Since I can't really imagine what life will look like two weeks from now, I've been focusing a lot of attention on the activities of friends and loved ones. And I must say, you all are an impressive bunch! Here is a sampling of what some of you have been up to:
CD release parties (several!)
planning a trip to South Africa
preparing to move to Thailand to teach English
publishing a book of photographs
running for MPP
recovering from major heart surgery
reuniting with friends from over 30 years ago
supporting refugee claimants
preparing to move to the Philippines to build a school
having babies!
moving to the west coast
traveling to the east coast
traveling in Europe
job hunting (of course -- someone always is)
rehearsing for theatre productions
home renovations of all sorts
attending weddings
playing at weddings
going on sabbatical
installing solar panels
starting university
seeing kids off to university
disaster relief work in Kingcome, BC
beekeeping
running a summer camp
touring with the RCMP Musical Ride
missions trips to Uganda, Nicaragua, and other places
performing in the Toronto Fringe Festival
starting your own businesses
organizing festivals
etc.,
etc.,
etc.!
As C.S. Lewis said, "There are no ordinary people."
We are all, in many ways, ordinary -- but extraordinary as well. Flawed and magnificent. Thank you all for living your lives and for inspiring me!
Thursday 28 July 2011
Tuesday 26 July 2011
August 7: send-off day
Since I am by nature a social convener, part of preparing to go away for so long is planning a good send-off. Here is the note I posted on Facebook:
On Monday August 8 I depart for Tanzania! Sunday August 7 will be a day of farewells. Please join me for any of the following activities:
Praying: I will be commissioned at Waterloo MB Church during the 10:00 service. Everyone is welcome whether or not you are a regular church-attender. WMB's website (which includes the address and directions) is http://www.waterloomb.org/
Eating/drinking: Lunch and/or drinks on Ethel's patio starting at 12:30. I anticipate hanging out there for a couple of hours. Drop by any time!
Drumming: Come out to the drum circle in Waterloo Town Square, 7 - 9 pm! Bring a drum if you have one; there are also drums available to use there. More information here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creation-Africa-Nii-Bronwyn-Addico/263825628775
Earlier in the weekend there are other possibilities:
Dancing: Friday night at Club Abstract. Still to be confirmed.
Music: I plan to spend some time on Saturday at the Kitchener Blues Festival.
https://www.facebook.com/KitchenerBluesFestival
On Monday August 8 I depart for Tanzania! Sunday August 7 will be a day of farewells. Please join me for any of the following activities:
Praying: I will be commissioned at Waterloo MB Church during the 10:00 service. Everyone is welcome whether or not you are a regular church-attender. WMB's website (which includes the address and directions) is http://www.waterloomb.org/
Eating/drinking: Lunch and/or drinks on Ethel's patio starting at 12:30. I anticipate hanging out there for a couple of hours. Drop by any time!
Drumming: Come out to the drum circle in Waterloo Town Square, 7 - 9 pm! Bring a drum if you have one; there are also drums available to use there. More information here:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Creation-Africa-Nii-Bronwyn-Addico/263825628775
Earlier in the weekend there are other possibilities:
Dancing: Friday night at Club Abstract. Still to be confirmed.
Music: I plan to spend some time on Saturday at the Kitchener Blues Festival.
https://www.facebook.com/KitchenerBluesFestival
Saturday 23 July 2011
Arusha in two weeks!
The days are speeding by. I just got back from Ann Arbor: visiting my parents, people-watching at the Art Fair, and a lovely evening with two friends from high school. My dad got set up on skype, so hopefully we will be able to talk occasionally while I'm in Tanzania.
For those of you who don't have it, here's the Umoja Arts Centre link: http://www.umoja-arts.com/index.html.
In the past week I have had online chats with the director of Umoja and also with the piano teaching fellow who is also going for ten months. They both sound like such interesting people and I feel that we'll have a lot in common, as well as many differences. I'm looking forward to meeting them both, as well as all the other people at Umoja.
And I'm starting to get excited about meeting my students and their parents! The 2010-2011 violin teacher has sent a short profile of each student: his or her age, playing level, what he or she is working on, and even a few notes about personalities and learning styles. I really appreciate the time she put into writing the profiles! It looks like I will have between 30 and 40 students, which is similar to the size of my studio here at home.
