Difficult part about living in America

One hard thing about being back in America is that because the kids are in school and not being homeschooled, mornings are much more rushed.

    In Tanzania, we get up around 7am, get a leisurely breakfast, get ready, Heather and I will usually take a walk, then we'll have a worship time, and personal Bible reading before starting official "school" around 9am.  


   Now, in Lincoln, we are up at 6 or 6:30, rushing through breakfast and getting ready and the kids are out the door by 7:45am.   We have had to cut out worship time, memory verses and Bible reading in the mornings.

  Recently, Bill has started having a devotional with Jonathan in the morning before school because he has a little more time.


  However, I have found this a very hard part of being back, and I'm not sure how to get it back.  I am still trying to figure out how to have those same devotional times with the kids that were so natural in Tanzania.  I find living in America to be very stressful, and over scheduled.

    This is a work in progress.  Hopefully, in the near future I'll be able to update how I was able to fit in family devotion time to our lives here.

Things You'll Find in America that You Won't Find in Tanzania

 We have been back in the US for four months now, which is how long our entire furlough was last time!  We have just gotten settled into our apartment in Lincoln, IL and the kids have all started at public school.
  Katrina is attending Lincoln Community High School for Junior year.  Heather (8th) and Jonathan (4th) are attending Chester-East Lincoln Elementary School.  They are doing well.
            ----We are also looking forward to the addition of another baby in March!------



Now, for

"Things You'll find in America that you won't find in Tanzania"

1.  Free Water at Restaurants

                                                 

    Here in America, you usually get a glass of water at a restaurant before you even order, complete with ice.  Water is free in America!  Not in Tanzania!  Since the tap water isn't safely drinkable, if you want water at a restaurant you will have to order a bottled water.

2.  Huge Portion Sizes

                                               

   Speaking of restaurants, we are taken back by how large the portion sizes are here (in America) when we order food!  We could serve the whole family off of one portion of food!  We are used to portion sizes in Tanzania in restaurants being enough for ONE person.  We usually just take the rest to go and have another meal the next day with the left overs.

3.  Convenience Stores
                                       
               I like to joke that in Tanzania we have "InConvenience Stores".   The hours are NOT 24/7 in Tanzania for shops. The hours of operation are roughly 10am-12pm and 3:30pm-6pm.  But, the owner is preoccupied  for any reason those hours are up for negotiation.  Also, there are not 15 types of bread, 5 kinds of milk including soy, lactose-free or chocolate, and  100 kinds of cereal.  We are lucky to have two choices between foods, and usually the choice is "do they have it or not".    Also, the customer is NOT always right in Tanzania.  If you buy something and later find out it was broken when you bought it or if it was food and it was spoiled.... that is on you!  Tanzanian shops do not believe in the concept of "returns".  The only RETURN that will be happening, is you will be returning to that store again because there is nowhere else to go!

4.  Some of my Favorite Foods

                                                 
       Gyros, cottage cheese, Gluten Free Pretzels and Oreos, Dr. Pepper, affordable grapes and kiwis, peaches... these are some of my favorite foods that you can't find in Tanzania.  I am definitely enjoying foods I have missed.  It's so convenient to buy Gluten free products here, and most pizza places even sell gluten free pizza!  It's nice not to have to bake my own bread and pizza all the time.

5.  Vast, Open Spaces

                                   
         This summer we drove from the West Coast to Chicago, through 6 National Parks and 7 States, including Wyoming.  We were able to see Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Mount Rushmore, and the Badlands.  It made me realize how big America really is.  And, how much open space there is.  In Wyoming, we would drive for miles and miles without seeing a house or person anywhere.   That is NOT the case in Tanzania. Even in rural areas, you will find people almost everywhere.  The only places that aren't full of people are inside the Game Parks.

6.  Baseball

     My husband is a huge Cubs fan.   I am a mediocre Cardinals fan.  Baseball is the National Pastime of America.  But, in Tanzania it's all about SOCCER!  When I would play baseball with the kids in the yard, the Tanzanians would watch us and wonder what in the world we were doing.  The World Cup is a huge deal in Tanzania and people will buy cable just for the time it is on.  No-one has heard of the World Series in Tanzania.  They would probably wonder why it's called the "World" Series if it's only America and one team from Canada.   The World Cup actually has teams from all around the world.


7.  Fast Food
                                            
    There are many good restaurants in Tanzania, none of which I would call "Fast".   Food usually takes from 1-2 hours to come at restaurants in Tanzania.  We take along cards games to pass the time while we wait.  It can be relaxing to sit and talk while waiting for your food.  I have noticed that it is not just Fast Food restaurants that are fast in America.  Even sit-down restaurants bring your food out within a few minutes!  Where is the time to talk and relax?  Haha.  It's nice that everything is so efficient, we are just used to a much slower pace.


