Unlike in the United States, marriage in Tanzania is not exactly the same mutually agreed upon institution that we all understand. Over here, a guy can pick any girl he wants to marry in exchange for a certain amount of cows. On paper, the dowry appears awesome (for example, you could buy Kim Kardashian for a like a bazillion Chloe’s…Oops I meant cows!), however, when you start to think about it, the whole idea is totally screwed up. With that said, why get negative about this subject when we could do something fun instead. Listed below are the Cow Ratings (Let’s call them “C-Ratings”...a scale based out of 100 cows...) for a bunch of famous people.
Charlie Sheen- 70 Cows- What better way to kick things off than with Charlie Sheen… After nearly losing it all, he's has made an unprecedented run of epic proportions. From the bits and pieces that I’ve been able to gather, he’s risen above those fools at CBS for firing him , and now he has made $7 million after booking a comedy tour that’s sold out across the country. Although I still don't get his new catch-phrase, it looks like he's “Winning” over the nation!
Tilikum, the 6-ton killer whale-90 Cows.
This one is for Jim Kelly. Remember last year, when you selected him as “Not the Man” (it was a segment for the WSC radio show) after he killed his trainer? Well, buddy, looks like Tilikum is free and back on the prowl at SeaWorld…Hope he doesn’t know how to use Google-Wale!
Barry Bonds- 15 Cows- Under oath, your mistress just testified that you took steroids. Cyaaaa
Jose Canseco- 10 Cows- Shame on you for trying to fool us into thinking your twin brother, Ozzie, could stand in for you during your celebrity boxing match. Actually, this is pointless. Obviously, shame doesn’t come into the equation with you. Aren’t you the same guy that’s offering to explain yourself (pending that we call a number charging 5.99/per minute)?
Jackie Chan: 75 Cows- After people made up the rumor of his death, we can all take satisfaction in knowing that he’s still kicking!
Rebecca Black…I honestly don’t know much about this girl, but she’s dominating my news feed. Since the internet is slow over here, I sadly rely on fb to see what’s going on outside of this tiny village…and unfortunately it’s HER!
VCU & Butler: 85 Cows- We had to have a feel good story somewhere in here.
Snookie:- 1 Cow- If it looks like a cow, and acts like a cow…Then it probably IS A COW!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Big “Annunce”ment
AS WE ALL KNOW, Thursday officially marked the night that the angel Gabriel snuck into Mary’s room claiming to be sent by God (I’m sorry, but the only image that comes to mind whenever I think about this is the Elizabeth Smart abduction…Relax, she’s okay now, and he’s locked up for good). Not even pretending to hold back, Gabe informed Mary that she’d be with child in a matter of months. As Mary was probably scratching her head, Gabriel also notified her about the unconventional manner in which this whole operation would go down. Finally, the angel decides to drop one last bombshell on Mary, telling her that she’ll be giving birth to the Messiah.
Quite honestly, this whole situation confuses me. I feel like God could have conveyed his message more effectively. First of all, since the meeting with Gabriel occurred exactly 9 months before Christmas, she must’ve looked pregnant, right? Is somebody seriously going to believe her story about how it happened? “So I had this dream and an angel named Ga…ya okay Mare!” Secondly, what’s going on with Joseph? He starts noticing Mary getting bigger and doesn’t get a little suspicious? (I bet things would be different if Maury was around…“And the paternity tests are in…Joseph you are NOT the father!). Lastly, where were Mary’s mom and dad during this time? I’ve never heard of Jesus’ grandparents. So by my calculations, young Mary was a single mother with an on-again off-again relationship…Well done MTV, what a clever way to tie the Bible into 16 & Pregnant!