This week I'll start sorting stuff to pack (which means piling it all up on the couch in my studio), continue working on Swahili, and try to get used to my "spare" violin. I decided to take that one rather than my good one, which means I won't worry about it as much, but it really does not sound as good! Better quality strings and playing it a lot will help.
Here are a few Swahili words and phrases:
Habari gani? [How are you? ]
Nzuri sana. [very well]
Jina lako nani? [What is your name?]
Jina langu____ [My name is_____]
tafadhali [please]
asante [thank you]
Unasema kiingereza? [Do you speak English?}
Sisemi kiswahili. {I don't speak Swahili]
Lots more to follow! Two weeks till the great adventure begins...
Usiku mwena!
For those of you who don't have it, here's the Umoja Arts Centre link: http://www.umoja-arts.com/index.html.
In the past week I have had online chats with the director of Umoja and also with the piano teaching fellow who is also going for ten months. They both sound like such interesting people and I feel that we'll have a lot in common, as well as many differences. I'm looking forward to meeting them both, as well as all the other people at Umoja.
And I'm starting to get excited about meeting my students and their parents! The 2010-2011 violin teacher has sent a short profile of each student: his or her age, playing level, what he or she is working on, and even a few notes about personalities and learning styles. I really appreciate the time she put into writing the profiles! It looks like I will have between 30 and 40 students, which is similar to the size of my studio here at home.
This week I'll start sorting stuff to pack (which means piling it all up on the couch in my studio), continue working on Swahili, and try to get used to my "spare" violin. I decided to take that one rather than my good one, which means I won't worry about it as much, but it really does not sound as good! Better quality strings and playing it a lot will help.
 |
| should be doing more of this... |
 |
| ... and maybe a little less of this... |
Here are a few Swahili words and phrases:
Habari gani? [How are you? ]
Nzuri sana. [very well]
Jina lako nani? [What is your name?]
Jina langu____ [My name is_____]
tafadhali [please]
asante [thank you]
Unasema kiingereza? [Do you speak English?}
Sisemi kiswahili. {I don't speak Swahili]
Lots more to follow! Two weeks till the great adventure begins...
Usiku mwena!
Tuesday 19 July 2011
The jury's still out on this one...
There are people who set goals in different areas of their lives: career, finances, learning, relationships, spiritual growth, fitness, and so on. And then there are people like me who don't set goals at all. I tend to follow my curiosity and my heart. I also try to go where I think God is leading me, often without seeing more than one step ahead. Who's to say which way is better? Perhaps if I were to set more goals I would accomplish more. But perhaps I would be too cautious and miss opportunities. Who knows? I am curious about how all of this works in other people's lives. Let me know your thoughts!
"If it's a question of to be or not to be
I put on my boots, go see what I can see." [Crash Test Dummies]
"If it's a question of to be or not to be
I put on my boots, go see what I can see." [Crash Test Dummies]
Monday 18 July 2011
Steep learning curve
It seems that almost every day I learn something new. Most of these things I could have learned before, but have not needed until now. Here are some examples:
Online banking: I've never bothered at home because the bank is a 5-minute walk from my house and I would rather go out to run errands than spend more time online.
Texting: Apparently it's the main form of communication in Tanzania. I haven't needed it here because I don't call people -- I send email or wait till I see them.Texting is easy enough, but figuring out why the screen on my phone went blank every few seconds was another matter. I did figure it out.
Converting current to plug things in: I just found out that for my laptop and phone charger I won't need to.... at least I think that's right... just need an adapter plug...
Copying CD's to my laptop
Online e-book check out from the public library: how cool is that??!!
None of these things are directly related to Tanzania, but they're all part of getting ready to leave. It seems my life is full of devices with cords that need plugging in or charging, settings that need customizing.... etc. But I am grateful to have them.
[Just tried to skype with my fellow teaching-fellow and could not un-mute the microphone! Next learning experience coming up!]
I'm also trying to learn some Swahili. Although I won't need it for work, and there will be lots of English-speaking people around, I want to be able to say at least the essential things. (Vyoo viko wapi?) And eventually I would like to learn more, so that I can converse at least a bit with people who don't speak English.
I've also been reading about Tanzania in the Lonely Planet travel guides and looking up things to do in Arusha and surrounding area on websites. There will definitely be a lot of exciting things to do.
Haven't started packing... but who needs 3 weeks to pack? I think that will be the easy part.
Kwa heri!
