Welcome to an inside look into my world. It’s not very glamorous, let me assure you. However it’s mine. It’s my story of love, mission life, cross-cultural marriage, language learning, inter-cultural living and especially learning how to do all those things with a baby. I enjoy writing but rarely get the opportunity, so I created this space to to unload my thoughts, dreams, wishes, fears, and failures.
Here we go.
Though I’ve been on the “mission field” for more than six years, I am by NO MEANS an expert. I’m still learning how to do it and taking it a day at a time. My husband often asks me what I learned in my cross-cultural studies classes. Yes, I have a degree in Cross-Cultural studies from a small Christian university. Did it prepare me for overseas missions? Maybe. Back to Piet’s question: What have I learned? Umm, good question.
I remember learning how to support raise. Ok good start. One of the things they suggested was set up a blog where people can follow your updates. Check.
I also remember learning to research your culture, country, and language ahead of time. I’m good at that. I like researching, documenting and all of that. When I moved to Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa in 2008, I had done a ton of research. I saw lots of nice pictures of Jeffrey’s Bay. I got excited that it was a beach town. I learned that they spoke Afrikaans. So, I did myself a favour and started learning Afrikaans via the internet. It’s a bit like using the internet to learn how to fish. You really need to be there to experience it for yourself. But I was determined. I CLEARLY remember going around telling people I have learned a bit of Afrikaans. I greeted people by saying “gooey morey!” with full confidence. Those who speak Afrikaans are probably laughing at me about now. Yes, I know, it’s not even close. For those who do not speak Afrikaans, again, this is over the internet so it’s hard for me to explain to you how to really pronounce it, but the closest phonetic spelling is something like hoye-ya more-ah. A bit different, hey?
What else did I learn? Oh yes, be a constant learner. Do as they do. This one is pretty important. I have in no way mastered this one, but I like to think that I’ve tried. For the first 7 months of my pregnancy while here in Lesotho, I bathed using a small basin and 2 liters of water. I only washed my hair once a week. I washed my clothes by hand. I used a “long-drop” toilet. And, (I’m sorry to say this one) I peed in a bucket. Sorry for the visual. But it’s true. I may not have eaten exactly what the locals eat, but I came close. I’m glad I had that experience and hopefully people could see I was not too proud to live like they do.
Well, those are just a few things I learned from my cross-cultural degree. There were lots of others and maybe I’ll share some more another time. But for now, I must return to my home-made turkey bone broth.
Be good.
Leah
Here we go.
Though I’ve been on the “mission field” for more than six years, I am by NO MEANS an expert. I’m still learning how to do it and taking it a day at a time. My husband often asks me what I learned in my cross-cultural studies classes. Yes, I have a degree in Cross-Cultural studies from a small Christian university. Did it prepare me for overseas missions? Maybe. Back to Piet’s question: What have I learned? Umm, good question.
I remember learning how to support raise. Ok good start. One of the things they suggested was set up a blog where people can follow your updates. Check.
I also remember learning to research your culture, country, and language ahead of time. I’m good at that. I like researching, documenting and all of that. When I moved to Jeffrey’s Bay in South Africa in 2008, I had done a ton of research. I saw lots of nice pictures of Jeffrey’s Bay. I got excited that it was a beach town. I learned that they spoke Afrikaans. So, I did myself a favour and started learning Afrikaans via the internet. It’s a bit like using the internet to learn how to fish. You really need to be there to experience it for yourself. But I was determined. I CLEARLY remember going around telling people I have learned a bit of Afrikaans. I greeted people by saying “gooey morey!” with full confidence. Those who speak Afrikaans are probably laughing at me about now. Yes, I know, it’s not even close. For those who do not speak Afrikaans, again, this is over the internet so it’s hard for me to explain to you how to really pronounce it, but the closest phonetic spelling is something like hoye-ya more-ah. A bit different, hey?
What else did I learn? Oh yes, be a constant learner. Do as they do. This one is pretty important. I have in no way mastered this one, but I like to think that I’ve tried. For the first 7 months of my pregnancy while here in Lesotho, I bathed using a small basin and 2 liters of water. I only washed my hair once a week. I washed my clothes by hand. I used a “long-drop” toilet. And, (I’m sorry to say this one) I peed in a bucket. Sorry for the visual. But it’s true. I may not have eaten exactly what the locals eat, but I came close. I’m glad I had that experience and hopefully people could see I was not too proud to live like they do.
Well, those are just a few things I learned from my cross-cultural degree. There were lots of others and maybe I’ll share some more another time. But for now, I must return to my home-made turkey bone broth.
Be good.
Leah