Anya went off to school, and Oda was sick again. We hope she gets well soon, especially with a big weekend ahead (a teaser for coming blog attractions).
For Food and Health class, Anya made mashed potatoes from real potatoes. It went quite well. I like this class! Now if only she’d explore the meal making a bit more at home! She didn’t have to take the science test today. Anya isn’t graded on her work at this school, as we won’t be submitting the transcripts back to the USA. It wouldn’t be fair to her to kill her high school GPA by taking tests in a language she’s only studied for a few months. The rigor is actually easier for her here (she is advanced in math, science, English, and Spanish), except for the language issue. Because she is already ahead in her high school graduation credit requirements, we don’t need these credits. So the focus here is on the language and culture immersion. She’ll have plenty of time to get all her graduation requirements completed.
I took off on the bus to try to get to this place in Stavanger where the website map directed me to get tickets for the train in Stockholm. Wild goose chase! Nothing but a closed up old building. Ugh. (Smeaheia! See Aug 27 blog. So, I went–for the first time–to the Stavanger tourist information office and even asked there, but they did not know.
The tourist information office is right by the cathedral and close to the harbor, so I saw my first huge cruise ship in the harbor.
I had to get groceries on the way home as tomorrow is May 1, a bank holiday, so everything is closed. School is closed. Grocery stores are closed. Time to make sure we have groceries. I was in and out in 30 minutes to catch the #9 bus home. (It feels good to have the bus system figured out for most of what we do–except an occasional Smeaheia detour! See Apr 27.)
I read on the bus, so it wasn’t a total loss of time. I worked with some revisions of earlier work and a few related emails.
I caught Knut in the Rome airport on the way back from their staff retreat. He’ll be stopping of in Amsterdam for a retirement celebration of Hans de Wit. It was his research project, Through the Eyes of Another, that introduced me to intercultural hermeneutics. I met him once in Baltimore. He contributed a lot and shaped my life journey.
I’m not going to bore you with details on the theological topics of the day (Maasai curses, Maasai reconciliation, Exodus 20), so I thought you might like to see where we live. I took some pictures and will share them with you over the next few weeks on the slow days. The first is what Anya calls “an indoor gazebo,” which is an alcove with a wonderful reading chair.
I tried to do some reading here once, as it was so inviting when the sun was shining in. However, it is not very efficient for me. I need a desk to be productive. I have enough time on the bus for reading without writing, so I don’t have much opportunity to hang out here.
With blessings,
Beth