Quite honestly, this whole situation confuses me. I feel like God could have conveyed his message more effectively. First of all, since the meeting with Gabriel occurred exactly 9 months before Christmas, she must’ve looked pregnant, right? Is somebody seriously going to believe her story about how it happened? “So I had this dream and an angel named Ga…ya okay Mare!” Secondly, what’s going on with Joseph? He starts noticing Mary getting bigger and doesn’t get a little suspicious? (I bet things would be different if Maury was around…“And the paternity tests are in…Joseph you are NOT the father!). Lastly, where were Mary’s mom and dad during this time? I’ve never heard of Jesus’ grandparents. So by my calculations, young Mary was a single mother with an on-again off-again relationship…Well done MTV, what a clever way to tie the Bible into 16 & Pregnant!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday Morning Headlines
Top Story:
-“Battle of the Bush”
-John the Cook v. Fr. Donnie
-Tensions are boiling over as Padre Dinardi and the veteran chef duke it out.
-John, who has somehow managed to hold his position for over 20 years, may be seeing his reign coming to end (Fr. Donnie hired a 2nd cook, Elizabeti, to work weekends).
-Elizabeti who always has a smile on her face has done a really good job, and Fr. Donnie has taken note.
-Personally, I wouldn't mind to see Fr. Donnie make the move (This will ease my suspicions that John has slowly been plotting to starve me after I accidently locked him out of the house the first day I got here!).
Weather:
-When it Rains it Pours…It literally hasn’t stopped raining here since Saturday night!
-After returning from a visit to a local parish, Fr. Michael's car got stuck in the mud...it took out 8 cows to pull him out!
-Sports:
-On Sunday, I watched some intense March Madness action…from 1995 (The ACC Championship between Wake and UNC).
-Apparently, the state-run Tanzanian T.V. stations would rather give ESPN Classic a run for its money than actually broadcast something of substance!
-However, it was interesting to see how the likes of Tim Duncan (Couldn't quite grow a beard yet, but was in desperate need of some Clearasil), Jerry Stackhouse (Overrated), and Rasheed Wallace (Ya, you could see that he was going to make his mark on the more "technical" aspects of the NBA) played in college.
Editor's Note:
-I just figured out that there's a "stats" page that keeps track of who reads the blog. Not that I care about how many people actually read this thing (at last count 1,365), but I did notice that I'm pretty big in the nation of Hungary.
-“Battle of the Bush”
-John the Cook v. Fr. Donnie
-Tensions are boiling over as Padre Dinardi and the veteran chef duke it out.
-John, who has somehow managed to hold his position for over 20 years, may be seeing his reign coming to end (Fr. Donnie hired a 2nd cook, Elizabeti, to work weekends).
-Elizabeti who always has a smile on her face has done a really good job, and Fr. Donnie has taken note.
-Personally, I wouldn't mind to see Fr. Donnie make the move (This will ease my suspicions that John has slowly been plotting to starve me after I accidently locked him out of the house the first day I got here!).
Weather:
-When it Rains it Pours…It literally hasn’t stopped raining here since Saturday night!
-After returning from a visit to a local parish, Fr. Michael's car got stuck in the mud...it took out 8 cows to pull him out!
-Sports:
-On Sunday, I watched some intense March Madness action…from 1995 (The ACC Championship between Wake and UNC).
-Apparently, the state-run Tanzanian T.V. stations would rather give ESPN Classic a run for its money than actually broadcast something of substance!
-However, it was interesting to see how the likes of Tim Duncan (Couldn't quite grow a beard yet, but was in desperate need of some Clearasil), Jerry Stackhouse (Overrated), and Rasheed Wallace (Ya, you could see that he was going to make his mark on the more "technical" aspects of the NBA) played in college.
Editor's Note:
-I just figured out that there's a "stats" page that keeps track of who reads the blog. Not that I care about how many people actually read this thing (at last count 1,365), but I did notice that I'm pretty big in the nation of Hungary.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Don’t Mess with the Nzungu!
This week has been both busy and productive. While I regret to inform you all that I’ve been unable to schedule time for more profound biblical interpretations, I guess that it was time to get down to business.
Aside from the day-to-day responsibilities, I have had the opportunity to explore the village extensively. As I traveled to different places, I have also begun to recognize certain words whenever I pass by…most notably “Nzungu.”
