More Settled

Dear Friends,

I am definitely feeling more settled here in my little apartment/house in Khartoum. I can't remember if I mentioned it before but my quarters would be like a mother-in-law or grandma apartment in the states. The house is really set up in a rather ingenious way, something like a compound. Through the back of my area is the rather huge, long garage where the landlord and his wife (the landlady) keep their cars. Their kitchen is in a room off of the garage opposite their main rooms. Maybe originally they had planned to house one of their children and family here but have been able to use the area to earn some income instead.

I attended the faculty meeting this morning where we received our teaching assignments. Far cry from China. I was included and was clearly a part of the faculty. I was originally assigned NT Background in the concentrated three weeks before the regular semester begins in February and Music in the Church for the regular semester. Needless to say I let the Academic Dean know quite quickly that I am not a musician and am not qualified to teach the Music class! No one else was or is either.... I was able to replace that class with The History of Mission. Oh how I wish had my class notebook for the Long Distance Learning class I took from Fuller on the Biblical Theology of Mission! That course was excellent and I could really use its wisdom right now....thankfully I have had a Facebook friend offer to help me out with some other materials via internet.

I now have NT Background and History of Mission and I feel good about those two classes. This afternoon I have begun looking through the resources that I DO have and this week I will have to start reading them so I can begin planning the class outline and looking towards the syllabus.

I wore a jumper (not a sweater for anyone from the UK who might be reading this) with a t-shirt under it for the meeting. This was fine for teaching in China but I felt really under dressed here. Thank goodness for the top and skirt sets I had made in China, and for the African clothes that are getting sorted out here. I tell you, it is so nice not to feel like a freak wearing long skirts...I am quite the fashionable one here!

Speaking of fashion, on the way home today I was struck by two men who walked in front of the car crossing the street. One of them was wearing a tucked in shirt and the other had his shirt untucked. Here they are both perfectly acceptable. And then on the same street there were the men with one long white garment. Then there were two women, one with a head scarf and the other with the full body tobe. The material of the tobes is so lovely, I would want to have it made into a dress or skirt and not worn to cover the rest of my clothing up.

My water machine is back and it works. The landlady's picture has been hung up, albeit a bit crooked, in the living room. The apartment is beginning to feel much cozier. I was picked up to go into the college today and brought home by car.

Yesterday I ran out of electricity and the college sent someone to buy me more. This was a first time adventure for me! The landlord came the night before last to tell me I was down to 17 kilowats (I believe that is correct) and that I would need the next day (yesterday) to get more. He suggested that I buy 600 this time. He said that the reason I, and they, are going through so much electricity is because of the coolers. That would be the swamp coolers. It is so hot out that the only way to keep somewhat cool is to have the water running all of the time, the fans alone are simply not effective. I called the college yesterday morning to let them know I needed more and sure enough about three hours later everything stopped. I went out to check the meter and it said "0". So, it was out. I called the college back to let them know it was out and someone came to get my old receipt for the meter number and purchased more. The numbers of the new receipt are then punched into the meter and the meter shows the new amount of how much electricity is now available. It is a whole new world!

The water is on a flat rate, the phone is prepaid with scratch cards and the internet appears to be something along the lines of a flat rate. I am beginning to get an idea of what my monthly expenses will be.

Tomorrow is chapel so I will back at the college and then I believe that Wahiba and I will go back to the African tailor's shop to get the clothes finally straightened out. One outfit in particular I really like and I am hoping that I can have some others made just like it!
Blessings,
Debbie