Last jam

Went to Crossroads this morning for the last practice session with Ken and Karl. Rob didn't play because he had a busted string and his replacements are a different gauge. I got to drum a bit but didn't do any singing because Paul Closius was picking up my parts on recorder. It would have been fun to sing, for old times sake, but it was a practice after all. I was just glad to hear how things are coming together ... they're sounding good! And the recorder is a nice addition.

We took today as a day of rest. Basically, that meant doing the laundry while playing Neverwinter Nights. We were playing a module that we'd been playing for much of the time that we've been here and we wanted to finish it before going our separate ways. Finally, late yesterday afternoon, Elriethrawen Lianoscia (me) and Jaithn Lukes (Rob), along with their hearty band of adventurers, slew the evil beholder Xanathar in the deepest dungeons below the city of Waterdeep.
Whew ... what a relief! Glad we got that taken care of.

Now that everything's washed, we can do the clothes assessment. We took a stab at it last night after dinner, just to get the mental balls rolling. For me, that meant hauling things out of the closet and putting them on, seeing if there was anything about it that was keeping me from wearing it on a more regular basis. You know, pulls at the neck, poochy at the waist, tight on the calves, wrinkles at the slightest provocation. Got rid of yet more clothes that way.

We realized that we have 3 categories of clothing that need to be packed in separate compartments (suitcases or boxes):
- clothes to take to our respective schools for wearing while there (casual, summer stuff)
- clothes to keep for use after schools, when we're cohabiting again (suits, "churchy" clothes)
- other clothes for both of us for over the next year (fall and winter clothes, coats)

Graduation

Rob has completed the VMS course ... yay! Went in with the class Friday morning to view their final video projects. Rob's group did a "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" sequence starring My Little Pony, Barbies, Woody (of Toy Story), Aragorn, Legolas and various other action figures. Very fun. And the outtakes were a hoot.

Spent the afternoon eating: cake at 2PM, Mama Lena's at 4PM. Came home for evening ice cream and watched the Village with the Kubitzas before they left town. :( Will miss them.

Made arrangements today to have approximately 10 boxes shipped to Idaho. JAARS has a truck headed to Spokane, WA so they'll be able to take anything we have ready to go by Thursday at noon. Let the packing continue!

Moving ahead

Yesterday was a pretty hectic day. Rob has been assigned a dorm room. I've booked a guest room for him for when he comes to visit me in SC in July. I got him a post office box and the details on how he's going to get into his room when he arrives on a Saturday. They said I could mail his linens to him and have them put in his room so he'll have them that first night. All my files are now consolidated in one box. I'm trying to get storage boxes down to 10-15 and just have 3 or 4 that come with me in the car.

We had lunch in the classroom and watched different videos that indigenous missionaries have put together; US, Guatemala, East Africa. There was even a Dutch puppet video.

After lunch, I went over to the JAARS transportation department to figure out how we're going to deal with our stuff; store locally or ship elsewhere to store. Also got contact info for someone to drive us to the airport on June 4. Once we work these things out, I just need to find a place to stash the car and my stuff to take to SC while I'm in Canada for 2 weeks. I brought bags of stuff to the Boutique, picked up some twin sheets for the dorms. If it's not too disturbing an image for you, just picture Rob in a twin bed. I packed some more, threw more papers away.

Hope still hasn't had the baby and she was due last week. Not that due dates are relevant. Mom says she's never known a woman yet who went on her due date; they usually go about 10 days over.

Abson & Lara's grad photos

These are just some of them. You can access all posted photos (I think) by clicking on one of the pictures.

Abson & Lara's graduation

Rob & I trekked out to Wilmore, KY this weekend for Abson & Lara's graduation from Asbury Theological Seminary. We started on Thursday afternoon, making it as far as Asheville, NC before we stopped for the night. Had dinner at a little Caribbean cafe where Rob had empanadas and I had sweet plantains with mango & ginger sauce. The server seated us beneath the Haitian flag, not knowing the significance. We knew.

We went the rest of the way Friday morning, making it in before 1PM. Rob finally got to meet Abson and I finally got to meet Lara. Abson's dad was there as well, a neat surprise for me. I knew he was in the country but hadn't thought of him being there (a one-plus-one that I should have anticipated, of course). We met many of their friends at a BBQ at the Wesleyan Seminarians Center that afternoon and saw Abson perform with the Singing Seminarians that evening.

