A Luta Continua...

You realize that after two months of being in this country, everybody expects me to behave as if I have fully adjusted to the Kenyan Culture. They expect me to behave in a completely Kenyan way but the reality is time away has changed me and though I may seem like someone who has adjusted well, the reality is deep within I do get lost. I feel like I neither belong here fully nor to the Norwegian culture I lived in for a while; Call it identity crisis I guess.

For instance, the other day I visited a high profile journalist in Kenya in what was to be our first meeting. We had been communicating for a while over phone and Email but had never really met. I dressed up in what I felt to be the most comfortable way in the July sun in a polo neck T-shirt and a trouser and happily placed a back pack on my shoulders and went to meet him. This was quite something different than my usual jeans and T-shirt which I was used to in Norway. He was not impressed with my dressing style though as he later told me. He must have expected me to be more in a suit and without the back pack. He told me, after a while of course, that the moment he saw me, his first impression would have been to send me away as I did not look the part. My only saving point was the confident and re-assuring manner in which I presented myself from the handshake to the talking, he said.

A friend of mine whom we were together at Hald International Centre told me that I may never feel fully at home here because ‘’ part of you will always be in Norway.’’ I agree especially after this past weekend I spent some time with a former Hald student from Kenya. He tells me there are moments he really does feel lost and even after many months of being here, there are things he has never fully adjusted to like the noise in the buses here. It has helped though to have such understanding friends as Eva, Steve and Grace to hang out with and share our experiences with.  And also being occupied with my new pet project iRead Kenya (http://ireadkenya.blogspot.com/) has proved helpful but this is a never-ending struggle though to adjust and so a luta continua (the struggle continues).

What next?

It's exactly two weeks since I arrived in Kenya. It was sad leaving all the people I knew behind at Hald, close friends I had come to consider family. It was painful to part, so painful that I cried. I never cry during times of saying goodbye but somehow this time I broke down especially looking into the eyes of some of my close friends. I remember how, after having hosted the final Hald dinner, it hit me hard that for some, if not most, we may never meet again on this side of heaven. Oh the reality of Celine Dion’s song, Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear.  Deeply, painfully heartbreaking.

It took me a while to adjust. Many awkward moments followed. For instance, at one time, I was disturbed by the loud music in the bus; we call it ‘matatu’. I even wondered how people could handle that much noise. You should have seen the look on my face when the bus conductor asked for my bus fare. For ten months, I had gotten used to using a bus card. Luckily for me my brother was bailed me out by paying. Grace, my teammate, at one point even stretched her hand intending to push the stop button in order to tell the driver to stop but then we have no stop buttons here. That’s the entry culture shock.

I spent the first one week lost in thought staring into space thinking that I am dreaming to be back here. I have had a dream at least once every two days involving the moments at Hald International Centre. I had to take a weekend away with my caring brother and mother who helped me release all that was in my heart. Several talks with friends here and abroad have also been helpful. In order to help myself adjust, I have deliberately placed myself in the thick of the culture where I have no option but to adjust. It has helped a bit. I still find it a challenge to fully adjust though. I miss the moments and the people at Hald. I have changed, people have changed, the world around has changed. But we have to move on…

So what's next? I am presently searching for a job in accounting and finance even as I lay down plans to study masters. I have also narrowed my focus to two projects I will be pouring my heart to: The first involves establishing a community library in my hometown and the other involves providing support services to small and micro enterprises. Change involves boldly taking a step at a time you see. Keep it right here for updates soon on how we can partner in these two projects as we strive to make the world a better place. One last thing: And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream [Martin Luther King Jr.] 

Fired up, Ready to go!

This morning I was reading an article on re-entry title Reverse Culture shock and I came across this quote from Victor Hunter, an American who was reflecting on his last days in England:

“Today I must say goodbye. Goodbyes are important. Without a meaningful goodbye, an effective closure, there cannot be a creative hello, a new beginning and hopeful commencement… In saying goodbye to each other and to current ‘home,’ we are able to greet and affirm the new hope and anticipation. We affirmed the new journeys yet to be taken, as individuals and as a family.”

