We just spent this last weekend with the Slaubaugh's who flew in MKE yesterday noon to the MAF hangar where we picked them up and took them out for a late lunch at Pizza Inn. This morning after church we went to (take a wild guess...) Java House, which Josh and i have already had quite enough of, perhaps surprisingly. I reckon it has assuaged my cravings for burgers and fries, iced teas and specialty coffees. Pizza Inn has also sated my appetite for good pizza, so all i need now is some chicken fingers.. oh, and chicken wings with... brown pepsi ;-) and then i'm about good for fast food binging in the Western world. Looking forward, however, to a night out at Bangkok Thai and Palatal/Mongolian grill, but that'll have to wait until Josh gets back to Canada. Until then, bring on the smokies, the vareneky, berries of every imaginable sort... and family and friends i guess. :-D LOL. ok, i'm just kidding. Food does rank very high though on both Josh and my yearning to be in Canada list, if you hadnt already noticed.
The Slaubaugh's are leaving tomorrow early morning for the Masai Mara where they will recline in style at some ritzy safari lodge and gaze out at lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) (There are no tigers and bears in Africa, Mr. Josh!) Ah, it's good to have "my girls" (as judah calls them) back in company at least for a few days. We'll spend a few more days with them at the end of the week before they fly out commercially back to Madagascar, lucky bums! The plane is staying on the mainland for now, due to the contiuing lunacy in Madagascar which in turn means the few aid organizations that do work in the country still arent doing much of anything now. Alas.
WE were talking of this exact thing today at lunch actually, about how former English colonized countries seem to get all the hype, the PR, the aid organizations, etc and the former French colonized countries get the shaft. Figure that one out if you can.
It seems i do have something to ramble about after all...
Actually, in the past week i've been going through some pretty hefty pre-reentry crud, which has me reconsidering whether i want to return to Manitoba after all... (nervous chuckle). I'm realizing that i've become (or perhaps just recognized in the last 4 years that i am) a very private person. In Madagascar, or wherever in the world we find ourselves, i can control to a great extent what family, friends, and most everyone from Canada knows about us because you (the Canadian reader) only know what i tell you via the blog or emails or on the phone. If i've gained a bit of weight, for example, i choose to leave that part out of the blog, which is quite easy to do when i'm usually the photo taker :-) Or, if my kid is bratty, doesnt behave in church or has disgusting table manners, i dont write about that either. (imagine the freedom!!:-) I've realized anew that such luxury is not known to people who live in small town, or near small town, where everyone knows you and your life is fodder for idle conversation. Although i'm sure to the normal small towner this doesnt phase you since you're so used to it, after being away from it for as long as we have, the thought of this kind of intimacy gives me the cold sweats! This week has been a lot of struggle over letting go of my imagined control and trusting that whatever reentry to Canada for more than half a year entails, God is in control. I care only what God thinks of me and my family. I seek to have more of Him and less of me in my life. And please God, let me reenter with an abundance of your grace!
A change in privacy is only one of the things i'm getting nervous about as i prepare myself for going back. I am afraid, to be blunt. And reentry is a scary beast in my experience.
I AM, however, really looking forward to longer than 12 hours of sunlight in a day! "Woot woot", as my brother would say. I was just reminded of this northern-hemi phenomenon when i read my sister in law's blog and she wrote of how her kids have soccer from 6:30 or 7pm until 8!! Egad! That's usually our bed time since it's dark by then and we've nothing else to do but read a book or watch a show and go to bed! Just think of it, daylight PAST 6:30!! (ok, this is only thrilling to those people who know the "tyranny" of semi-equatorial living) LOL. I hope i can stay up long enough to appreciate it! :-D
4 comments:
We will be praying for you Jocelyn...I can only imagine what the adjustment will be like! I really identify with the 'private' person issue. But once you are in your Mom and Dad's house, eating vareniki hopefully your fears will fade away. Brenda
Hey Jocelyn, the kids will still have soccer when you get here so you'll have to join us at the field to watch a game. Not only is it light but usually the sun is still shining for the first half. :)
See you soon.
well, i did put some effort into 'walking a mile in your shoes' and figure i'd be feeling pretty unsure about coming back to canada too if i were you. but, know that you are deeply and dearly loved, and i'll pray we can all be sensitive to your hearts needs . . .
fiona
did that sound rude??? i meant it to mean that if i had been overseas in a very different culture for a long time, it would be super hard for me to come back too :-)
fiona
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