Friday, October 10, 2008

Lessons Learned

Now that I've been back for over a week, I'm struck by some of the lessons that I learned in my time in Africa. I wasn't there very long but there are some things that are sticking in my head.

1. Learn a language by immersing yourself in a foriegn culture AT HOME

I have often said I want to learn a language. Hindi has been high on my list because I loved my time in India. I have checked out CDs from the library and tried a little. I listen for a little while and then give up, saying "I just need to learn by immersion." Florence, a friend of Cammie's and someone that befriended us all while we were there, is learning English. She has been practicing by making friends that speak English as their native language. What an amazing idea! I actually know people that speak Hindi as their native language. The grandma of a friend of mine once invited me over to speak with her. And I haven't followed up on that. Florence really was an inspiration on how you can learn a foreign language while at home.

2. Water is precious

During our week or so in Africa, I realized how little water you need to live your daily life when you're not able to take long, warm showers or flush the toilet too much. When you have to boil water to drink it, you realize that water is sooo vital. That you wouldn't throw any extra water away because it took some work to get it. We also discussed pumping water over 400 feet up so that the villagers and surrounding residents could use it.



I thought about that this week. I passed a broken sprinkler as I was walking home and saw all this water gushing out of the break. And it's all drinkable! So much drinkable water pouring out. And that happens all the time! We talk about water shortages in California, but we don't even realize how much water we have and how much more we would have if we didn't waste so much.

3. There is hope in Africa

Right before I went to Africa, I watched a movie with one of my friends. The Last King of Scotland. It was pretty spooky and a true story. I had a discussion with that friend about the dark stories we hear of people in Africa. I wondered if God could really be working there when so much is happening.

When I went, I realized that there is hope in Africa. We're not hearing the amazing stories as much as we are hearing the terrible stories. But I met Christians and heard about the things that they are working towards and I heard their stories. There are really cool things that Christians and other people are working towards.

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I am thankful that I went. I learned a lot about myself and about Africa. I met some amazing people, did some amazing work, and had some experiences that broadened my mind and my heart.

If you are a planner, architect, or engineer... and want to get involved with something similar, go to the eMI website and check the project needs:
http://emiworld.org/volunteer.html

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