Woe is my Computer, Part 2

I have a follow up and update to my blog post entitled Woe is my Computer.

I had to purchase a new computer yesterday because when I woke up, my computer politely informed me that it was done with me. The USB ports weren’t working properly, but I was willing to overlook that deficiency and stay loyal to the computer that saw me through my first term in Tanzania.

Yesterday, however, it informed me that it wasn’t willing to stand by my. The screen repeatedly went white, and refused to work any longer. I am currently going through the bittersweet process of getting to know my new computer, and missing the familiarity and settings of my old computer.

I was grateful to get some trade-in credit on my old computer, but if you want to help with the costs of having to get a new computer you can donate to the cause by following this link: Computer Memorial Fund

Farewell old friend, fare thee well.

The Jesus Film

I’ve been asked many times ‘why is the Gospel of Luke often translated first?’

A copy of Luke in Zinza

Well, one of the main motivations for translating the book of Luke first is that the Jesus Film script, in large part, is based off of the Gospel of Luke. So, once Luke has been translated it is easier to prepare the script of the Jesus Film.

In case you want to know more about the Jesus Film you can check out this site: Jesus Film

(Side note: My parents were in Israel when the original of this film was being filmed there!)

Back in December two of the languages in the Mara Cluster (Kabwa and Zanaki) recorded the adapted scripts. Over the last several months those recordings have been matched up and synched with the film so that the Jesus Film can be watched in either of those languages.

A group of Zanaki watching the Jesus Film in Swahili. Several of the voice actors who later were recorded for the Jesus Film are in this photo.

This week is an exciting week for the Mara Cluster. The Jesus film is being shown to the Kabwa community for the first time! You don’t have to watch the whole video (because it is over 2 hours, and in Kabwa), but here is the video that members of the Kabwa community are watching this week.

Kabwa Jesus Film

We are still working on adapting the Jesus Film for the other Mara Cluster languages, and I’m excited about getting to be there for future movie releases!

Woe is my computer

July 15th.

That is the day that I head back to Tanzania.

That is when I will say goodbye to the States and all the wonderful people and amenities that it affords for another term overseas with Wycliffe.

That is also the day by which I hope my computer will be wholly functional once again.

My computer had been working flawlessly for about 4 years, it left me wanting for nothing. About two months ago its heart (I hear that some people call it “the battery”) began to fail. In the span of two weeks it went from having hours of life in it, to having about three minutes. This has left me tethered to the wall due to the constant need of AC power.

I quickly recognized that I must procure a new heart for my computer because while electricity tends to be consistent in America, that is not the case in Tanzania. Feeling empowered by some of the “do it yourself” aspects of my life in Tanzania I ordered a battery from Amazon and figured I could manage the install...that was two months ago, and I am still tethered to the wall.

The saga (to date) is as follows:

1. I ordered the wrong battery the first time (my fault for lack of attention to detail). Thankfully I was able to return that battery and get a refund.

2. When I opened the bottom of the computer I discovered that a “tri-wing” screwdriver was needed for the extraction of the old battery.

I found this online, apparently I am not the only one that finds this ridiculous.

3. I ordered another battery and the necessary screwdriver.

4. The battery came promptly and looked to be the correct one.

5. The screwdriver did not come for three weeks - and it was the wrong screwdriver (it had 6 tips...I didn’t know these types of screwdrivers existed!)

6. The company sent me the correct ‘tri-wing’ screwdriver, but it missed me by one week. I was in Dallas when it arrived in Tulsa.

This "facepalm" picture would aptly fit each of the remaining points.

7. When I finally was able to get the old battery out I realized I had actually received the wrong new battery. It was about a millimeter too big, I was told it was probably the battery for the same computer but a different year of production. (REALLY???)

8. The deadline for receiving a refund for the second incorrect battery expired 8 days before I realized it was the wrong battery.

9. I admitted defeat (after a computer person helped me realize the really truly correct battery wasn’t available online) and ordered one through an official Mac computer vendor and (fingers crossed) will get it later this week.

10. I laid face-down on my bed and whimpered for a bit about the frustration associated with computer heart failure.

I am so grateful that I’ve been in the States for this whole ordeal. God is so good to time the heart failure of my computer with my time in the States. I can't imagine how much more frustrating this would have been had I been in Musoma.

Hopefully, when the battery is replaced my USB ports (which stopped working this past week) will work again and the computer will be ready and geared up for another three years in Tanzania!

Since frustration unleashes a dramatic side of me here is a final picture of me loving my computer and encouraging it to be healthy and strong, for the both of us.

