Not My Plan...

So I had two zippers break on my brand new dresses.  This was very much not my plan.  It’s much trickier trying to figure out a new solution to even simple problems when you are in a new culture. 

Where do you go?  Who do you ask to fix it?  How much is reasonable to pay? How long would it take, not just the sewing, but the waiting for it to be sewn. And what on earth is the French word for zipper? (It’s une fermeture à glissière, at least according to google translate, but most of the people that I talked to just called it “une fermeture”). 

I met a lady in my neighborhood a week or so back who owns a little dress shop.  I decided to give it a go.  It turns out that “Not My Plan” is exactly “God’s Plan”.  I spent almost an hour in her shop talking with her and getting to know her.  God’s plan=my developing a relationship, getting more settled into the neighborhood, and pressing forward in my French and Wolof learning.  Not My Plan turned out way better than I could have planned.

PS.  She had her assistant fix the two dresses on the spot, she had my name my price (which was stressful, but I think that we were both satisfied), I learned much more about sturdy zippers and the various types of fabric that are here in Senegal. 

Language Learning Resources

Sam and I are currently in language school in order to learn French, which we will need in order to be effective workers in West Africa.  I am really enjoying language school, but I am an independent learner.  Like really, really independently motivated.  For example, I like to get my tests out of the way so that I can study more of the aspects of French that I am curious about.  (Yes, this does make me slightly nerdy.)

I stay motivated by varying the types of resources that I use.  And part of the joy of learning is connecting other people to the resources that I love. Here are the top resources that I've used for learning French outside of language school and living in France.

Youtube: I like to listen to good children's books good books being read by fluent readers. ( French is a smooth language.  So there should be no halting or pauses in between words.  Think R&B, not rap.)

I also like listening to praise and worship music, with the French words playing. (I avoid using English subtitles.  If they are on, I just read the English and ignore all of the French.)

Netflix, at least in France, has a setting that allows you to change most US programs to French.  I enjoy watching preschool-age cartoons, like Daniel Tiger, in French.  These cartoons are short, engaging, and mostly in the present tense.  It is easy to get the context of the story through the visuals, so even if you don't understand much of what is being said, you don't feel totally lost.

Duolingo is a site or free app that takes you through the equivalent of a semesters worth of college level French.  This site makes learning vocabulary and grammar into a game.

The languageguide this is my favorite site for learning vocabulary.  (I learned my numbers using this site.)  The vocabulary is organized by category, which you can click on as many times as you want in order to hear the words.  Then you can test your knowledge.

Please share in the comments any other resources that you've used for language learning.

Playground

Today smelled like spring.  It was warm and sunshiny so I took Hannah and Amelia to the park to play.  A little muslim girl, around 5 years old, joined us playing on the merry go round and then followed us over to the tree where we were playing "Indian princesses".  I started drawing in the dirt and invited her to join us.  So she spelled out her name for me to write into the dirt with my "bâton" (Now I know the French word for stick and learning it in context with help it stick!)  Her name is "Lina" (pronounced "Leena").  I could write it properly and pronounce it because of my phonetics training in language school.  (Check out this link if you want to hear the French alphabet:  http://www.languageguide.org/french/alphabet/).

I spoke with her French and she understood.  My French words and French thoughts came more quickly and with less effort.  Four months ago I did not even know my alphabet.  And now I could successfully have a conversation with a five year old.  I left the park feeling encouraged.  There is so much to learn, but I am getting it.  As my college French professor used to say, "Petit à petit, l’oiseau fait son nid".

Living with "A Pair of Ducks"

Greetings from sunny Colorado!  We made it!  My family and I are out here for a month of missionary preparation and training at MTI.  We are learning about phonetics (read twisting our mouth in goofy positions), cross cultural issues, and how to stay emotionally/spiritually health as missionaries.  Our girls are also being taught some of the same concepts, but at a much simpler level.

One of the things we learned this week was about a yellow ducky named "Yay Duck".  Yay Duck has everything good and exciting happening to him.  Some Yea Ducks for our family is getting to go to France, traveling, and making new friends. 

