Waking up here and walking out onto the balcony is a treat. The house is situated on a hill, near the University of Burundi. As I inhale deeply, I see in the horizon the high mountains of Congo and Lake Tanganyika. The city sits along the lake, peaceful and picturesque from my scope. The balcony is a perfect place to sip some of the fragrant Burundian tea or one of Melli's amazing frappucinos and spend some quiet time with God.
All of the Johnson kids are home now for 4 weeks of vacation! The past week with them has been great fun. I'm rooming with Sarah, the oldest, and we have a plan to be in great shape by the end of the four weeks…running almost every day.
The Discovery School is also closed for the next two weeks, but I've had a few opportunities of service come up. I'll be praying that I can be a useful tool for Him! He has got a plan, and I hope that I can be servant and become an even better one.
At the school on Thursday, I was speaking with a few teachers during recess. Ishmael told me of the economic situation of Burundi.
Lately there have been manifestations (protests) against the rise in prices and taxes. So far, it has been a mostly peaceful protest. Just to be safe, I didn't go to the school on Tuesday, the day they set for the protests. When I went to the school on Wednesday, they told me that all was business as usual at the school. But you can never be too careful. Ishmael told me of how great the disparity is between the rich and the poor here. Many people eat just once a day, and that is but Ugali, which has almost zero nutritional value, and simply fills the stomach (and gives CRAZY dreams, as I have learned).
Something I have Noted:
It is terrible how Burundians handle garbage. There are two options. The first is the most popular: burn your trash.
Burn it and give little credence to how you build your fire and when. At all times of day, you can see smoky trash fires. Often, one will walk past a trash fire, and it is a gross thing to behold. They burn everything, including plastic, which is oh so good for the air quality. That and the cars with terrible emissions…eek!
The second option is to pay money for the city to take it. They will place it in a large swimming pool of refuse...
…and flush it into the lake, the main drinking supply! Good plan.
Choose the lesser of the two evils. Thankfully, many Burundians are thrifty and the ultimate re-users. What most people in the states would deem unusable, these people work to their advantage. One man's trash is another's treasure. Quite literally.
 |
| running view |
 |
| view from the balcony |
No comments:
Post a Comment