. We do know that I will leave the country about a month before my due date (which is March 18th) and stay wherever the baby will be born. Trey will come about a week before the due date. And if I am progressing faster, he will get there sooner. We're blessed to be with a company that has done this many times before. They know what needs to happen to have us in the same place at the right time.
There are many other things that run through my head... scary emergency situations that I'm not sure how they would be handled. When my mind starts to race with those, I simply remind myself that the good Lord is in control of the situation. He knew we were going to have a baby before we did. And He knew we'd be living in Africa when it would happen, so I have to trust that He will take care of us.
First, I have a husband that takes good care of me. The 2 times I had bad morning sickness, he was up getting me sprite and bread. He's also been very understanding in my exhaustion & food aversions & the smelliness of our new home. Along with everything he's adjusting to here, he has a hormonal wife at his side and he's doing amazing :)
Second, healthcare. The country we're in has a lot of ex-pat workers, including an American OBGYN. So never fear, we are in good care. We love our doctor. He's been here longer than we have and has helped in answering so many questions, not only regarding pregnancy, but also being here. He takes as much time with us as we need and has my & the baby's health as his highest concern. We even have his personal cell phone number for emergencies, which we haven't had to use yet, but we have used it for general questions.
Third, vitamins. Got'em. No worries here. We have this taken care of. Luckily, I brought some vitamins & supplements with us and we were able to get folic acid here. I'm getting all of it that is needed. And the food here is much less processed. After giving the veggies a good cleaning and running the water through a filter, I'm staying healthy & hydrated.
Lastly, delivery. While we have a great doctor here, we will not be delivering here. He's great and knows what he is doing, but the facilities aren't the best. We have some options for where and some stipulations regarding getting back into the country. We are currently working through all of this and will let you know as we know more. We do know that I will leave the country about a month before my due date (which is March 18th) and stay wherever the baby will be born. Trey will come about a week before the due date. And if I am progressing faster, he will get there sooner. We're blessed to be with a company that has done this many times before. They know what needs to happen to have us in the same place at the right time.
There are many other things that run through my head... scary emergency situations that I'm not sure how they would be handled. When my mind starts to race with those, I simply remind myself that the good Lord is in control of the situation. He knew we were going to have a baby before we did. And He knew we'd be living in Africa when it would happen, so I have to trust that He will take care of us.
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| 6 week ultrasound |
a box (or padded envelope) filled with love
Since I posted a picture on FB of the package we received, we got a lot of interest and questions about sending something our way. We would LOVE to get anything from America - letters, cards, pictures. It's just something that shows us we're not forgotten about. It's extremely encouraging to open something sent to us knowing that the time was taken to write it or pack it. So, I've complied a list of this we like that are either difficult or expensive to get here. When I look at the list I made, I feel needy. Seriously, we do not expect the packages to be full of the things on this list. I like options and I know other people do too, so I racked my brain and came up with plenty of options. If you like food and want us to enjoy our food, then send food. If you like to clean and want our house to smell good, then send household items. If you like entertainment, then send things that will make us laugh or cry.
If you would like to send something, please contact me for our address. Simply send an email, post on FB, or leave a comment. And if you have any questions, please let me know. If there is something you'd like to send, but not sure if it would make it, just ask. We have many resources here that we can check with about what will make it through customs and what won't.
If you would like to send something, please contact me for our address. Simply send an email, post on FB, or leave a comment. And if you have any questions, please let me know. If there is something you'd like to send, but not sure if it would make it, just ask. We have many resources here that we can check with about what will make it through customs and what won't.
yes.. I know..
I'm not as good at posting on here as we were in Canada. There are a lot of different factors... one being the internet. It's not always a good enough connection to open blogger. And two, power... sometimes we want to use our computer for other things, since power can be hit or miss & we want to keep it charge (speaking of, going on about 55 hours without power, but no worries, the generator charged up the computer). And three, we found out 2 weeks after being here that we're having a baby! Waiting to make it "public" has made me more silent on the blog front. Now that everything is out in the open, the computer is charged, and the internet is decent (however, I may have just jinxed myself), I'm attempting to update you on our life.
