Sorry I have not posted for a while but that’s not due to
nothing to say.
The other day I did something that I have not done in
20 months. Something you probably do daily without thinking about. Something I
used to do daily but when I told my mom I was going to do it here she was
nervous, more nervous than when I started to do this alone when I was 16. Have
you figured it out? Yes, I got behind the wheel of a car and drove. A few weeks
ago I blogged about getting my license but due to vacation, busyness and some
fear on my part I was unable to drive until now. I had planned on a Sunday
afternoon drive last week but the battery had died so I waited until Saturday to
find someone to give me a boost. Like most cars not in North America, it’s a
standard. I am thankful I was forced to learn how to drive a stick while in
high school, but it has been a while. So driving an unfamiliar car with a
recently revived battery – therefore no stalling allowed, and the first time
driving in 20 months and the first time driving a stick since 2010 made for an
interesting start. Add onto this many motorbikes (who travel more like
bicycles, slow and on the shoulder), speed peaks (proper word is speed bump,
but are really more like mountains), crazy driving busses, slow moving trucks, and
we drive on the other side of the road here it was an interesting trip and I
loved every moment of it.
I am thankful for the
long term missionary who left me her car for 6 months, this gives me the time
to see how driving goes here and decide if I would like to own a car here in
the future. As every 16 year old knows there is a wonderful freedom that comes
with having a set of wheels. This freedom allows me to go to the grocery store
when I need, visit friends, or give a lecture at a neighboring hospital. All
without having to depend on the local transport system or costly taxis.
A few weeks ago I also got a well needed vacation. My Oma
(grandmother in dutch) celebrated her 90th birthday in Holland. It
is cheaper and shorter to fly to Holland than Canada so this made for a nice vacation. My parents and my brother and sister-in-law (S & J) also made the trip. It was great to catch up with
them, spend some time with Oma and some other Dutch friends and also enjoy the
pace of the western world rather than the African world. When we were driving
our rental car through the small side streets or the busy freeways I found it
very relaxing after the Kenyan roads (see above) while my sister-in-law found
it very different than her small town. It was a very relaxing week as Mom and Dad worried about the itinerary and I just had to show up. Some highlights were
the birthday party and seeing the Dutch relatives, climbing up to the top in
the new church in delft (new in comparison to the old church (1246)) according
to Wikipedia the new church was completed in 1496. Anyway, I also enjoyed taking
a boat through a town that transports more by canal than by car. It was a great
trip and as my flight had a layover in Cairo I can also say I have been there
although I only saw the aiport – for 6 hours. Delayed flights are so much fun,
due to the delay I also was in Germany, just long enough to make a mad dash
from one side of the airport to the other. Since than its back at work, getting
to know new missionary families, and just living life.
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| Happy Birthday Oma |
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| Lovely boat ride passing by old houses and barns |
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| The view from the New church |
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| The stairs, we walked around like this all the way to the top and all the way down agiain |
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| good food, puffertjes, Croquette patat. yum |