I paused and thought of my ten months’ journey in Norway that is coming to an end this next Wednesday evening. Wonderful memories flood my heart and soul. These ten months are full of definite highs and lows. There are days I felt like taking the next flight home and there are days I have wished more days can be added to my stay here. I thought of how I have changed, the friends I have made, the expectations back home, the difficulty of leaving a place I have called home, the anticipation of re-entry joys and challenges and what to do next after Hald. As I thought through all this and in spite of the fear within, I feel confident enough to say I am ready for the next challenge in life. I do not expect an easy re-entry but at the very least I am prepared.

If I were to summarize the last ten months in just one word, I would say transformative. Transformation like rain or tax has been inevitable for me. I look around at all the Hald students here, 80 plus from different countries, and I see changes in them. Most have had changes that seem to have almost permanently registered in their lives already. Changes abound in thought patterns, convictions, faith, world views, preferences, love and life. Yet one question remains even as we say goodbye in the next couple of days: Is the positive change sustainable in the long? We have to wait and see

Back to my quote above now. Sadly yet inevitably, it is time to say goodbye. Words fail me at such moments as these and as Celine Dion once sang, “Goodbye's the saddest word I'll ever hear…Someday you'll say that word and I will cry, it’ll break my heart to hear you say goodbye.” But this we must do if we are to move on to the next stage of life: I must leave. It is time to wrap up the transformative journey with a goodbye and as I do so, I feel a grin on my face, a broad smile on my cheeks and a sense of satisfaction in my heart as I look back on the ten months. I almost sense in my heart an echo of Paul’s words, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 

I would not be completely honest if I do not include the fact that I also sense slight fear in my heart as look ahead. What does the future hold for me? I do not know but one thing I do know for sure is that I feel like I am on the edge of a precipice ready to jump off on the next adventure. Goodbye Norway and I will never forget. Fired up and ready to go!

A beautiful adventure...

My teacher told me to draw a picture,

Of my best experiences in my norwegian adventure,

I choose to write a poem instead,

To tell of my  awesome tread

I have a lot to write about,

Now where do I start,

Do I start with the people in the bus,

Who like to have their space always,

I could tell of the beautiful nature,

And the refreshing frisk luft,

Not to forget snow and sun,

And best of all the lovely fjords and rivers.

We could make a cabin trip to the moutains,

And there resplendent nature awaits,

A back to the old days experience,

Always awesomely refreshing

I could write of rainy Bergen,

Tell of Terrific Trondheim,

Rejoice in Windy Mandal,

Or smile with Noisy Oslo

I will stop there though,

I must tell of slalom skiing,

The joy of going dowhill with speed,

And enjoying norway’s best kept secret.

If you miss a bus never mind,

The next one will get you by in a while,

But you may be late for a date,

And that makes a Norwegian sad

Well there is always more to tell,

But I must plan another time to say it all,

Cheerio

Note:It has been two years since I last wrote a poem and today i decided to refresh those skills by penning the poem above on my Norwegian adventure

Eureka!

This is my final week in Trondheim and in fact I am just 72 hours away from leaving for Mandal this Sunday night. It has been an awesome time in Norway in general and in Trondheim specifically. I have thoroughly enjoyed working especially among the high school students here. You can imagine then the feeling of having to say goodbye to the precious moments of sharing with the priceless high school students. 

Archimedes'  Eureka Moment

Being my final week, I visited one of the schools called Thomas Skolen for the last time. I had been requested to share my walk in Christianity and I took a few minutes to share on how I had become a Christian as a first year at the University after being an atheist and agnostic for a while. After I had finished sharing, I invited questions from the small group of students I was sharing with and the only question I was asked has stayed with me to this moment: Why am I a Christian? I gave the quick reply that my Christian faith makes the best sense of the world we live in and that it is because of the love of God which He has personally and powerfully poured in me through Jesus Christ. 