Fr. Donnie told me that the word Nzungu translated to something along the lines of “A White European.” In addition, he assured me that nothing about the term was derogatory, however, I got the impression that this explanation may not necessarily apply to everyone. First of all, I can’t stand being referred to anything resembling a European (I think this is what Asian people feel like when others automatically label them “Chinese”). The only thing that comes to my mind when I hear Nzungu is that Euro-Weenie, Llama-Faced Forward, Los Angeles Laker Lackey, Pau Gasol (check out all that alliteration…and some people critique this blog for its lack of educational value). Although they’ve probably been calling me it since the day I got here, I do notice that the term is frequently used around me. Most of the time I just brush it off and ignore it altogether. However, that wasn’t the case a couple of nights ago during tennis. As I was playing, I heard a group of older gentlemen pointing at me from far away, repeatedly calling me a Nzungu. Maybe it’s just because I wasn’t playing well at the time, but I fired a ball into the group, and hit the guy that was bugging me (I found out later that he was stumbling back from Happy Hour). Everybody laughed.
I want to make the point that 99% of the people over here treat me with respect. This is the only time where I have even felt a little bit of discomfort. Point is, it doesn’t matter where you go there’s always going to be people that want to get a rise out of you…Sometimes you just need to hit them right back in the face with a tennis ball.
Aside from the day-to-day responsibilities, I have had the opportunity to explore the village extensively. As I traveled to different places, I have also begun to recognize certain words whenever I pass by…most notably “Nzungu.”
Fr. Donnie told me that the word Nzungu translated to something along the lines of “A White European.” In addition, he assured me that nothing about the term was derogatory, however, I got the impression that this explanation may not necessarily apply to everyone. First of all, I can’t stand being referred to anything resembling a European (I think this is what Asian people feel like when others automatically label them “Chinese”). The only thing that comes to my mind when I hear Nzungu is that Euro-Weenie, Llama-Faced Forward, Los Angeles Laker Lackey, Pau Gasol (check out all that alliteration…and some people critique this blog for its lack of educational value). Although they’ve probably been calling me it since the day I got here, I do notice that the term is frequently used around me. Most of the time I just brush it off and ignore it altogether. However, that wasn’t the case a couple of nights ago during tennis. As I was playing, I heard a group of older gentlemen pointing at me from far away, repeatedly calling me a Nzungu. Maybe it’s just because I wasn’t playing well at the time, but I fired a ball into the group, and hit the guy that was bugging me (I found out later that he was stumbling back from Happy Hour). Everybody laughed.
I want to make the point that 99% of the people over here treat me with respect. This is the only time where I have even felt a little bit of discomfort. Point is, it doesn’t matter where you go there’s always going to be people that want to get a rise out of you…Sometimes you just need to hit them right back in the face with a tennis ball.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Gospel...According to Sean
Today was pretty low-key. Fr. Michael went out early because he was holding Mass a few hours away. Fr. Lang and Fr. Dan were gone for the weekend to visit the Watatulu people (a neighboring tribe that has been at odds with the Sukuma people…Fr. Dan has spent years trying to smooth things over). Finally, Fr. Donnie had an off-week, so he invited me to his house to celebrate Mass.
To all of you heathens out there who are still recovering from St. Patty’s Day, below is the Sparknotes version of what you missed at church today:
Summary/ What to Take from the Readings:
Blame Adam! Everybody’s read that Genesis story about how God warned Adam against being greedy. Rather than simply accepting God’s advice of remaining faithful, Adam ADAMantly (hmm…I wonder if that’s how we got that word!) refuses to comply. Ultimately, Adam’s nagging pushes God over the edge and past the point of no return. Fr. Donnie said that this is where the notion of original sin comes from. Moreover, he mentioned that original sin is the reason why bad things happen all over the world. Nice work Adam…If only Jack Bauer was around back in the day. This dude deserved some serious interrogation-style treatment after causing such a disaster!