Ok, That's all for now!  We are enjoying our time in America even though it is so different from Tanzania.  We do miss Tanzania a lot, and look forward to returning next June.

Top 5 Things I Noticed about the US

 This is a random list of things that changed while we were in Tanzania this last term, that I noticed when we first got back.

1.  You can order ahead to fast food restaurants on an app now, and it will be waiting for you!  That is so cool.  Also, so frustrating.  I haven't been very successful using it.  Usually we have arrived before I can place the order on the app and we just end up ordering the old fashion way.
 
2.  Black and white American flags with a blue stripe.  I had to look it up to find out that it stood for policemen and their courage.  That was a new one on me.

3.  Clothing styles like leggings with mesh panels, sports bras with open sleeve tee shirt over it, and lots of pink, and blue hair.

4.  Doctor's offices text instead of call.  Found that interesting.

5.  Popsockets-- little handles on the back of phones.

Things You'll find in Tanzania that you won't find in America...

Things You'll Find in Tanzania that You (probably) Won't Find in America
  All photos are copyright Bill DeLaughter

First, the obvious-- The Wildlife, the Fauna!

This giraffe wasn't going to move from the road in Mkumi National Park. We weren't going to rush her!

   Zebras, lions, rhino, hippo, giraffe, monkeys... these are all found wild in Tanzania.  You can see them in America, in the zoo.  I always think they look so sad in those small pens after seeing them roam on wide open plains in Tanzania.



The Flora!

    We having in our yard lemon trees, lime trees, jack fruit tree, mango tree, custard apple tree, cashew trees, banana trees, and coconut trees.  There are many palm trees in our yard as well as giant bamboo, moringa trees, African Tulip trees, and deciduous trees as well.  And that is just our yard!  There are giant baobab trees here, and so many beautiful flowering trees, and flowers in Tanzania.  It's like living in a botanical garden.

Some of the lemons from our trees

One of our lemons

Jack fruit from our tree

Some of my favorite foods

Nundu.  Nundu is fat from the hump on the back of the cow.  It is served alongside mishkaki (shish-kebobs).

Tanzanian style Barbecue

Samosas

And many other favorites like Mchecha (fried spinach), pilau (spicy rice and meat dish), chapati (thick tortillas), Tanzanian style beans, and many, many others

-Our house doesn't have glass in the windows because you always want to let in a breeze to keep cool.

-Motorcyle helmets are required by law... but sometimes they are sitting on the top of a ladies' very high hairstyle!  I wish I could have found a photo of that one.  

-Cattle walking the streets, including in front of our front gate.

-Open air used clothing market.  This is where we do all of our clothes shopping here.

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A Tropical Christmas

  Christmas is a little different on the coast of Tanzania.  There are no Christmas sales, or Christmas music playing in stores.  Most people here do not celebrate Christmas.  There are no Christmas trees for sale, no lights up on houses, and certainly no snow!

      We definitely have to make our own Christmas spirit around here!  We don't mind though.  In fact, sometimes the over commercialization of Christmas in America can be overwhelming.

Our Christmas tree is up

Hot cocoa with marshmallow and peppermint- special treats from  my mom!

  What makes Christmas special this year, is having Katrina home on school break and having Bill's mom, Carolyn, here visiting as well.  I am enjoying these times together so much: shopping, cooking and baking, doing crafts and just talking.   

Family Time!

Bill's mom, Carolyn, is here visiting for Christmas and Katrina is home for Christmas break!

The Search for Thanksgiving

This year has been a very difficult one for us.

          In January, Leah's grandmother, Clara Zuener passed away and we weren't able to go home to be with family.  We have lost family members, friends and mentors this year.

We were asked to step down from the Management Team of ACM in February while at a retreat in Kenya.

   We have been through three verification processes for our organization and our work and residence permits here in Tanzania which have been mentally, emotionally and financially draining.

 We have seen very little progress in the "soil" in our area, even as we continue to pray and meet with people, while at the same time the discipleship in Arusha is flourishing.

It has been a discouraging year overall, and we are looking forward to this year being over!

              With Thanksgiving approaching, I am encouraged to thank God for those things this year that we may have taken for granted.

For our health
For our family, both those living and those who have gone before us
For our supporters
For food, clothing, water, shelter
For our safety

Thank you, Lord, for your blessings!