The answer was sufficiently what I had in mind but later I couldn't help but wonder if there is a better reason why I am Christian. The question has hung in my heart ever since that day until tonight as I read John Stott's reply to a similar question in his book Why I am a Christian when I finally had my Eureka moment.  The deep question I was asked found an even deeper answer. I am a Christian because Christ had been pursuing me in love and found me and I yielded to Him and I have found rest in Him. John Stott sums it best when he puts it this way: 

Why I am a Christian is due ultimately neither to the influence of my parents and teachers, nor to my own personal decision for Christ, but to ‘the Hound of Heaven’. That is, it is due to Jesus Christ himself, who pursued me relentlessly even when I was running away from him in order to go my own way. And if it were not for the gracious pursuit of the Hound of Heaven I would today be on the scrap-heap of wasted and discarded lives

It is such questions like this that make me think deeply about what my beliefs are during my last 8 months in Norway. My faith and beliefs have been deeply challenged and deeper convictions have formed as I have had the chance to explore the Christian faith and its alternatives. If that was all I came to Norway to do, then I might as well have surpassed my targets by far. 

Inspiring Ålesund...

So this past week we broke from routine to travel to Ålesund for an inspiring one week working with students. It turned out to be much more than I bargained for. It was a great opportunity for me to meet inspiring young people who love the Lord passionately and want to live their faith in the high schools. The conversations and chats were truly encouraging. There is this one young lady I met who rejoices at having a weekly meeting where two of her teachers join in as they sing, pray and share together. 

We attended a Friday evening youth service at a nearby church where one of the laget workers, Anders, was speaking. We went bowling though before this service and, I must say this, it was my first time bowling yet I managed to be number three of four beating Anders, a seasoned bowler. Notably, I had started out by hitting nothing in round one but after ten rounds I was number three! How's that for a novice! Lesson: never give up too soon but race to the end. 

At the service, I met some inspiring youth who school together and love Jesus very much. One of the boys, Joseph, is half Norwegian and half American. His parents were missionaries in Mali until a year or so ago. He stayed one year in France to learn French before going to stay in Northern Mali. He told me that it pains him to see the present situation in Mali where some rebels have taken over the northern part of the country and implemented Sharia law. He and his brother regularly chat with his friends back in Mali some of whom are experiencing the wrath of the rebels and is happy to note that most of them are safe. He is many miles away from them and can do little but pray for them. His faith in God seems undimmed by the events in Mali. At the end of our conversation, we did pray together. 

The laget staff in Ålesund and Trondheim

A few minutes into our chat and a classmate of his joined us. He is from the Philippines where he was raised in a foster home before being adopted at a tender age by Norwegian parents. He does not speak English at all but is very fluent in Norwegian. We have to use Joseph as our translator. The young man looks very eager to chat with me on life and faith and even wished he could speak English so we could converse more deeply. At this point, my heart is moved as I had, a few weeks earlier, lost the energy to learn more Norwegian. I feel this energy to learn come back like a flood and I make a mental note to learn more Norwegian when I get back to Trondheim. The young man finally asks how I came to know God and I share with him how I used to be an atheist in high school but came to commit my life to God as a first year student at the university when a fellow school mate shared with me on what it means to have a personal relationship with God. 

Sadly, time was not on our side and soon we had to leave for a friend's birthday bash. The awesome time I had in Ålesund with those 13 year old boys will forever be etched in my heart. As for the Norwegian language, I now have renewed zeal and passion to learn it lest such glorious learning opportunities pass me by. 

My Teammate...

... and I In Ålesund

The Balancing Act...

Having been in Norway for half a year now, i would rather expect myself to have gotten used to the culture and to have fully adapted. So it was a rather rude shock this weekend when i noticed a brief but quite educative cultural difference. We had gone on a trip to the vasfjelletkarpellet, a retreat center in Trondheim  for an inspiration weekend together with 20 students mostly drawn from NTNU, the Norwegian university of Science and Technology. We had a lovely time of Bible study, reflections, playing games in the snow and making lunch in the snow.

Later in the afternoon, I tugged along with some other friends as we went skiing. On a side note, I really do enjoy skiing and is one of those things i will dearly miss. One of the ladies at the retreat decided to join us on the trip. She is from Belgium but staying in Norway presently. We were left behind with her as the rest of the people were quite fast in skiing. She decided to play in the snow and my natural instinct was to take care of her by just skiing near the place where she was playing. When we got tired, we headed back to the retreat center where we engaged in an animated discussion on women, men and culture. 