Summary/ What to Take from the Gospel:
So here, we have a visit from our good friend, the Devil. Jesus is doing his thing (walking on water, curing blindness, just a normal day’s work), when the devil decides to rain on his parade. Thinking he can exceed God’s offer of eternal salvation, the devil tempts Jesus with pretty much everything imaginable. Obviously, he doesn’t bite, seeing the bigger picture. One question I do have is: why wouldn’t Jesus just lie and double-cross the devil? It’s not like Survivor, where you’d feel bad about backstabbing the other guy…it’s the devil! After the devil found out, Jesus would be in the driver’s seat, so he obviously wouldn’t have to give back all of the material wealth in the world, so it would be in better hands anyway…I honestly don’t think it’s a sin, but even if God wasn’t happy about it, couldn’t Jesus just tie up loose ends during confession???
Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace,
Sean
To all of you heathens out there who are still recovering from St. Patty’s Day, below is the Sparknotes version of what you missed at church today:
Summary/ What to Take from the Readings:
Blame Adam! Everybody’s read that Genesis story about how God warned Adam against being greedy. Rather than simply accepting God’s advice of remaining faithful, Adam ADAMantly (hmm…I wonder if that’s how we got that word!) refuses to comply. Ultimately, Adam’s nagging pushes God over the edge and past the point of no return. Fr. Donnie said that this is where the notion of original sin comes from. Moreover, he mentioned that original sin is the reason why bad things happen all over the world. Nice work Adam…If only Jack Bauer was around back in the day. This dude deserved some serious interrogation-style treatment after causing such a disaster!
Summary/ What to Take from the Gospel:
So here, we have a visit from our good friend, the Devil. Jesus is doing his thing (walking on water, curing blindness, just a normal day’s work), when the devil decides to rain on his parade. Thinking he can exceed God’s offer of eternal salvation, the devil tempts Jesus with pretty much everything imaginable. Obviously, he doesn’t bite, seeing the bigger picture. One question I do have is: why wouldn’t Jesus just lie and double-cross the devil? It’s not like Survivor, where you’d feel bad about backstabbing the other guy…it’s the devil! After the devil found out, Jesus would be in the driver’s seat, so he obviously wouldn’t have to give back all of the material wealth in the world, so it would be in better hands anyway…I honestly don’t think it’s a sin, but even if God wasn’t happy about it, couldn’t Jesus just tie up loose ends during confession???
Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace,
Sean
Saturday, March 12, 2011
March Madness…And Some Other Stuff
Due to the fact that I’m currently halfway across the world, this will be the first year in a very long time that I will be unable to participate in March Madness. However, the guys over at the Sean White Bureau of Statistics (SWBS…wow, has there ever been a more appropriate abbreviation?!) have developed a fool-proof formula to guarantee you victory in your office pool. Aside from doing a bunch of fancy math (Ya, I Ace’d my statistics class…that I took during summer break…for two weeks...in order to wipe-out my math requirement…at Quincy College), the SWBS has developed brand-new, state-of-the-art technology to ensure maximum success. The African Association App. (available now for your Iphone) selects the winner of each game based on the first thing that comes to my mind when the field is announced on Sunday night. For example, nobody even knows who will be in the Tuesday “play-in” game yet, but I can already tell you how the SWBS will rank them:
Round: 1
Seeds: Play-In Game
African Association App. Results:
Match-Up: “Chicken v. Mosquito (w/ malaria…just to make it interesting).”
Outcome: The chicken’s tremendous size advantage appears overwhelming during the first-half. However, the chicken’s lack of focus and “cockiness” lead to the mosquito’s comeback, narrowly squeaking out the victory.
Now that I’ve got you thinking sports, I need some updates! We have a satellite that picks up a bunch of news channels from all around the world, however, they do lack big time in their sports coverage. The Japanese stations are obviously a bit preoccupied with the Earthquake/Tsunami, Al-Jazeera (or should I say Al-“I<3 Mommar Kadafi”) is still kissing the Libyan dictator’s “Madako” (according to my tutor, that’s ‘buttocks’, in Swahili/Sukuma), and I can’t even begin to comprehend what’s going on with the Indian stations. Come to think of it, the only sports coverage I have seen was a figure skating story on the Korean station from “Sports Guy”, Jimmy Wu (No relation to Kenny Wu from the Mighty Ducks).