Saturday morning was action packed. We all met for brunch on campus, took a load of group pictures for about 1/2 hour and then went in to eat. Chatted with new friends from Ohio over baked egg thingy, waffles and fruit. Learned that silicon is grown at high heat from a seed. Gotta see that someday; it sounds pretty freaky. We headed up to the gym a few blocks away to reserve seats for the ceremony; we got good ones, being there over an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin. Wasn't surprised to see Abson scheduled to speak as Senior Class Visionary (what I assume to be a.k.a. valedictorian). After the ceremony, we attended another party at the Wesleyan Seminariana Center before gling back to Abson & Lara's place to crash for a bit. Rob napped briefly while I watched the last part of Return of the King with Abson's dad, cheering the heroes and booing the villains. Nothing like a good group cheering/booing to reenergize. Abson and Lara were late getting back because of mystery car trouble (wouldn't start) but they got it going in the end. Chatted for a while bfore we all collapsed from exhaustion. Abson pulled out some pictures from our YWAM days that I had never seen before. Ah, memories.


a silicon crystal, photo courtesy of Technische Fakultat der Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel

We went to their church, Stonewall Wesleyan, in the morning and for Chinese buffet before hitting the road that afternoon. It was a good thing that we had a huge (and late) lunch because we couldn't find food for dinner when we started getting hungry. It was weird; when we got on 74E in NC, we started looking for food. It was nearly 8PM before we saw signs for fastfood places near the highway. When we followed the initial signs for exiting the freeway, there were none after the offramp to tell us which way to turn from there. After wandering around downtown Forest City, where everything was closed, we gave up and went to a grocery store. Rejuvenated with yogurt, sandwiches, Dr Pepper and string cheese. We got home sometime after 10PM.

Will post links to their grad photos when I edit and upload them.

Short-term plan

This is a short-term plan I came up with during the program planning portion of the VMS course. I scribbled it on a piece of paper during class and tripped over it while throwing things away. Keeping only a digital copy, as usual.

Mission - To be/get involved in a language program in the capacities of Translation Advisor and Vernacular Media Specialist in an area where:

• our skillsets are most needed and complementary
• project(s) completion will be facilitated by the context

Goals - (not in order of importance)

1. To be as fully trained as possible for the future tasks
2. To decide on a field location
3. To have the full financial support amount raised prior to departure
4. To develop a solid prayer and relational support base
5. To be ready in all areas for long-term country departure; health, INS, belongings

VMS Training Tour

On the tour that Rob and I took on April 21 with the VMS class, we went to the following places:

• Jake Hunter's studio
• NarroWay outdoor theater

Eshinee's course

TEXTBOOKS

The main textbook is:

• Ray Summers and Thomas Sawyer, Essentials of New Testament Greek (Broadman & Holman, 1995).

In addition, you will need to purchase two primary tools for working with the Greek New Testament:

• Novum Testamentum Graece, 27th edition (Nestle-Aland).
• A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd edition, edited by Bauer & Danker.

These books are available at the Augsburg Bookstore on the LTSS campus (803) 691-1118.

TENTATIVE DAILY SCHEDULE

8:30 Morning Prayer in Christ Chapel
9:00-10:30 Class (some of this time will be spent in small groups)
10:30-10:45 Break
10:45-12:00 Class
1:30-3:00 Work in small groups

The instructor will have two student Teaching Assistants during the summer. The three of us will "rotate" through the small groups, where a good deal of practice and translation will be done together. Studying Greek works best as a team effort. Sharing our efforts and "tricks" will make learning easier for everyone.

[here is a link to the LTSS rationale for studying Greek]

Rob's courses

Applied Ethnomusicology (MUMIN 3902: 2 hours)
This course provides the philosophy and tools for cross-cultural music ministry. Areas covered include teaching other missionaries about music and missions, music ministry program planning and strategies, music workshops, project management styles, working within the context of a mission, and strategies for dissemination of indigenous Christian music. It can be taken by missionaries without formal musical training.
June 6-10, daily 9:00 am to 11:50 and 1:00 pm to 3:50 pm

