Anya was off to school for her second Friday at school here. With all the mental challenge of an immersion, Friday’s mean gutting out the day, especially with some tough classes and tests. Fortunately, PE was fun, and Anya was able to help out the Spanish substitute teacher, as Anya knew more than she did. It went OK.
I started out the day with some tax info that had to be passed on to file my extension. The year that Eric died, I was advised to have someone do my taxes. It has made life easier. I also made a quick trip to the bus stand to get bus passes for my guests. And I got Anya her own bus pass with her name on it. I can’t get her a youth pass until her 15th birthday (April 8th), but now I have the card that can be loaded with the youth pass on the bus.
With chapter 1-3 of my dissertation drafted and reviewed (chapter 3 is revised to a pretty good state) and after the presentation yesterday, I know it is time to tackle chapter 4. I have some bits that have been compiled previously. Some were in chapter 3, but Knut suggested they fit better in chapter 4, which I agree. The outline is a theoretical construct, but when the content is developed, it is out of place. So, it was just a beginning of chapter 4, but it was good to be in a new place. This is the major chapter wrestling with the biblical text, so I won’t be relaying as much about reading Maasai ethnographies. However, when I needed a book for the bus ride today, I grabbed one, as I’m just a couple chapters from the end and wanted to finish things up, especially because Maasai Women by von Mitzlaff is a very readable book with a focus on the women’s perspective by a woman anthropologist. Most of the early ethnographies were written by Western men, who wrote about women based upon what their male informants said about women. There is a fun debate going on among the Maasai anthropologists about the role of Maasai women in the pre-colonial context. Did they have more autonomy then in their limited roles? I have read enough now where I see the critique and defense going back and forth a couple times!
During lunchtime, I put the elements in the bread maker and caught the bus to the airport to pick up my niece, Erin. Last I checked on the web site, things looked good for an on-time arrival. But with her 50 minute flight and my 40 minute bus ride (plus walking to the stop and getting there a bit early), I missed Erin’s email that her flight had been cancelled. So, I read my book for a while until I heard that Erin had been booked on the 10:45 pm flight. I wasn’t going to wait around for 9 hours, as my book was almost done. I took the bus home, wondering what my random seat mate was thinking about my Maasai Women titled book.
I returned home to hear stories of Anya’s day and returned to writing. Then about supper time, I saw a new email message from Erin. She was on the standby list and got on an earlier flight. I told Anya to run with me to the bus stand. (Fortunately the #9 bus stand is down the hill!) Well, earlier in the day, buses go to the airport at 15 after and 15 til. In the evening, only at 15 after. So we waited half an hour.
Fortunately, we arrived just as Erin had collected her luggage. We just missed the bus headed home, which in the evening goes only every hour, so we took a cab. (FYI, 14 minutes, 8 miles, $50) With all the travel and jet lag, it was important to get Erin home, fed, and to bed.
Now after my latest post, it is time for me to get to bed.
With blessings,
Beth