What I later realized as we chatted was that my instinct of taking care of her may not have gone down well with her as she thought I was looking down on her and not treating her as an equal. Further discussion revealed that we had different concepts of what it means to take care of a lady. We managed to reach an understanding on this but i could not help but notice how seemingly innocent actions can be misconstrued to mean other things especially when we look at them through the eyes of our culture. Was I to do the same thing I did to her in Kenya, it would have been very much perfectly acceptable to most ladies. But now, in a different culture, well, it means something else.

I have noted a few actions like helping a lady carry her luggage are most times deemed as not treating her as your equal even when done in good faith. Again, seeing a female visitor off to the Bus stop is something i have rarely seen here. Most of the time, everyone parts at the door. So now I am left with a difficult conundrum to solve: How do I act within the parameters of treating ladies as equals and at the same time be eager to help whenever necessary without seemingly appearing chauvinistic?

The Interview

Today for my blog, I decided to interview one of the students I work with here. Marie Lowzow is a fourth year student at NTNU studying Architecture. She loves buildings and is almost always talking about one. She also has a passion for meeting and interacting with people. She is both a Norwegian and American citizen and has German roots. She has interacted a lot with Hald students for several years now and I wanted to hear her experiences with them.

Meet Marie Lowzow

Mokaya: I remember the first day we met you told me that you always look forward to meeting the new Hald students every year. Why are you always eager to meet with them?

Marie: Well, meeting up with Hald students is always fun. they have this sense of curiosity and the ability to ask lots of questions. I like listening to the questions and answering them. for instance, when you first arrived here, you had many questions on snow. For example, you asked me what we do when there is lots of snow on the streets and I was happy to explain on how the trucks shovel the snow away. I like the honesty and sincerity of their questions too 

Mokaya: What impact have the cross cultural interactions with Hald students had on you?

Marie: I have grown in my appreciation of  things i take for granted sometimes. They have also helped me see my country with new eyes. For instance, it was when you said how lovely it was to sleep in a sleeping bag that I realized what a good thing it is to have one and sleep in it, something i usually took for granted. By interacting with them, I get to see tour country and it's culture in a new way.

Mokaya: What do you always look forward to seeing the Hald students do?

Marie: I always look forward to seeing them the first time they go skiing and they see snow. The child like smile on their eyes and faces is fun to see. The falling and standing up while skiing is always fun to watch. These are rare experiences for me to see what it really means to see something for the first time by a person who is my age mate.

Marie and I during my first cabin trip

Mokaya: Tell me some interesting experiences you have had with them?

Marie: Last year we had two students from Nepal. One day my fiance placed his hand on top of my head as a sign of affection. We didn't know that in Nepali that meant that he was pushing me down and looking down on me. You can imagine my surprise when the two students explained this to me later.

Mokaya: Final thoughts...

Marie:Keep the questions coming. They help me discover more about our country.

Christmas in Kristiansand...

Were I to summarize my Christmas time in Kristiansand in one word, I would say awesome. I spent Christmas in Kristiansand for Christmas at the home of a former Hald student, Åsmund Skomedal. He studies Math and Physics at NTNU Trondheim and we work together in Laget. We left on the night of 21^st December by train but not before having a lovely meal at his cool boat, where he lives, near the Train station. The journey took around 13 hours and we arrived to a windy and snowy weather. It remained so and grew worse for the next two days. But as they say in Norway, det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare darlige klæer [there is no bad weather, only bad clothing].

Shoveling the snow away

We warmly welcomed by his lovely brother, father and mother and were later joined by the eldest brother who recently got married. For the next few days, I had a real taste of a warm home as I experienced the warmth and friendship and fellowship of being in a family. We watched football, read very few pages of books (what did u expect with all the fun around), shoveled the snow away from the driveway and walkway, slid downhill on the snow, jumped off the roof of the house into the snow below, built snow castles, had snow fights, cooked and ate, received visitors and even managed to go skiing. I look back with longing and satisfaction over the things we did.