As I reflect back on this month-long drought of American sports, I think I’ve finally realized why people around the world actually like soccer. When the only alternative to “Ice-Dancing” is watching 0-0 ties, girly-man dives, and dudes excessively weeping regardless of the outcome, I guess soccer isn’t that bad after all…Oh wait never mind, I still don’t get. I’d honestly rather suffer through 3 minutes of a Johnny Weir routine than waste my time watching the “world’s most beautiful game.”
Round: 1
Seeds: Play-In Game
African Association App. Results:
Match-Up: “Chicken v. Mosquito (w/ malaria…just to make it interesting).”
Outcome: The chicken’s tremendous size advantage appears overwhelming during the first-half. However, the chicken’s lack of focus and “cockiness” lead to the mosquito’s comeback, narrowly squeaking out the victory.
Now that I’ve got you thinking sports, I need some updates! We have a satellite that picks up a bunch of news channels from all around the world, however, they do lack big time in their sports coverage. The Japanese stations are obviously a bit preoccupied with the Earthquake/Tsunami, Al-Jazeera (or should I say Al-“I<3 Mommar Kadafi”) is still kissing the Libyan dictator’s “Madako” (according to my tutor, that’s ‘buttocks’, in Swahili/Sukuma), and I can’t even begin to comprehend what’s going on with the Indian stations. Come to think of it, the only sports coverage I have seen was a figure skating story on the Korean station from “Sports Guy”, Jimmy Wu (No relation to Kenny Wu from the Mighty Ducks).
As I reflect back on this month-long drought of American sports, I think I’ve finally realized why people around the world actually like soccer. When the only alternative to “Ice-Dancing” is watching 0-0 ties, girly-man dives, and dudes excessively weeping regardless of the outcome, I guess soccer isn’t that bad after all…Oh wait never mind, I still don’t get. I’d honestly rather suffer through 3 minutes of a Johnny Weir routine than waste my time watching the “world’s most beautiful game.”
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
“Kick-Ash” Mid-Week Recap!
Monday –
Fr. Michael brought over his fancy all-in-one DVD/Projector/Hard Drive-Modem Thingamajig (yup it’s most certainly a word), and played the movie “Blood Diamond.” I had already seen “Blood Diamond” but it was actually pretty interesting to watch it after being around the environment for a month. Monday Movie Night was out of control! We didn’t get out until after 11pm and…I’m going to leave it at that for fear of further censorship.
Earlier that evening, Fr. Donnie and I were on opposing teams for tennis. He’s been playing consistently ever since I got here and it’s really beginning to show. He’s becoming so confident, or dare I say cocky, that he’s even started trash-talking his opponents. (He may have left North Weymouth, but North Weymouth sure hasn’t left him!).
Tuesday-
Almost burned the house down. I inadvertently hooked the positive-charged wire where the negative-charged wire was supposed to go (as you can tell, I’m an expert at these types of things), creating a rather large spark that could’ve very well ended the 99 year-old Ndolelejii mission about a month before their centennial anniversary celebration.
Wednesday-
I spent most of the day working with Fr. Donnie’s research team and tying proverbs into the computer. When I came in from playing tennis, the priests were watching Al-Jazeera, which meant one thing: the power was not going to last long. I fell asleep earlier than usual, failing to grab my Ipod. I woke up at 4am because a hyena was really close to my window (not exactly the same soothing sound as the ocean). As I looked around, I noticed that there was a puddle forming under my door. When I opened the door I saw that the water was streaming out from the wall. Not quite at the urge of balling my eyes out (Miami Heat reference), I held myself together and mopped up the mess. During breakfast, Fr. Dan told me that this was the main source of our clean water, and that they had tried to fix the problem themselves a while back. So, I guess we'll see what happens! Finally, I went to the 10am Ash Wednesday Mass. Off to play tennis!
-Sean
P.S.
*Sean’s Path to Democratizing Africa Update:
Phase 1: Implement the “Hi-5” as an acceptable means of communication.
-Complete.
Next Up:
Phase 2: Convince kids that American football is WAY better than Soccer…This one may take a while.