But there is another duck.  This duck is not so much fun.  His name is "Yuck Duck".  He has been through a lot.  Some of our family's Yuck Ducks are moving, saying goodbye to dear friends, and missing our church family.

We have some really awesome Yay Ducks and some really hard Yuck Ducks.  Yay Duck and Yuck Duck always swim together.  They are inseparable. Where one is you will find the other. Together they make a "pair of ducks" or a paradox (Yes, I know.  It's cute and punny, and there was a lot of groaning when the teacher said it.).  But it is true.  We are living with a "a pair of ducks".  We have good, we have bad.

So here is our "Pair of Ducks" update.

Hannah's Yea Ducks

• She loves her "school".
• Her teacher's name is Hannah too.
• She is making some wonderful friends, and she has told me that she is good at making friends and wants to make some more.
• She is learning how to express her emotions by talking through them.

Yuck Ducks

• She feels nervous when meeting new people and trying to make friends.
• She misses her doggie, Chai girl.

Amelia's Yea Ducks

• She is potty trained!  And now she has her first set of big girl undies, complete with cartoon characters.
• Since she is potty trained, she was graduated from the 1 year old's classroom to the 2-3 year old classroom.  (They have cooler toys and crafts.)

Yuck Ducks

• She is teething and not sleeping well and cranky.  She also knows what she wants, but cannot always communicate that to us, and then gets crankier. 
• She misses mommy and daddy.  This is the first time where she's spent the majority of her day away from us and it is hard on all of us.

Jen's Yea Ducks

• We get to live in one place for a month!
• I am gaining perspective on my children and getting to see them through a different lens (This also counts towards a Yuck Duck).
• I am learning amazing tools, like how to twist my mouth and tongue to make sounds not found in English, to help with my language learning process.
• I am meeting and connecting with other missionaries.

Yuck Ducks

• I miss my home, my family, my friends, and my church.
• I miss a quiet rhythm.  (We eat all our meals in a dining hall together, which is very noisy and over stimulating.)
• I know that more hard goodbyes are coming up and that each month that passes takes us closer to saying goodbye to loved ones for three years.

These are the "pair of ducks" that we are living with right now.  There are many Yay Ducks and many Yuck Ducks.  And it is okay.  They go together and it is okay to feel both.  So Dear Reader, if you could pray for us about our Yuck Ducks and rejoice with us about our Yay Ducks, we would be so blessed.

I know that I am not alone in this, so what are your Yay Ducks and your Yuck Ducks today?  How can I rejoice with you and pray with you?

Creative Endeavors: Our YouTube channel

Sam started a YouTube channel.  He is editing a lot of little family videos into short stories.  We are both taking turns filming and then he works at putting them together editing the sound and lighting.  So far we are focusing on two different types of videos, family videos and videos of fun activities that we find on Pinterest.  The family videos such as "Mushy Peas" where big sister Hannah feeds Amelia her first solid foods and Pinterest videos  such as "Cool Cornstarch" where we make bouncy balls out of cornstarch.  Watch, like, and subscribe.

Almost Famous

Last month Hannah, Amelia, and I made the trek into town to attend Story Time at the Wellsboro Green Free Library.  Story Time is something that we look forward to all week.  Its a chance to restock our pre-bed/nap time books, get out of the house, play with other children, and socialize with  other moms.  This week was a bit different.

Sara, from the Wellsboro Home Page, an online local news group that seeks to highlight the positive news in our community.  Sara explained that they were doing a piece on Story Time and asked permission to us footage of us.  I agreed, very thankful that everyone had clean faces and semi-brushed hair!

Video of Us at Story Time

February in Photos: Part 1

February has been a cold month for us here in PA.  A few mornings ago my thermometer registered -20!  Brr!  I love end of the month reviews.  Here is what we were up to in February.

Hannah being cute

Amelia loves her tongue!

Our suit at the retreat we attended.

This is seriously bigger then some of the apartments I've lived in!

Amelia had a fun time with the mirrors and pretending to be an only child for the weekend.

That preacher went a long time, again.

All Babies and Dollies tucked in for the night.

Ready for sweet dreams.