5k Kate

New year! Sisor pazi! I’m laying in my sanctuary in my room: a sleeping bag on top of a thin air mattress in a miniature mosquito tent in a room about twice my beds size, floored with woven pandanus, walled with woven tree bark and roofed with woven leaves. Sounds of solar powered boom boxes fill the air, punctuated by loud booms, cracks, and cries of “2017 yawo! (bye!) 2018 sebor e! (welcome!)” Our last day of 2017 was spent happily. Three young women joined me on my run this morning! I hope it becomes a regular thing. It was fun to run and walk together, then do some stretches and go to the bathing hole. I wish I had some more tennis shoes or shorts for them to wear too... I just brought one set. I went to church again this morning since people were so happy to see me there last week. It was a packed house and the message was “God wants us to be happy today so be happy and peaceful (and don’t do anything bad)”. I brought my translation work and glossed a part of a text during the ser...

Yesterday Wagiba and I were walking together when something I feared would happen since the day I met her happened. Wagiba’s knife and my hand had a clumsy rendezvous as I swung my arms to walk and she waved her machete to gesticulate. Wagiba cried out “ngämo män! ngämo män! ngämo män! (my daughter! my daughter! my daughter!)” and I instantly went back in my mind to that wonderful moment walking down the village street of Batyrevo, Chuvashia and my mama in love calling out, introducing me to the gossiping neighbors “манан юратна херача!” (моя любимая дочка! my lovely daughter!) and I understood her and I went from feeling so awkward and tall and out of place to feeling like I belong and that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be, and besides the fear of the machete, I felt so loved as Wagiba fussed over me.  I haven’t been officially adopted into a family here - even though the obvious one is Warama and Wagiba’s who invited me here, feed me, house me, and work with me. There’s a ver...