Please Mr. Hedgehog

It's late night and I am sleeping outside in my courtyard.  The nights in Kassala are far different than Khartoum.  Everything is quiet and you can hear the sounds of nature around you.  I can hear frogs, crickets and other small aniamls.  But there is one that I never hear, Mr. Hedgehog.

I had never seen a real hedgehog until I moved to Eastern Sudan.  This small animal walks around all quiet with no specific animal sound.  He just pops up.  Every single night when no one is around, he comes over by my bed.  My constant cry is, "Please Mr. Hedgehog, leave my yard!" I think he likes to torture me.  I really think it is the same one, night after night.  My baby calls him California and has vowed to kill him.

I really  need to do my research and see if they bite.  I know I am being crazy right now.  But I don't think my request is so hard.

"Please Mr. Hedgehog, leave my yard!!!"

Flower Pot Cooking

It has been a week and I am still cooking on a flower pot.  My children have actually gotten accustomed to it. For some strange reason the gas stations that supply people with tanks for their ovens have been out of gas for a week. So, I have taken my clay flower pot, put charcoal in it and a pan on top to cook.   I have cooked everything from homemade flat bread to spaghetti. As I have stated before, acculturation is an ongoing process.  We must relax and adjust to our environments so that we may enjoy our lives to the fullest.

Such a big world or is it?

Often I sat back and think of how big this world is and how I would like to see the many different lands and countries on it.  But is this planet that large?  Have you ever met someone that you encountered years before in a seemingly uncommon place?  This has happened to me on a couple of occasions.

When I was in high school, I had a very good school buddy.  He and I went many places together.  We even worked for the same employer after school hours.  We were a couple of jokesters.  We were constantly playing pranks on others and EACH OTHER.  We just liked to have fun.  He wasn't a very good student.  Did not have any goals for himself for the future, or so it seemed. I, on the other hand, wanted to do anything that included traveling.  It didn't much matter. I fluctuated between wanting to be a CIA agent, international business women to world peacekeeper. I spent many days trying to figure out just how I would go from a small country town like Tuscumbia, Alabama to Papa New Guinea. Didn't have much of a plan.

Thirteen years later, I am on a Luthansa flight from Egypt with a layover in Germany headed to Washington DC. I am sitting with my children who are very antsy after about 10 hours of traveling.  All of a sudden I see this man walking down the isle toward the restroom.

"O my goodness, that looks like so and so".

"What on earth would he be doing on a flight from Germany?"

" No that's not him." 

" Wow, it sure looks like him."

I could not resist the urge to find out.  I stood up and went and got in line with the people waiting for the restroom. As he came out, I stood in his path and said,

"Excuse me, is your name so and so?"

He said: "Yes ma'am it sure is, with a SUPER SUPRISED look on his face." 

See, I had changed a lot. I had accepted the Islamic faith and had chosen to wear traditional Islamic clothing which included a full face veil.  I could see the roller-dex in his mind just flipping, trying to figure out,

"Who is she?" 
"Do I know her?"
"And just where would I have met someone like her?"

Finally, I said,

"You don't remember me? It's _____________."
"What, what are you doing in Germany?"
"Man, what are YOU doing in German?"
"Well, I am in the military now and I was stationed here, but I am on my way home for the 4th of July."
"Well, I had a layover her in Germany, but I am coming from Egypt going back to the States."
"Really, what were you doing in Egypt."
"Living and studying"
"Are you military or your husband military?"
"No, just decided one day to move to Egypt."

You can imagine here, his face is getting more and more bewildered looking.

"Wow, so, I mean, do you have family there or something?"
"No, but I have been there for three years.  I loved it."
"I had a couple of Egyptians in a class I did on base in Germany, nice guys."
"Yeah"
"Man, wait until I tell______I saw you here in Germany. Man, so when you coming home?"
"I don't know.  I know I need to, but right now I am headed for DC."

Eight years later, sitting in Sudan, I receive an email saying,

"Every since I saw your name, I have been thinking of a person I met some years ago.  She was a guest in my home.  I really think that you are the lady I am speaking of."  And sure enough, I was. I met her on my trip to DC, the same one that I spotted my old friend from years back. Now years later, I am in Sudan and she in Saudi. We have crossed paths again.

I wonder who's next???!!!  Encounters like these, make the world seem like a smaller place. However, big or small, I am on a mission to see as much of it as possible.

A Child's Heart

In today's world, there is violence everywhere. No city, state, country or continent is immune to the disease that has crept in the hearts of men. If it is not in front of your door, its on your television set and if  not there, your computer screen. It seems that love, respect, patience and sympathy are endangered species. They need to be protected by the National Association of Endangered Species.  But, where, where can we store these things?  Where can we put them for safekeeping?  Where? My answer is: in a child's heart.  If we take these things mentioned above, teach them to our children, and patiently persevere, watch and guide; in their adulthood they will have better practices than we have now.

As usual, I was observing my children yesterday. Not that I watch them like they are some lab rats open for case-study but to see the innocence that many of us have lost. Every move that I make, down to the place in which I live, is because I believe in nurturing them, teaching and raising them to be great productive members of a GLOBAL society. Anyway, I sent my twelve-year old son to the store and I stood on the balcony watching. He turned the corner and in a few minutes came back.  He ran upstairs and he had tears running down his face.  So, I went from relaxing to over-concerned Mom in 2.3 seconds. I automatically thought someone had hurt him.

He looked at me and said, "It was an accident Mom."
I said, "What was an accident?"
He said, "On the way from the store I was throwing rocks up in the air and one of my rocks hit a bird, he fell down and I think he is dead."

You should have seen his face.  He was so hurt.  He had tears streaming down his face.  You have many people who kill without a flinch or a blink of an eye.  They kill women, men, children, animals, all one in the same.  But, in my son's heart, the life of the bird had value.  Now, let's think, if our children can give animal life value, what about human life?

Sistagirlz

I just wanted to share a nice site with your all.  If you are a businesswoman of color; this is the place for you.  I love to read material and network with women who are doing positive things.

http://sistagirlz.com/

What's Wrong With My Mouth

I constantly watch my boys. They are so funny. This week my seven year old had an interesting day with his mouth. The housekeeper was cooking in the kitchen and a spark from the stove-top jump out and hit Thul-Qarnayn (my son) on his lips. Not longer after this, a bottle fell off of the window ledge and hit him in  his mouth. He cried a bit, and then ran a long to play with his older brother, who is twelve years old. They decided that they were going to practice kung fu on each other. The older one did a butterfly kick and hit his brother in the mouth. So, after I tended to him and stopped the bleeding he looked up at me and said, "I know the problem with my mouth today.  The problem is that I know two languages and everyone and everything is mad at me because of it!!!" He keeps us laughing. Now, in the back of my mind I began to question, "Does he really think there is a problem with being bilingual?"

So, in this next coming week, I am going to gently probe him about his feelings and thoughts on being bilingual and multicultural.  I will keep you all posted.

Charlotte Mason: Homeschooling

 For those who may be interested in reading about Charlotte Mason's concepts on homeschooling and forming character, this site has her 6 volume work online.  If the old English is a problem for you , scroll to the bottom of the page and there is a link for her work in modern English.

http://www.amblesideonline.org/CM/toc.html