Fire in the snow

Christmas here is actually family time. So the whole family met on Christmas Eve (Jule aften) to dance around the Christmas tree and exchange gifts later. Before this we had ate a special meal of Pinnekjøtt for dinner (It is delicious to say the least). Tradition here is that the father prepares it and this day was no exception. Everyone received a gift but none could beat the sleeping bag I got. Earlier that day, we had visited åsmund’s grandfather in the elderly care centre. We had some nice rice porridge for lunch and then left together for church near the care center.

On Christmas day, we went to church and were later joined in the evening by another family with whom they had been friends with for many years. It was lovely listening to the parents tell of the stories of their children when they were young. Throughout my stay there, I enjoyed the close family feeling I got and especially the conversations over dinenr and breakfast. I realized that the Skomedals had a tradition of meeting up with other close families during the Christmas period for dinners. On the day after Christmas, we went skiing and made fire in the snow and cooked food in the fire and ate it there.

To say that I had a lovely time is a huge understatement. This remains the best true taste of Norwegian culture that left my heart and mind touched with love and care. I extend warm thanks to Skomedal family for making my Christmas time last year the loveliest and warmest I have had in years.  It felt sad when I had to leave for a new year’s camp in the north but takk for fin tid!

Green Energy

The past one month has been quite a lovely time as I finally got round to dealing with culture stress and making the most of my time here. They say I am now at the final stage of cultural adjustment where people accept the new environment, adopt new ways of thinking and do things so that they feel like they belong to the new culture. The result has been tremendous as I have had increased energies to do lots of the stuff I like doing for instance reading, meeting people, reflecting, playing and watching football and simply having fun as I learn.

The day I went skiing

One of the helpful habits of coping with stress has been quality time in nature. I have learnt the secret of going to the mountains that Norwegians are so good at. I had a writer’s block some two weeks ago and I decided to join some youths who were going for a weekend trip to the mountains. After a morning of interactions as we read the Bible and made short drama skits from them, we went out into the forest filled with snow. We were in sis different groups and had various competitions outside including trying to light a fire in the snow using any items we could find in the forest and throwing snow balls at a target. It was nice to throw two snow balls and both of them hit the target.

We made a small  fire in the snow

We then camped near a frozen lake and made a camp fire. Needless to say I could not feel my toes and finger as they froze in the sub zero temperatures. I was closest to the fire as we smoked some sausages and ate them with the bread we had. On the way to the frozen lake, we walked across frozen rivers alongside. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking. It reminded me of an earlier time that we had gone skiing with two other friends here.  To keep warm, we played several games on the frozen lake and then later made our way back to the cabin as the temperatures continued dropping.

The experience on the mountain taught me the great lesson of always taking a break from work and enjoying nature. My mentor in Norway calls it green medication. I came back with my writing block gone and it took me a record two days to work on my overdue assignment and ever since I have had a renewed energy to take up whatever challenges being in a new culture brings with it!

A frozen River

Some of the youth Acting out a Bible Story

Walking on a frozen lake 

We made a fire

This is what we have for lunch

Catch me if you can.. on the frozen lake

We tried to hit the frozen lake with a hammer and it could not crack!

Afraid...

Last week was my sixth time flying. Well, the first time i took an airplane was on 12th August as we flew here to Norway from Kenya. I remember as the plane took off and i held tightly to my seat as we rose 10,000 meters off the ground. You see the highest i had ever been in life was maybe climbing a tall tree at the back of our upcountry home or while on top of one of the skyscrapers in our capital city. I should add that whenever i was atop these skyscrapers i never really wanted to look down as i was afraid of falling. So now you know, i fear heights: something i am old is called acrophobia.

I realized as we flew to and from Ålesund my fear is slowly going but at quite a slow pace i must admit. I still fear flying and being in the air. I would any day prefer to travel on land by car or train than be in the air. Every time we were in the air and the plane would shake a bit maybe because of the weather and the clouds, i would feel a bit of fear running down my spine. 

It reminded me of my fear of being in large water bodies especially given my first near-drowning encounter during my first few weeks at Hald. We were out by the ocean relaxing near the beach. My friends were taking plunges into the water from a high point. They would go up this outpost and take a dive into the ocean below. It look fun and simple and i wanted to try but from the lowest point of the outpost. Remember that i do not know how to swim and except for once or twice i have tried it and failed. So i took a plunge in to the water. I tried coming up for air to no avail. I tried shouting and no voice was coming. I only remembered not to use my nose below the water so i breathed through the mouth. Finally, after some struggle one of the pals we were with came to my rescue and I almost swore to myself never to try swimming.

