I got skills: an annotated list

I got skills: an annotated list

Skills I am proud to have- developed, ameliorated and made useful in Africa

Washing my clothes while I take a shower. – sounds weird, but it keeps me from allowing a big pile to develop.

High Five skills – Also sounds odd and very American, but these high five skills (standard for me is the top slap, bottom slap, pound and thumb snap) provide instant ice breakers with children and security guards.

Patience- certainly need it here in Africa since there is a completely different conception of time.

Missionary stomach- able to happily eat anything (except hardboiled eggs. Yuck!) that is placed in front of me. Doesn’t mean my stomach is always happy with me though.

Good sense of bargaining- Only been cheated here in TZ once.

Creative imagination- last night for desert we had rum soaked, sautéed mangos on chapatti (best description is an African tortilla) with hazelnut ice cream.

No Shame concerning language skills- Probably my time in France has helped me overcome any shame and thus any shyness with faulty language skills. I just try try try and as one priest told me yesterday, Pole pole ndyo…. I would write the rest, but I wrote it down and of course, left it at home and have no swahili memory.

Paper plane folding and origami skills- been making one of the masaai kids very happy with this skill

Easy ability to make friends- My whole fellowship work seems to rest on this ability

Networking skills- same as above

Good walking feet- I use them everywhere

Wake up with the sun- I am early to rise and typically happy when I do so. Only wish the sun woke me up 15 minutes earlier so I could make the mass.

Skills I wish I had in Africa

Better cooking skills- “How do you get to Carnegie hall? Practice, Practice, Practice”

Better memory- would make learning Swahili a lot easier

Anthropology observation skills- (work in Progress)I do my best, but I am not trained as an anthropologist. It would certainly ameliorate my field notes

Handwriting- would make writing post cards easier

Swahili- (work in progress would make interviewing lay Tanzanians easier

Mobility- I tend to get comfortable in a place for a week or two and maybe I could do better living out of a rucksack

Simplicity- (work in progress) I just have too much! Fortunatley, my new found shower clothes washing skills has helped me to say I don’t need to a lot of the clothes I already have.

Faster typing skills- Useful anywhere in life

Website designing skills- So many ways I could help with just this knowledge alone.

Ability to live on little sleep- I love dreaming, but this would be an awesome skill to have.

That’s it for now. Excuse the bad grammar… it’s a list and it’s fun.