Online banking: I've never bothered at home because the bank is a 5-minute walk from my house and I would rather go out to run errands than spend more time online.
Texting: Apparently it's the main form of communication in Tanzania. I haven't needed it here because I don't call people -- I send email or wait till I see them.Texting is easy enough, but figuring out why the screen on my phone went blank every few seconds was another matter. I did figure it out.
Converting current to plug things in: I just found out that for my laptop and phone charger I won't need to.... at least I think that's right... just need an adapter plug...
Copying CD's to my laptop
Online e-book check out from the public library: how cool is that??!!
None of these things are directly related to Tanzania, but they're all part of getting ready to leave. It seems my life is full of devices with cords that need plugging in or charging, settings that need customizing.... etc. But I am grateful to have them.
[Just tried to skype with my fellow teaching-fellow and could not un-mute the microphone! Next learning experience coming up!]
I'm also trying to learn some Swahili. Although I won't need it for work, and there will be lots of English-speaking people around, I want to be able to say at least the essential things. (Vyoo viko wapi?) And eventually I would like to learn more, so that I can converse at least a bit with people who don't speak English.
I've also been reading about Tanzania in the Lonely Planet travel guides and looking up things to do in Arusha and surrounding area on websites. There will definitely be a lot of exciting things to do.
Haven't started packing... but who needs 3 weeks to pack? I think that will be the easy part.
Kwa heri!
Saturday 16 July 2011
Epic
I am just about at the halfway point: three weeks since returning from New Orleans, three weeks till I leave for Tanzania. Time to catch up!
The last two days in New Orleans passed in a flurry of activity. On Friday we treated the volunteers to a full-out Cajun meal: two kinds of shrimp, potatoes, corn on the cob... and alligator nuggets! (Breaded and fried, alligator is quite tasty. It tastes like alligator.) Everyone's taste buds seemed to relish the adventure; there were no leftovers. Dessert was ice cream with praline sauce.
Saturday I toured the beautiful Honey Island swamp and met "Al."
The next day I drove for about 12 hours and spend the night in northern Kentucky, where I treated myself to a comfortable hotel room and a Mexican dinner -- alas, no Corona because it was a "dry county." (Yet there was a big sign by the road saying "You are three miles from the biggest gun collection in the tri-state area." Go figure!)
I arrived home on a Monday. On Tuesday Marlee flew in from LA for a two-week visit, on Wednesday Marlee's friend Mitch arrived, and early Thursday morning the four of us (Brian, Alison, Marlee, Mitch) piled into the car and drove to Duxbury, Massachusetts, home of Brian's sister Kate. Two days in Duxbury included some beach time,attendance at a wedding (Kate, Marlee and Mitch), a great anniversary-celebrating seafood dinner (Brian and Alison), a barbecue with three of Brian's siblings and their partners and some of Kate's friends, and lots of laughter, story-telling, and dogs. We drove home Sunday July 3rd; in scheduling the trip we missed both Canada Day and Independence Day, so no fireworks this year. Oh well.
After two days at home Marlee and I drove to Ann Arbor for a quick overnight visit with my parents. Back in Waterloo we prepared for and hosted an awesome backyard barbecue.
Marlee is now back in LA. It was a whirlwind visit but a good one. We will see her next at Christmas time -- I'll be home from Tanzania for a couple of weeks then too.
My time at home has included African drumming classes (a new passion), workout classes, squash games, not practicing violin enough, running errands to get ready for Tanzania, meeting with a friend who is tutoring me in Swahili, and picking raspberries in our garden. I have enjoyed getting together with various friends and am looking forward to more.
I have been able to visit my dear, beloved 91-year-old friend Marion in the hospital where she is recovering from heart surgery. Though she is thin and exhausted, her eyes have lost none of their incredible luster and the love within shines out no less brightly. Unstoppable till almost 90, a connector with people and a celebrator of life, Marion is my role model. I an glad I'll get to see her again before I go.
There is sadness too in the midst of this life. Recent email brought the news of the death of an old friend. Richard and I worked together almost twenty years ago, and were in the habit of meeting two or three times a year, over drinks or a good Indian meal, to talk about music, culinary experiments, travel, and life's follies. Richard was a singer and loved good choral music. Requiem aeternum dona ei.
An epic three weeks indeed. The lesson here: don't wait so long between blog posts! The next three weeks promise to be full as well. Departure date for Tanzania: August 8th.
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