I am still afraid of many things even tonight as i write. In fact this very night, all the things i fear seem to be knocking at the doorstep. I feel afraid. In a new land away from home. Trying to settle. Not knowing even why I am here. Trying to learn a new language. Feeling insignificant. Yet in the midst of all these, I feel secure. Secure in a small promise tucked away in Isaiah 41:10. I read it and my heart is at rest. And this is what my God tells me:

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

So Same, So different

Cultures are quite different. I remember the day I left Kenya for Norway as though it were yesterday. It was Sunday, 12^th August 2012 at around 10 pm when we boarded the plane off to Norway on an adventure that was to last us 10 months. As we lifted off the Jomo Kenyatta International airport, It never crossed my mind even once that I had left a different culture and was headed to a new culture; I was crossing cultures. It just felt as though I had gone to sleep and woken up in the same area and, save for the food and people, nothing was very different.

Three months later and I confess that cultures are different and Kenya is not Norway and Norway is not Kenya. I admit loudly that though we have similarities in the two cultures, the differences are very pronounced and need special mention and attention. On the surface, we are very similar people with almost very similar cultures. We share common needs and even breathe the same air. When I landed here in Norway and many weeks after that, I thought, ‘hey, Norway is not so different from Kenya after all.’ What I did not know is that I was actually interacting with the objective part of the culture which is usually similar to my native culture and which is very easy to adapt to.

Patty Lane, in her book A beginner’s guide to crossing cultures, identifies two aspects of any culture, the objective and the subjective. The objective aspect lies on the surface and is easily noticeable and is very easy to adapt to. It includes such things as clothing, food, eye contact, greetings and time consciousness. The subjective part of the culture takes time to perceive and adapt to and is the most difficult bit of culture to engage. It includes values, concepts of truth, feelings, motivations, authority roles, beliefs about gender roles and assumption. The subjective part is below the surface and it takes insight, asking questions and patiently listening keenly to find it out.

The reason for all this is because I have been nursing a serious home sickness these past couple of days that has made me ask myself deeper questions on cultural differences and what they mean to me. I have found that homes sickness is a normal reaction as I have shared with friends who are on the exchange program with me. Strikingly, we have all been experiencing, in the last few days and weeks, fits of home sickness. This is an intense feeling of really missing the home environment, the people and the culture. I now understand that this could be because we are now interacting with the part of the culture that is subjective, the big iceberg that is below the surface which has the capacity to break our Titanic ship.

Missing home

Because of this, I am motivated to take time to investigate the aspects of our culture that I find different and similar to Norwegian culture in the next many months as I live here. So keep reading this column and leave me your comments as we explore cultural differences and what they mean.

A month later...

I can't believe that the last time I wrote something here was a month ago! Could it be because my culture shock has been month long and has made me have a mental block? Or have I been so busy trying to be a strict time keeper (ever since missing the train) such that I have had no time to write? Or has the snow, which has been falling all over Trondheim, been falling on my head and made my head freeze? Or could be that the days are getting darker and my time of work has been becoming less and less now that am used to work as long as there is light in Kenya? Well could be all these together.

What to do with this snow outside my house

All in all it has been an exciting one month in Trondheim. Well, it has been an action packed month. What with a trip to the mountains, a speaking engagement, a mission week to Bergen, attending several dinners, travels in, around and out of town, seeing the kick off of seeker bible study groups, hanging out with my teammate and meeting and sharing with students! I mean life this last month has really been flying by at a fast pace.

The greatest change that I have had to cope with is the drastic weather changes. I never anticipated such kind of weather as I have experienced here. When we arrived here in Norway, it was late summer and the day began at around 5.30 am with some light outside the room. Then it was followed normally by a bright sunshine later in the day and finally a light afternoon rain perhaps once in a while and finally, the sun came back and went to rest maybe at 8 pm in the night. The sunlight would still be visible till around 10 pm in the night. I was told to enjoy such superb weather as it may be the best there could be this year.

