Violet, lime and tangerine fabrics swishing along the sidewalks. One street market, two grocery stores plus some herbs from an Egyptian friend’s refrigerator in order to make a dish of Greek marinated chicken, turmeric and cinnamon spiced quinoa over spinach with Turkish dates. White fireworks exploding in the sky over the hill celebrating festivals we know nothing about. Twenty-four hours to make hummus from scratch in a land where canned […]
Life is bumping along here. A few evenings ago Benson and I sat on floor cushions sewn from vintage saris, drinking Indian beers and staring out at the city as the sun set. It’s funny: we were so excited to get furniture, but we spend more time on floor in front of the window than our sofa. “What have you learned since being here?” Benson asked. “Like practically?” “Everything.” I […]
I’d planned for a tear-jerker of a post regarding how God graciously provided us a church. We’re going to save that for later though because SOMEBODY STOLE MY GROCERY STORE. It all started as I was trying to procure a watermelon and a mattress. Anita, the kind woman I’ve hired to wash dishes and iron, and I walked to the mattress shop a block away. As we prepared to cross […]
I watched two men sitting outside the restaurant I like to go for breakfast. Their arms, hands and fingers waved fluidly in sign language to one another. Between them I noticed the stray dog who lives just beyond the restaurant door. He’s a healthy weight. He has learned to make his way on these streets and is most often sleeping contentedly when I see him each morning. On this day […]
Stuff I Talk About 