Next week we will start month 4 in our new home. There is still so much to adjust to here. Before coming here I had never heard the Islamic Call to Prayer, and now I hear it 5 times a day (including 4:30 am). It's starting to blend in as background noise. Also, I could only speak and greet people in one language (not including the little bit of Spanish I know and the French I learned in high school). Now, if I want, I can greet in English and Hausa, and greeting everyone here is very important. I've learned how many hours of power you need to keep your food frozen, and how quickly the food can go bad. I've learned that ants like anything they can eat - water, sugar, nutella, lays potato chips, etc. Anything they can get their hands on, they will. I've learned to sleep without a fan. I always slept with a fan on in America, but here, if the power's out, no fan. You get used to it. I've learned to cook a lot more. I am not good at it still (and currently have an oven that doesn't have a temperature gage so that has made things very interesting), but I'm learning and we're not starving!
Along with all of the cultural changes of moving to a completely different country, I've also dealt with pregnancy changes! Anyone I asked about pregnancy before always said their sense of smell was heightened. Let me just say, you've never known your sense of smell to be heightened until you've lived in a smelly place. I've had to be careful with what foods I ate, afraid of getting sick from it. I also have had to always carry snacks on me, which is difficult to do since there aren't many snack items around or any fast food restaurants. I've dealt with cravings... seriously, I craved any American restaurant food (Chili's especially). Pretty much anything we can't get, I craved. The good news is I haven't had to wear dress pants or jeans that don't fit - just my elastic skirts, even though I still fit perfectly in my jeans.
These past 3 months have been such an adventure and learning experience for us. We've grown in so many ways. And by any means, it has not been easy living here, but I will say it is getting easier. The things that seemed like such a nuisance in the beginning have now become a way of life. We are trying new things and learning a little more every day.
I was planning to leave you with some pictures, however, I in fact did jinx myself and am just hoping I can get this to actually post :) Welcome to our life in Africa.
Next week we will start month 4 in our new home. There is still so much to adjust to here. Before coming here I had never heard the Islamic Call to Prayer, and now I hear it 5 times a day (including 4:30 am). It's starting to blend in as background noise. Also, I could only speak and greet people in one language (not including the little bit of Spanish I know and the French I learned in high school). Now, if I want, I can greet in English and Hausa, and greeting everyone here is very important. I've learned how many hours of power you need to keep your food frozen, and how quickly the food can go bad. I've learned that ants like anything they can eat - water, sugar, nutella, lays potato chips, etc. Anything they can get their hands on, they will. I've learned to sleep without a fan. I always slept with a fan on in America, but here, if the power's out, no fan. You get used to it. I've learned to cook a lot more. I am not good at it still (and currently have an oven that doesn't have a temperature gage so that has made things very interesting), but I'm learning and we're not starving!
Along with all of the cultural changes of moving to a completely different country, I've also dealt with pregnancy changes! Anyone I asked about pregnancy before always said their sense of smell was heightened. Let me just say, you've never known your sense of smell to be heightened until you've lived in a smelly place. I've had to be careful with what foods I ate, afraid of getting sick from it. I also have had to always carry snacks on me, which is difficult to do since there aren't many snack items around or any fast food restaurants. I've dealt with cravings... seriously, I craved any American restaurant food (Chili's especially). Pretty much anything we can't get, I craved. The good news is I haven't had to wear dress pants or jeans that don't fit - just my elastic skirts, even though I still fit perfectly in my jeans.
These past 3 months have been such an adventure and learning experience for us. We've grown in so many ways. And by any means, it has not been easy living here, but I will say it is getting easier. The things that seemed like such a nuisance in the beginning have now become a way of life. We are trying new things and learning a little more every day.
I was planning to leave you with some pictures, however, I in fact did jinx myself and am just hoping I can get this to actually post :) Welcome to our life in Africa.
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