Good Company

A month and a half ago I turned over a new leaf. I decided to start a discipline of writing a blog post each week. The goal is that I will be able to share more with you about my life and about the goings-on in the Mara cluster of Tanzania. I am at the beginning of two months that will test and try my resolution. If I make it through this time and remain faithful I believe that the trend will continue upon my return to Tanzania.

Why are the next two months the test?

Because I am taking six hours of graduate level courses during that time.

The first day of class I was assigned about 100 pages of reading that was to be done by the following day. This wasn’t light reading (like Jane Eyre, which I started reading upon my arrival in Dallas, Jane Eyre now looks out at me from my backpack asking me why I have been neglecting her). The readings for the classes are linguistic-y and technical, so 100 pages took many hours.

The classes that I am taking are Advanced Phonological Analysis and Advanced Grammatical Analysis. Despite the intensity of these courses and their advanced nature I am sure that God has been preparing me for this time. I have two primary reasons for thinking this way.

1. I am no longer a spring chicken!
I have real languages that I have been working with for the past few years. This means that when a concept is discussed in class I either have real world examples to turn to, or at least an understanding about how that could influence or affect the languages that I work with. Had I taken these classes 3 years ago, I wouldn’t have remember anything from them. I would have studied the information, memorized it for a test and promptly forgotten it. I will get so much more out of these classes and therefore be able to apply my newly acquired knowledge more readily upon my return to Musoma.

2. The professors are Wycliffe members.
During the lectures the professors point out the ways in which a translation of Scripture could be affected by the analysis of the linguistic features of the language. It is clear that all of this education is motivated by the desire to bring God’s Word to all the languages of the world. One of my professors worked in Peru with Wycliffe, while the other professor worked with Wycliffe in Malaysia.

I am in good company here.

*Please forgive me if my writing starts to sound technical - I'll blame my classes if that ends up happening. If my writing should start to have a flourish oft' associated with such novels as Jane Eyre, you may assume that I have been able to cease my neglect of said lady.

April 2014 Newsletter

Well, its that time again, a newsletter has been produced and is now available online! You can follow this link to an online PDF version of my newsletter: Found in Translation: April 2014

If you would like to receive an email when a new newsletter is available please let me know and I will add you to my distribution list.

Busing

I moved down to Dallas, Texas this past weekend so that I can study at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics for a couple months. Since I don’t have a car and didn’t purchase a plane ticket early enough to get a good deal I decided to take a greyhound bus from Tulsa to Dallas. I have taken many a bus in East Africa, not so many here in Midwest America where public ground transportation is not common. I decided to take this wonderful opportunity to compare and contrast East African busing and Midwest American busing.

Similarities:

• I love listening to the language all around me on both buses. In East Africa I listen to various Bantu languages, while in the States I was aware of the distinct accents I heard and how certain English vocabulary was employed.

• People who ride buses seem to like to talk with strangers. I rarely chat with people at the airport or on planes. I always have people starting conversations with me in East Africa, and I experienced the same thing in the States.

• A man came up to a group of us at the Dallas station and asked us to give him $22 to help him get the rest of the way to his destination. I have absolutely been asked for money for a bus fare in East Africa as well.

Differences:

• If you did not bring food onto the bus with you in the States then you won’t eat, hopefully it isn’t too long of a bus ride in that case. If you don’t bring food onto the bus with you in East Africa then there are regular stops along the way where people will come up to your window offering roasted corn, hard-boiled eggs and various biscuits and drinks.

Would you like a boiled egg? They even will give you some salt.

There is of course also roasted corn, which is delicious.

• In East Africa my bag is tossed under the bus and I tend to pay attention at each stop to ensure it isn’t accidentally removed. In the States my bag received a label and I did not feel as strongly the need to watch it like a hawk.

• If you need to relieve yourself during an East African bus ride you will likely get one chance (on a day long journey). That one chance may include a proper restroom, a cement structure on the side of the road, or even just the instruction to wander out into the brush and find a good spot. There was a bathroom on the Greyhound bus.

Find a good bush, and watch out for thorns!

• I had no assigned seat on the Greyhound bus. It depends on the bus line in East Africa, but EZcoach (which I regularly use between the Kenyan border and Nairobi) assigns seats. That difference surprised me.

• There were outlets and wifi on the bus from OKC to Dallas. East Africa? Yeah right.

Overall, I enjoy public transportation! I love sitting back, reading, relaxing and letting someone else navigate. I loved busing in Israel, and love the subways in New York and DC. I also love taking motorcycle taxis in Musoma. So, I guess I am just a public transportation sort of gal.

Side note: There are many different busing companies. I understand that experiences can and will vary. My experience in East Africa is primarily with Nyamira and EZcoach. I took a Greyhound this last week, but have also taken NY2DC (bus between New York and DC).