Looking back, I wish I had heeded that advice! The days are getting darker and shorter. The sunlight is visible at around 7 am and it all but disappears by 4.30 pm in the afternoon. Now to make matters more difficult, the snow started falling two weeks ago meaning the temperatures were mostly below zero. I have never in my life experienced temperatures below 10°C let alone below zero!

In Bergen for the mission week

But best of all the friendships we have made make the Trondheim weather bearable. We have had a lovely time interacting with the students and staff and residents here. They have made home sickness bearable to by making us belong. Some have taught us how to cook while others have cooked for us and with us. They have taken time to show us around town and take us on trips and tours around town. They have invited us for dinners at their homes where lively conversations went on. Only yesterday, we went for a lovely Birthday party and tonight we are attending a special dinner in honor of our contact person Lars Olav who is leaving for Poland by the end of the year. My teammate Grace and I even have invitation to spend Christmas with the families of two of the students here. Such kind gestures have made the first month here exciting to say the least. And this is just the beginning!

All in 24 hours...

What an introduction to Norwegian time keeping standards we had last week! Grace (my teammate) and I left our 'home' Hald international Centre in Mandal in the wee hours of the morning of 28th September for the long 12 hour-journey to Trondheim. The travel by bus from Mandal to Kristiansand and then, from there, by train to Oslo was uneventful.

We were meant to arrive in Oslo Central Station at 1.58 pm and then have some 19 minutes to catch the train to Trondheim. Well, we arrived 5 minutes late. Trouble was looming as we had 14 minutes to catch the next train. Add to this the fact that we had a lot of luggage with us and we had no idea where to get the next train. I got tense and lost. My team mate, thank God for her, urged me to go to the information desk and ask for directions. 4 minutes remaining now! We took our heavy bags and tried to make our way to track 11 from track 9. We got there just in time to…….not even see the train leaving! This is Norway I tell you. I missed home where I could have caught the next bus there and where I knew what to do in such situations. I also missed the fact that someone would have offered (at a small fee at the very least) to help me with our many, heavy bags. Either way, here we were, in a foreign country, far away from familiar Kenya, trying to make our way home.

How I missed the train!

Well, we composed ourselves and were able to figure out what to do. The choice was between train, bus and Plane. The earliest to leave was the plane so we picked it. Our contact person, Lars Olav Gjora (quite a difficult last name there), enabled us to get the air tickets but still the next flight was to be at 10.30pm so we still had quite some time to wait. We rested a while at the central station but we could not manage a nap as we had a train to catch to the airport. While there, we saw a woman see the train leave while she was running to catch it. I really felt sorry for her.

We took the train to the Oslo airport and unknowingly we sat in the comfort zone, a first class area. The tickets we had purchased were for the common area. The Train conductor seeing the dejected and worn out looks on our faces having dragged our heavy bags up and down allowed us to sit in this area. We alighted at the airport and more was awaiting us. At the check-in place, we realized that my bags were both overweight by far. Luckily for Grace, one of her bags was underweight and the other was overweight so a little balancing did the trick. We therefore had to cancel my flight and had to book a train ticket instead. My contact Person Lars Olav helped a lot here.

Grace was able to catch the flight to Trondheim and was received by Lars Olav. I was very very keen this time round and did not miss my train which was due to pass passing by the Oslo airport at 11.46pm (note the precision of the time) on its way to Trondheim. I was almost the first to hop in and was soon fast asleep. The train conductor even had to wake me up for me to show him my tickets. I only woke up the following morning to the beautiful scenery of Trondheim. That was the craziest 24 hours! 

Happy to be in Trondheim Finally!

Stepping out

When an eagle is preparing a nest in which it’s young ones will live, it usually places first a layer of thorns before it places some several layers of grass to ensure a comfortable place of growing for the eaglets. Over time, however, there comes a time when the eaglet must move out of the nest to learn how to fly.  At this point, the soft cushioning of grass is removed and the prickly thorns revealed so as to motivate in a prickly way the eaglet to move out and learn a special skill that is going to be useful to it as long as it lives: flying. So without moving out, no new skill will be leant.

