Nightmares

 June 2010

Just wanted to share a picture of the new fabric design on my bed.  Isn’t it cool!?  Kind of retro, I’ll admit… but unique (AND my favorite blue-green colors all combined) none-the-less!

There is this overwhelming sense of dread in the missions community – or with anybody living overseas, I’m sure – about computers that stop working.  It could be a simple start-up malfunction, but anything out of the ordinary is sure to cause a sense of panic in the heart of the user.  Computers of any kind are vital to people’s lives now-a-days, but I’ve realized since moving here just how much I use my computer for EVERYTHING!!!!  Here are a few key features:

communication – I miss you guys!  And one of the best inventions ever (if you didn’t know this yet) is Skype.  My computer allows me to video-skype my parents about once a week, as well as talk to all of you for cheap.  What a blessing this is to me!

support – A cool program on my computer allows me to keep track of all my amazing friends, family, and supporters in the States (or throughout the world!).  I’m lucky to have each of you in my life, and I wouldn’t want to get disconnected – so I’m thankful for the opportunities to stay in touch!

internet – this includes email, teaching ideas, strategies for helping my kids, chords for songs I’m learning on my guitar, dinner recipes, everything.  Need I say more?

music – songs downloaded from the internet, creating CDs to listen to, putting music onto my MP3 player, playing songs for my kids in the classroom, practicing for an upcoming dance with my girls or assembly with my third graders… and last but not least, listening to calming music while I work on reports!

movies – we don’t have a tv here, so any movie we watch starts and ends on a computer screen.  I love my screen, as we’ve discovered you can look at it from any angle and still see a perfect picture!  (This is key when watching a movie with several friends on a single laptop screen…)

pictures – Whether it’s adventures we take at home or around the country, or fun moments in the classroom, pictures are a bit part of the way I can share my experiences with you all at home.  I also use pictures to share with my kids, and help them remember key events throughout the year.  If I’m going to view, edit, send, share, copy, or print any pictures, my computer becomes a vital source of equipment!

school work – I have a computer at school, but I am SO thankful to be able to get out of the classroom sometimes to do work!  Which leads me to the picture above.  I was diligently working on my curriculum mapping for grade 3 English the other day when it came time for dinner.  I grabbed my laptop with both hands, looped my cord so I wouldn’t trip, and headed 5 feet into my room to set it out of the way.  Loop of cord caught the door… hands jerked, computer flew… flipped… and landed FLAT upside down on the tile floor. 

ugh.

I’ll admit, when it happened, my first thought was “my parents are supposed to be coming this summer…”  I knew “no computer” was not an option here over the long-run, so a person heading this way on a plane with a willing hand to carry a computer to me was a happy thought indeed!  But when I turned it over, I was interested to see the following… and thankfully, nothing much else out of place. 

Now you know I really don't have such a crazy style of fashion.  Maybe one day... !

But the good news is that everything – besides the screen – seems to be working fine.  I’m borrowing a monitor (one of those massive box-types) at the moment, and so my computer has transitioned from being a “lap”-top to an “action-packer”-topper!  (This is a kind of box suitcase that doubles as a nice bench or, in this case, mini-table on which to set my new monitor and laptop-without-a-screen). 

I’m feeling lucky that there are some Dell suppliers here in Dar.  And lots of help from people who seem to know what they’re doing in the States.  Now we’ll just have to see what kind of adventures we can have in getting this priceless piece of equipment fixed in Eastern Africa – what fun!