Claire's Blog

when i first came here, all i could see was how different it was here.  Different food, different ways to eat it, differnt weather, different amout of daylight each day, different was of showing respect, different clothes, different ways to bathe and even pray!  And it is different, but this week i'm beginning to see how much we all have in common.  We eat red beans and rice (muchele na malaki) every Sunday, we read the same Bible (albeit in different languages), and baby hands and feet are still widely accepted as the most beautiful things in the world.  The girls are patiently teaching me Swahili grammar, and I can now roughly conjugate verbs in the past present and future.  This week i worked on a grant proposal, which was something totally new for me.  i only typed it up and formatted it, but i learned something about the tricky world of NGO's.  I went into town on Friday and it was a little overwhelming.  The UN, World Food Program, and other international organizations are very present there.  The city is pretty big and brimming with cars and people.  I am not used to the currency, which fluctuates a lot at the beginning of the month when people are getting paid, and I spent 25$ on one box of cereal, a small tub of nutella, and a box of teabags.  |Needless to say, i'll be sticking to fish and bukhari from now on!  On Tuesday, English classes start, and sometime next week we're baking cookies!  Lots of people sell bread and other little goods from their homes, and if we get good at it, we may try to sell bread and cookies as well to generate a little income.  I know how to make-ish bread now!!  I hope everyone else's adventures are going well, and some of the girls wanted me to tell you all hi! 

First of all dear reader, let me apologize for that last post.  This time i've planned what to write in advance, and i learned how easy it is to change the keyboard language.  I'm starting to adapt to the schedule here and I have recieved my work duties, so i'm staying busy.  i've been working a lot in the office and the kitchen.  in my free time, i'm reading a book in french, "quand les enfants crient misere" and i love talking with the girls and getting to know them better.  we watch french, congolese, and nigerian tv shows and music videos sometimes.  i'm learning more about the history of congo, and more specifically the history of this part of the country, Katanga.  there have been many wars here and so much oppression.  last week, i translated and typed the stories of the girls here, and the boys at the brother orphanage.  some of the stories are unbearable.  it really did shake me.  i can't imagine living what some of these girls have lived, but there is so much joy here at the orphanage.  the girls love to dance and sing.  we have discussed everyone from shakira, to michael jackson, to patrice lumumba.  The girls have had exams at school last week and will have them next week.  the power has been working for the past few days, but when it doesn't the girls wake up early and study by candle light.  no one complains about going to school, never! i know it sounds cliche, but it really is true that these girls value their education immensely, and i hope it teaches me not to take those opportunities for granted.  After this week, school will be out for the summer, and i will start teaching english and baking!  the girls want to learn how to make cookies, cake, and pizza.  I'll also be teaching some of the adults how to type and use the computer more.  I have an address now! and i'd really love to get a letter.  i promise to try to write back!  a wise woman once told me that email is nice, but nothing compares to holding that letter in your hand!!  so heres the address:

Claire Kendig

Jamaa |Letu Orphanage

c/o The United Methodist Church

South Congo COnference

P.O. box 20219

Kitwe, Zambia, Africa

 Thanks for reading!