Field of Ethnomusicology/Anthropology of Music (MUMIN 3923: 3 hours)
This course provides an overview of the major issues and scholars in the field of ethnomusicology, with special emphasis on studies of music culture. The practical usefulness of this for the music missionary is profound since it provides methods to discover answers to essential questions relating to the encouragement of indigenous hymnodies.
June 13-23, daily except for weekends 9:00 am to 11:50 am and 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Analysis of Non-Western Music (MUMIN 3913: 3 hours)
Building on the generative analysis of Vida Chenoweth with the addition of computer-aided transcription and analysis, the course provides the student with the ability to analyze a non-Western music system so that he or she can compose new melodies within that system. The purpose is to aid the student in becoming bi-musical and to make it possible to create Christian songs within a music system without using previously existing melodies. Undergraduate Music Theory courses or permission of instructor is required.
July 5-15, daily except for weekends 9:00 am to 11:50 am and 1:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Seminarians

Rob got accepted to Southwestern Baptist for the ethnomusicology program ... Yippee! I sent off both our housing applications this morning. I'm just assuming I'll get into Lutheran Southern. The admissions guy said that they'd be looking at my application this week but that, from his initial look at my file, I could "tentatively plan on coming".

So, here's the current itinerary:

Rob:
June 4 - fly to Dallas
June 6 - ethnomusicology course begins
July 15 - ethnomusicology course ends
July 16 - fly back to NC, I pick him up at the airport in Charlotte
*spend a week together*
July 18 - Rob heads towards Chicago, where he'll be preparing partnership development materials for our "national tour" this next year
sometime in July/August - visit his parents in Ohio, speak at church(es) in their area, if they're still living there
August 13 - picks me up at the airport, either in Columbus or Chicago

Eshinee:
June 4 - fly to Orimocto, NB to help Hope (sister) with new baby, possibly speak at Lutheran church(es) in area on behalf of LBT Canada
June 19 - fly back to Charlotte, to travel on to Lynchburg, VA where Kate will be, attempt to connect with Lutheran church(es) there
June 25/6 - drive to Columbia, SC to get ready for the Greek summer session
June 27 - Greek summer session begins
August 12 - Greek summer session ends
August 13 - fly to Chicago or Columbus, where Rob and I are reunited

No mean feat, eh?

Successful project

Rob got well enough to go in; temp of 98.4 this morning ... the same as mine. As he hadn't crossed 100 in the preceding 24 hours, we decided that he could go to school. Daycare healthcode applied. :)

Except for 2 scrapes on knuckles that wouldn't stop bleeding (one on each hand), his day went well. His skin was like paper. I think it's because of the fever, not assimilating his zinc for a couple of days. Also, not getting enough protein. Ah well ... he's healing now. The hard part's over.

The recording went well. At least he won't have to spend a day recording on the tail end of the course.

Native speaker?

The recordings went well today. My Haitian accent got better and better (or thicker and thicker at any rate) as the sessions wore on. We're overdubbing a Luke video portion, chapters 6 and 7.

Rob was out sick again. His temp was pretty much steady at 99.5 all day, peaking at 100 this evening, last time we checked. We'll see how he feels in the morning. Lois says he can do the project after the course ends if he doesn't make it in tomorrow.

photo update

LBT-Postcard with Hannah in mind, originally uploaded by eshinee.

Mystery illness

We went to the gym this morning. Rob wasn't feeling so hot going in but he figured it was just "early morning haven't had my coffee" stuff. However, he had a fever by the time we left the gym. I drove us home. His fever is bouncing around 102 right now, has been since around 11AM. Headache, nausea, achy and vomiting twice. I checked him for rash, stiff neck and he has neither. He's feeling a bit better this afternoon. Fever still high but he's sitting up now, whereas he was laying about limply earlier. He has felt a little bit better each time he barfed.

I've been online trying to figure out what he might have, making sure it's nothing major. One of his classmates has been out sick since the weekend, some of the same symptoms. We're hoping and praying that Rob's junk will dissipate more quickly than that as he has a big project to do Thursday and Friday.

Progress

I threw away a couple of bags of stuff yesterday, filled 3 more bags for giveaway. Part of my task is to divide things into boxes of stuff that I'll need overseas (e.g., linguistics books), stuff I may need within the next year (e.g., immigration and financial documents) and stuff that I'd like to have someday if we ever have a house (e.g., family and wedding photos). I then need to label the boxes clearly, itemize the contents so that stuff can be accessed readily even remotely. "Yeah, could you check in box 3 for me? My TWU diploma should be there."

I put together a prayer card (postcard-style) that I can print up if I decide to send out such a thing:



Do you like? It's based on one of the photos Rob's mom took at the coffeehouse gig. It's kind of funny how we spent so much time a couple of months ago trying to both look nice at the same time for a portrait-style photo when all we had to do was have a great gig and take a picture while we were still buzzing from the performance.