Fr. Michael brought over his fancy all-in-one DVD/Projector/Hard Drive-Modem Thingamajig (yup it’s most certainly a word), and played the movie “Blood Diamond.” I had already seen “Blood Diamond” but it was actually pretty interesting to watch it after being around the environment for a month. Monday Movie Night was out of control! We didn’t get out until after 11pm and…I’m going to leave it at that for fear of further censorship.
Earlier that evening, Fr. Donnie and I were on opposing teams for tennis. He’s been playing consistently ever since I got here and it’s really beginning to show. He’s becoming so confident, or dare I say cocky, that he’s even started trash-talking his opponents. (He may have left North Weymouth, but North Weymouth sure hasn’t left him!).
Tuesday-
Almost burned the house down. I inadvertently hooked the positive-charged wire where the negative-charged wire was supposed to go (as you can tell, I’m an expert at these types of things), creating a rather large spark that could’ve very well ended the 99 year-old Ndolelejii mission about a month before their centennial anniversary celebration.
Wednesday-
I spent most of the day working with Fr. Donnie’s research team and tying proverbs into the computer. When I came in from playing tennis, the priests were watching Al-Jazeera, which meant one thing: the power was not going to last long. I fell asleep earlier than usual, failing to grab my Ipod. I woke up at 4am because a hyena was really close to my window (not exactly the same soothing sound as the ocean). As I looked around, I noticed that there was a puddle forming under my door. When I opened the door I saw that the water was streaming out from the wall. Not quite at the urge of balling my eyes out (Miami Heat reference), I held myself together and mopped up the mess. During breakfast, Fr. Dan told me that this was the main source of our clean water, and that they had tried to fix the problem themselves a while back. So, I guess we'll see what happens! Finally, I went to the 10am Ash Wednesday Mass. Off to play tennis!
-Sean
P.S.
*Sean’s Path to Democratizing Africa Update:
Phase 1: Implement the “Hi-5” as an acceptable means of communication.
-Complete.
Next Up:
Phase 2: Convince kids that American football is WAY better than Soccer…This one may take a while.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Free Form Friday
Since nothing about this week has been normal, we’re going to keep today’s post pretty casual…
Today, we welcomed an actual guest to Ndoleleji, Fr. John Lang (picture the old guy from the movie “UP”). Fr. Lang is a visiting priest from Nairobi, Kenya, and will be staying with us for about a month. He is originally from Minnesota, so Fr. Donnie and I made fun of the fact that Boston always takes Minnesota’s best players (Kevin Garnett, David Ortiz, ect…), and turns them into champions. Now Fr. Lang is a very nice guy, however, he’s in his 80’s just like Fr. Donnie and Fr. Dan. Between the three of them, very little gets accomplished. During conversations, at least one of the three usually becomes disoriented, due to the fact that they either missed a dose of their medications or forgot to put in their hearing aids (Mame…I know that you are reading this!). Good thing none of them know how to use the internet!
Well, that’s pretty much all I’ve got (unless you want to hear about how it’s 80 and sunny every day). Oh, one thing that I have noticed over here is that people never say “God Bless You”(or the Swahilli/Sukuma words for it) after somebody sneezes…There ya go, this proves that my blog is always leading the way in the educating you about Africa!
-Sean
P.S.
I would like to inform everybody that I, Sean White, have brought the “Hi-5” to the Third World! Stay tuned for details!
Today, we welcomed an actual guest to Ndoleleji, Fr. John Lang (picture the old guy from the movie “UP”). Fr. Lang is a visiting priest from Nairobi, Kenya, and will be staying with us for about a month. He is originally from Minnesota, so Fr. Donnie and I made fun of the fact that Boston always takes Minnesota’s best players (Kevin Garnett, David Ortiz, ect…), and turns them into champions. Now Fr. Lang is a very nice guy, however, he’s in his 80’s just like Fr. Donnie and Fr. Dan. Between the three of them, very little gets accomplished. During conversations, at least one of the three usually becomes disoriented, due to the fact that they either missed a dose of their medications or forgot to put in their hearing aids (Mame…I know that you are reading this!). Good thing none of them know how to use the internet!