For a few weeks now since arriving in Norway, we have been at Hald learning a lot on cross-cultural exchanges and now the time has come time to go develop our practical skills further out of the nest. The prickly thorn of leaving is here and so this Friday, my teammate, Grace, and I leave Hald for Trondheim  via Kristiansand and Oslo where we will be working with LAGET (Pronounced Lah gey), an organization that works with students in Universities and High schools to encourage them to live for Christ and to make Him known at universities and colleges in Norway.

I feel both excited and fearful. Excited because this is the real chance to test the knowledge gained about the Norwegian cross-cultural experience and more importantly, to live and work in Norway as I share and learn. The fear is quite natural because I know not what lies in Trondheim. It feels like a fish being moved from familiar waters to other waters. All in all, I look forward to this entire six month experience and I hope to make the most of it. I have purposed to go, learn and become as the Hald motto encourages us. And before we go, remember this:

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.

Of fathers and their kids...

One of things that has struck me in Norway, other than the beautiful and amazing Norwegian Scenery, is the bonding that Fathers have with their young kids. It is completely normal to see a father taking the young kid on a ride around in a crib. it is also perfectly normal to see fathers changing the kids diapers, feeding them, stroking them to sleep, and even taking care of them when they cry. These are things that in most parts of the world mothers are 'expected' to do.

Today in church was the day of baptism for the babies of around three months. You should have seen the beautiful sight of the fathers carrying the kids to the front of the church with the mothers at their side. You may think that this is just for the show but you change your mind when you meet these fathers later even after church still cuddling the babies close to their chests in a tender and loving way as they head home. The glean in their eyes, the grin in their faces and the glee in their mouths tell it all. I remember one of our teachers at Hald International Center, who was teaching us on raising kids in Norway, telling us on the joy he had at being at home for six months raising the kids at home while the mother worked. You see in Norway every new mum is entitled to a year off work with full pay on getting a child. This one year can be divided between the mother and father of the kid in such a way that each gets six months. And these six months, are what my teacher told me were the most exciting for him.

This close bonding between father and kid i feel is something that all the men (your truly included) can commit to. Having grown up in a home without a father, i could be biased in my recommendation but i still think it is beautiful and pleasant to have this in a family. Think about it!

Compelled by love...

What an awesome, fun-filled month it has been in Norway thus far! Put together 84 participants from 18 nations representing 4 continents in one place (Read Hald International Centre) and you have a portent concoction that has the sort of energy to create the vibrant atmosphere needed for cross-cultural sharing and learning. In each of these participants' lives, I sense a passion, a desire, a zeal, a fire to change the world. A closer observation of their lives reveals the burning, passionate heart of a global God who is on a global agenda to change people's lives and reconcile people to Himself through Christ. As I interact with them, I have seen my perspective of life expanded, my mindset challenged and my heart gladdened by the heart of fellowship here.

The Diversity at Hald International Centre, Mandal, Norway

Picture this: I reside in a small lovely room with four participants each representing a different country: Cameroun, Norway, Tanzania and Kenya, where yours truly comes from. I wake up earlier (mostly) and have the cool task and pleasurable experience of waking up each of them at different times. Before this, as I sit at the table, I watch them in their sleep and I thank God for this wonderful richness of diversity. I call to mind  that in the Bible it is written that a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, was seen by the apostle John, standing before the throne and before the Lamb at the end of age.  I feel glad to see each day how God is working out to make this come to pass.

As you move around and meet new faces, you will observe that we have many differences within the Hald community. We speak different native languages; we prefer different meals; we are fascinated by different sports activities; we have different cultural backgrounds; we have different worldview patterns; our countries are different, the climates we have come from are different. And the differences go on and on. Yet you will also realize something that that unites us. You can sense it in our cheerful play of volleyball or football, in the hearty laughter as we share meals, in the talk down the hallway, in the music as we sing our hearts out, in the yearning by each participant to make a difference in their area of placement, in the struggle to learn a new language, in the enthusiasm to go to a new part of the world and participate in changing lives, in the passion to read and learn and share. You realize that we are all compelled by love.

I pray that that love shall fuel our hearts and fire our bellies and move our feet and, above all, compel all of us at Hald to act wholeheartedly in making a difference as we share and learn  in our cross-cultural experiences around the world.