Saturday, August 30, 2014

Some Excitement (Outside of the Hospital)

Sorry I have not posted for a while but that’s not due to nothing to say.
The other day I did something that I have not done in 20 months. Something you probably do daily without thinking about. Something I used to do daily but when I told my mom I was going to do it here she was nervous, more nervous than when I started to do this alone when I was 16. Have you figured it out? Yes, I got behind the wheel of a car and drove. A few weeks ago I blogged about getting my license but due to vacation, busyness and some fear on my part I was unable to drive until now. I had planned on a Sunday afternoon drive last week but the battery had died so I waited until Saturday to find someone to give me a boost. Like most cars not in North America, it’s a standard. I am thankful I was forced to learn how to drive a stick while in high school, but it has been a while. So driving an unfamiliar car with a recently revived battery – therefore no stalling allowed, and the first time driving in 20 months and the first time driving a stick since 2010 made for an interesting start. Add onto this many motorbikes (who travel more like bicycles, slow and on the shoulder), speed peaks (proper word is speed bump, but are really more like mountains), crazy driving busses, slow moving trucks, and we drive on the other side of the road here it was an interesting trip and I loved every moment of it.
 I am thankful for the long term missionary who left me her car for 6 months, this gives me the time to see how driving goes here and decide if I would like to own a car here in the future. As every 16 year old knows there is a wonderful freedom that comes with having a set of wheels. This freedom allows me to go to the grocery store when I need, visit friends, or give a lecture at a neighboring hospital. All without having to depend on the local transport system or costly taxis.


A few weeks ago I also got a well needed vacation. My Oma (grandmother in dutch) celebrated her 90th birthday in Holland. It is cheaper and shorter to fly to Holland than Canada so this made for a  nice vacation. My parents and my brother and sister-in-law (S & J) also made the trip. It was great to catch up with them, spend some time with Oma and some other Dutch friends and also enjoy the pace of the western world rather than the African world. When we were driving our rental car through the small side streets or the busy freeways I found it very relaxing after the Kenyan roads (see above) while my sister-in-law found it very different than her small town. It was a very relaxing week as Mom and Dad worried about the itinerary and I just had to show up. Some highlights were the birthday party and seeing the Dutch relatives, climbing up to the top in the new church in delft (new in comparison to the old church (1246)) according to Wikipedia the new church was completed in 1496. Anyway, I also enjoyed taking a boat through a town that transports more by canal than by car. It was a great trip and as my flight had a layover in Cairo I can also say I have been there although I only saw the aiport – for 6 hours. Delayed flights are so much fun, due to the delay I also was in Germany, just long enough to make a mad dash from one side of the airport to the other. Since than its back at work, getting to know new missionary families, and just living life.

Happy Birthday Oma

Lovely boat ride passing by old houses and barns

The view from the New church

The stairs, we walked around like this all the way to the top and all the way down agiain

good food, puffertjes, Croquette patat. yum