The day’s weather started sunny and ended sunny, with rain and overcast mid-day. Fortunately, I hopped on the bus in the sun and avoided the rain in the afternoon.
I took the 3 bus so I could walk down hill instead of uphill. Then I walked around the lake in the Stavanger Sentrum (central area, no Cs in Norsk) and took a selfie for you all by the Cathedral. I’m focusing on not getting the construction scaffolding, so my concentration seems to have prevented a smile.
At MHS today, there was chapel with Holy Communion, where Marta came and sat by me. She brings joy. Marta (the American MK, former missionary to Madagascar, married a Norwegian) works for the Norwegian Mission Society (NMS), which technically owns MHS, my school. But in this former state church and socialized country there are so many affiliations that would never work in the USA. So, the MHS building is across a green lawn from MHS, and many of the staff comes for chapel on Mondays. Did I tell you that we discovered that Marta’s parents and my parents went to Augsburg College together and have kept in touch with Christmas letters all these years! Small world.
After chapel, the staff meets for lunch and the rector will give some announcements or perhaps introduce special guests. The announcements are in Norsk, the introductions are often in English, as the guests are typically foreigners. In the announcements, I think I understood that the Nepali students at MHS had all be able to contact their families and so far all the immediate family members are OK. Here’s a photo the gathering of staff. Tomorrow most of them will be gone, as the staff retreat is in Rome. Yes! Rome, Italy!
The other small world connection today is that Knut presented a paper last Friday in Sweden where my friend, Lena, was the key-note speaker. Knut passed on the Moomin reflector (See Apr 21 post), and it accomplished the goal of a laugh for Lena. Lena and Knut had an opportunity to meet and talk. Lena said that she knew three women in Old Testament from Norway, and they happen to all be Knut’s advisees. Knut relayed to us three at lunch that Lena knew “three excellent scholars,” but I said that at least she knew two scholars, Tina and Marta (another Marta). Since Lena has never read my work, it would be hard to evaluate whether I was an excellent scholar.
In fact today, I am dealing with the recurrent self-doubt challenges. I had sent Knut off to Sweden with about 40 pages of my most recent writing. We went over them today, which is a necessary exercise, and I am so blessed to have Knut’s constructive comments. However, it always means more work of revision, as well as thinking through things that I’m not either understanding like I should or representing well.
The challenge right now is the method in chapter 4, which is not standard, as the standard methods “others” the other voice. The typical way is that after establishing a Western interpretation with standard Western methods, the other voice is compared and contrasted to it. Well, that is just continuing the marginalization and “othering.” (The scholarly term is alterity.) So, I’m trying to have a dialog with my Maasai informants and my interaction with the traditional Western methods for a deeper understanding of the text. But it isn’t just a textual understanding, because I also have to understand the Maasai enough, and then it is developing a methodology.
Knut was encouraging and challenging. He identified that I didn’t choose the easiest path for completing a dissertation. However, we do hope that this will contribute more than just an intercultural understanding of the text, but to begin clearing a path (a new methodology) that others can use. With the rise of world Christianity (the majority of Christians are in the Southern Hemisphere), this may be a method that will help build bridges of understanding.
I’m OK, but it was exhausting. I left drained.
I had to get a few things at the store on the way home, so I got of the bus at the mall. I did my shopping in a perfect 30 minutes, ready to hop on the bus to take me home. I really thought I got on the right bus. There are two #2 routes. UGH! Why not give them 2 different numbers!?! The bus that goes through Varatun was the one I wanted. I ended up on the bus through Smeaheia, which takes me to downtown Sandes. (Smeaheia is now Anya’s and my word of frustration, instead of “shoot” or “fiddlesticks” we say “Smeaheia.”)
While I was waiting for a bus to bring me back up the hill closer to home, a group of about six young women around Anya’s age approached. I wish I had my phone out and got them in a clump, as they all looked alike. Here are two as they had to switch to single file to get past people on the sidewalk.
Each one had skinny blue jeans, white shoes, (Converse is way cool), and stylish parkas with big fur hoods. Each young woman had long, blonde hair, mostly down, but some in a bun. Anya has commented how homogenously everyone dresses. Here’s proof!
We made homemade pizza for dinner. I did a bit more weeding while the ground was soft from the afternoon rain, but the sun had returned. It was still a bit cold on the hands, but there are now fewer weeds around!
With blessings,
Beth
And how do we pronounce this delicious new frustration word, “Smeaheia”? I love it! Smeaheia, Smeaheia, Smeaheia! Cooool.
How a bout saying something in Chinese Mandarin like, “Dzau gau!” That would have a similar meaning, sort of the idea of “tough luck” or “too bad” or “oops!” “Oops” is one of those words you don’t want to hear in an operating room during surgery!!!