Doing child care this afternoon. On Thursday and Friday of this week, Rob's class is doing an other language video dubbing project. I've been recruited to participate as a "native speaker" of Haitian Kreyol. :) Should be interesting.

Our cellphones just arrived at the door. I'm going to go figure them out now.

Bad health

This is just funny:

Causes of Bad Health

• The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
• On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
• The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
• The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans
• Conclusion: Eat & drink what you like. It's speaking English that kills you!

(reprinted from postmission.com)

Happy Anniversary!

We had a pretty cool evening. We drove to Matthews, to Dilworth coffeehouse at Matthews Station, to see Seth Boulton (guitar, vocals) gig with Nicolette Emmanuelle (cello). They are so cool. Not only did they do "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen's version), which some of you will remember as the tune Jesse Rosten sang at our wedding, and "Happy Together" in honor of our anniversary, they gave us cool Seth Boulton T-shirts.



Yeehaw! They're recording this weekend. Hopefully their album will be available before we leave the country.

Revelettes*

So, I'm going through boxes still, trying to pare stuff down. Each time we move and repack, I'm amazed at the stuff I packed. [sigh] This time, I'm repacking within the framework "like to have in 10 years, when our term in _______ is completed". I gave away a half-functioning printer and 3 bags of stuff this morning. I've thrown out several bags of paper in the past week.

Revelettes* are things that occurred to me during 2004, that I thought, "These things are important. I want to remember these things. These things are things I need to remember on a daily basis." To that end, I wrote them on a piece of posterboard and stuck them on the inside of the front door of our apartment in Redmond. It occurred to me, as I was confronted with the piece of posterboard while unpacking a "miscellaneous" box, that I need to make some things digital. To that end, here are the Revelettes*:

• I don't have to say everything that I think. That's why we have thoughts.
• I shouldn't seek out information that I know will piss me off and that I can't do anything about.
• If I clean it or put it away now, I won't have to do it later.

Incidentally, knowing these 3 things about me means knowing a whole lot about me.

*Revelettes: small revelations

Anniversary

And it's our 4th wedding anniversary tomorrow. We were planning a big trip to Columbia, SC (to check out my new campus, to make sure I'll be able to drive around down there). Now, it may be a small trip. It's only an hour and a half away so we may just biff down in the morning, biff back in the evening. There's a jam session here on campus on Friday that we wouldn't want to miss.

20th Century welcomes Veiths

Yeah ... I got us cellphones. It took us a long time to get with it. Sure, we had a little AT&T pay-as-you-go that got me from the daycare to the bus stop for a year and a half. But we all know what happened to AT&T. And it was local use only. This time, I got us a real plan. Since we're going to be in different residences for the next chunk of time, I thought it would be a good idea. We'll have unlimited IN calling (to each other, to other Verizon peeps), with as few minutes as we could get (500/month). We made the home phone number Aurora, IL as that will be our permanent address (whether we live there or not) once we leave Waxhaw. It won't cost us any more than a couple of landlines would.

The straw the broke the Eshinee's back on this one was (will it never end?!) a U.S. immigration form. I can only make a certain appointment using an online system. I can only complete the process using a phone number. No doubt, someone then has to call me to make the appointment. The appointment will probably have to be in the place where my address is, which will be Aurora. Therefore: need cell phone based in Aurora. Sigh. It was only a matter of time.

Cameroon School Kids

Cameroon School Kids, originally uploaded by friel.

Barge across Sanaga River

Barge across Sanaga River, originally uploaded by friel.

Yaoundé

Yaoundé, originally uploaded by friel.

Himba and Grandson

Himba and Grandson, originally uploaded by kavandje.

General store in eastern Namibia

General store in eastern Namibia, originally uploaded by Laurits.

Meerkat

Meerkat, originally uploaded by weewoo.

Hey ... it's me!

At least, it would be me. If I were an African rodent.

Got anything for me, mate?

Got anything for me, mate?, originally uploaded by RobW_.

Namibian squirrel, I think.

Cruiser Tippin'

Cruiser Tippin', originally uploaded by kavandje.

Meanwhile, this is a Namibian scene that I'm in no rush to see firsthand.

Himbakinder (namibia)

Himbakinder (namibia), originally uploaded by Ph.Siber.

Some lovely photos on flickr. One poster, Ph.Siber, has taken some particularly lovely shots. This is one of his.

pictures from Jungle Jumpoff

These are a few of the shots I took onsite.