Well, that’s pretty much all I’ve got (unless you want to hear about how it’s 80 and sunny every day). Oh, one thing that I have noticed over here is that people never say “God Bless You”(or the Swahilli/Sukuma words for it) after somebody sneezes…There ya go, this proves that my blog is always leading the way in the educating you about Africa!
-Sean
P.S.
I would like to inform everybody that I, Sean White, have brought the “Hi-5” to the Third World! Stay tuned for details!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Roommate
Remember that Dane Cook skit about the “creepy guy” at work who always seems to follow you to the next place you go? Well for me, that guy’s name is Isaiah.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Isaiah appeared at my door with a suitcase in his hand. Nobody had told me that we were having a visitor this week, so I walked him up the road to Fr. Donnie’s house. When Fr. Donnie answered the door, he also glanced at Isaiah with a puzzled look on his face. They talked for a while in Sukuma until Fr. Donnie was finally able to kinda-sorta identify this guy. According to our new friend, Fr. Donnie had said Mass in Isaiah’s village many years ago (we’re talking decades!), given him his contact information, and invited him to stay in Ndolelelji. As we walked back to my residence, Fr. Donnie whispered to me, “I always invite people to come from far away, but I never thought anybody would actually take me up on the offer!”
Maybe it’s just me but this whole situation screamed sketchy! What grown man takes a 6 hour bus ride from his hometown of Shinyanga all the way to Nodolelelji, to accept an invitation that was allegedly provided to him during his childhood?!
Over the next couple days, Isaiah talked and talked…talked. He informed us that he was a Benedictine Monk. Fr. Dan and Fr. Donnie both seemed fascinated with this development, and spent a lot of time discussing it with him in Sukuma. However, he also mentioned that he had spent much of his life working as an electrician. I noticed that Fr. Michael possessed a far different demeanor from the moment that he met Isaiah. Fr. Michael appeared to be listening and concentrating a lot more than Fr. Donnie and Fr. Dan, which made me tend to suspect that there were holes in Isaiah’s story.
When I woke up this morning, Isaiah was gone. The priests aren’t sure why but they noticed that Isaiah caught the 6:30am bus out of here, as they were going to their morning prayer. Many questions will remain unanswered. Why did he arrive and subsequently depart without telling anyone? Is he really a Benedictine or is he an electrician? Or the most important question of all: Why did he steal a box of my Ritz crackers???
Late Tuesday afternoon, Isaiah appeared at my door with a suitcase in his hand. Nobody had told me that we were having a visitor this week, so I walked him up the road to Fr. Donnie’s house. When Fr. Donnie answered the door, he also glanced at Isaiah with a puzzled look on his face. They talked for a while in Sukuma until Fr. Donnie was finally able to kinda-sorta identify this guy. According to our new friend, Fr. Donnie had said Mass in Isaiah’s village many years ago (we’re talking decades!), given him his contact information, and invited him to stay in Ndolelelji. As we walked back to my residence, Fr. Donnie whispered to me, “I always invite people to come from far away, but I never thought anybody would actually take me up on the offer!”
Maybe it’s just me but this whole situation screamed sketchy! What grown man takes a 6 hour bus ride from his hometown of Shinyanga all the way to Nodolelelji, to accept an invitation that was allegedly provided to him during his childhood?!
Over the next couple days, Isaiah talked and talked…talked. He informed us that he was a Benedictine Monk. Fr. Dan and Fr. Donnie both seemed fascinated with this development, and spent a lot of time discussing it with him in Sukuma. However, he also mentioned that he had spent much of his life working as an electrician. I noticed that Fr. Michael possessed a far different demeanor from the moment that he met Isaiah. Fr. Michael appeared to be listening and concentrating a lot more than Fr. Donnie and Fr. Dan, which made me tend to suspect that there were holes in Isaiah’s story.
When I woke up this morning, Isaiah was gone. The priests aren’t sure why but they noticed that Isaiah caught the 6:30am bus out of here, as they were going to their morning prayer. Many questions will remain unanswered. Why did he arrive and subsequently depart without telling anyone? Is he really a Benedictine or is he an electrician? Or the most important question of all: Why did he steal a box of my Ritz crackers???
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