Culinary Exploration

I mentioned in my last blog about the culinary delights that Joe and Amy introduced me to in our tour of Chicago. Thought I should probably say a little bit more about them.

The first was Garrett’s Chicago Mix popcorn, a mixture of CaramelCrisp and CheeseCorn. The first of these is, I guess, similar to Butterkist, basically popcorn in a sweet, caramelized coating. The second is hot air popped popcorn which has had melted sharp Cheddar stirred in, which was a whole new taste experience. Reminded me a little of Cheese puffs, and yet different. Combine these two together and you get, in my opinion, a slightly strange combination of flavours! Garretts, dating back to 1949, is obviously very popular. There was quite a queue, and we were just talking a popcorn store! Besides the two mentioned, there were several other flavours. The tin sizes were quite extraordinary, the largest size being 6.5 gallons. Even with the US gallon being smaller than the UK one, that’s a lot of popcorn!

The second place was Gino’s East pizza. Again, a queue, though we were there at about 4:30pm to avoid the lines later on. This was a newer establishment, started up in 1966 when two taxi drivers and a friend, frustrated with rush hour traffic, decided to open a pizzeria just off Michigan Ave. and Superior St. in Chicago. ‘Each deep-dish pizza is created with a secret, golden crust, fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, and loaded with your choice of fresh ingredients. Once baked to perfection these enormous pies are brought to your table in our well-seasoned pans.’ And they were good. Very different to any pizza I’d had before. Not sure if that was the crust or the filling – or both. The other different feature was the graffiti all over the walls, something which is actively encouraged (though the restrooms were designated as graffiti-free zones). Some people get quite creative in how to write over what's already there.

Clouds & Silver Linings

I thought I was coming to the US for 2 weeks, comprising about 3 days of travel, 2 weeks of Finance Leaders’ meetings, and half a week of working with a colleague from Dallas on the SIL Accounting Manual. I was also to get 8 days in the UK on the way back to Kenya, my first break since Christmas, to be split between home church and friends, and family. Being the planner that I am (and knowing how much harder it is to get to see all the people you want to see if you don’t plan), I had managed to book time with close friends in Horsham, and was even going to be around for the 1st day of my home church’s women’s conference – something I was back for last year, and thoroughly enjoyed.


The first surprise of the trip was to find that temperatures in North Carolina were significantly warmer than I had gone prepared for. That first weekend, they were in the 80s (28-29C) and subsequently went up to 90C (about 32C). I’d gone expecting something in the 40-65F range! Consequently, I was out shopping for summer clothes that very first day – and was very glad of them.

The second surprise was finding that I was presenting a session on the new Accounting Manual!

And the third came at the end of my time in NC. Last Thursday, I had a shuttle arranged for 10:30am to take me to Charlotte Airport. Pretty much fully packed (and dressed for the cooler UK temperatures), all that remained was to get the last few bits in the case, and to clean up the apartment I’d been staying in, when I received a phone call from a friend, alerting me to a volcano that had blown in Iceland. Knowing this friend, I was mentally figuring out in my head whether you could have an April fool 2 weeks on! However, he wasn’t joking. My travel agent in Nairobi had also emailed to let me know that the Chicago to London flight was cancelled. Initial instructions were to remain at the JAARS Centre where I was staying, my flight having been rescheduled to Sunday. So, I cancelled the airport shuttle and contacted Housing department to see if I could stay on. In the meantime, I was Skyping with the world (or so it seemed), and emailing with the travel agent. This then led to advice, supposedly from BA, to continue to Chicago. That seemed a risky idea given that in Charlotte, I knew a bunch of people, and could well stay on in JAARS housing, whilst in Chicago, I wasn’t aware of knowing anyone. However, having reinstated the shuttle and cancelled the housing (!), I went, trusting that God would make the way (‘where there seems to be no way’). Several hours later, after much dilly-dallying around in Charlotte airport, and chaos re hotel shuttles, I was on a bus on the way to the Oakbrook Holiday Inn. Along with me were families on their way home after Easter holidays away, business people (one of whom was over on a 1-day business trip in the US), ……. That brought with it a sense of de javu having been similarly transported to a hotel in January near Birmingham Airport. That time, the reason was tangible – thick snow. This time, it was less so, at least where we were – ash from a volcano many miles away.

The following morning, we received a note requesting that we return to the airport. My initial thinking was that there really wasn’t any point. Having seen the news, there clearly weren’t going to be any flights that day. Hoping to not have to lug my luggage, I enquired at the front desk about leaving everything in my room. Thankfully, I thought to ask whether BA had made a booking. They hadn’t. So, off we were all went with all our stuff, only to be told at the airport that we were now on our own. What to do? Facebook came into its own as a source of communication. Through responding to my Status update, SIL colleagues put me in contact with close friends of theirs who I’d met 6 years earlier at our branch conference. I made a phone call explaining my plight, and Amy came to pick me up within 45 minutes. She and Joe proved to be amazingly gracious hosts, and great people to spend time with. God really did make the way. We had a fun time together, particularly on Saturday when we walked around Chicago, enjoying the Spring flowers and the views of all the skyscrapers. They also introduced me to Chicago-style pizza at Gino’s East and Garrett’s Chicago Mix popcorn (CaramelCrisp and CheeseCorn).

Currently, I’m in Dallas, having flown down yesterday. My flight to the UK has been rescheduled for Tuesday, just 12 days late! (Had I stayed in Chicago, the delay would have been 15 days!) I won’t have as long in the UK as planned, and probably won’t make it to Horsham, which I’d really been looking forward to. I’m also missing out on a week of handover in Nairobi relating to my new role as Africa Area Finance Coordinator. However, I will get to see family. Having promised my nephew that I’d do all I could to get there, I couldn’t break my word. And the time here is good, at least so far. Further progress on the Accounting Manual, and an opportunity to see friends here, plus the bluebonnets (a Spring time flower) which are out in abundance, and which I’d heard about, but not seen, previously. So, flexibility has been key, and this literal cloud has had several silver linings.

Trip to D.R. Congo

On a recent trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, it struck me again how life as a missionary in Kenya has meant my being able to do and experience some things that I would probably never have done otherwise. To get to the eastern side of DRC from Nairobi requires 2 flights. One, a regular flight between Nairobi and Entebbe, much like any other international flight that I take. And the 2nd a Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flight to Bunia, DRC. This latter was a Cessna Caravan, seating up to 12 passengers. No dividing door between passengers and pilot here – I was right behind him! Another difference was that not only are your bags weighed, but the passengers have to be weighed as well! Bunia Airport was an interesting place. The U.N. has a large presence due to the insecurity there over the last 14 years. Their aircraft, base and tents dominate the airfield.

We were met and very ably shepherded through the various stages in the airport by a Congolese colleague, Bagamba. Another friend, Sarah, was there to see her mum off – and to meet us at the same time. Departing and incoming passengers were all together in one room, semi-subdivided by a row of wooden benches. At Immigration, despite the visa in my passport, an extra $20 was required given that I’d not been into the country on that passport before. (On the way out a week later, it seemed that I was paying hand over fist for different taxes – tourist, hygiene, departure, …..) No baggage carousel here – just point out your bag on the floor, and open it for inspection if required. On the way back through the airport, there was clearly something going on as a crowd was gathered outside, and there was a brass band which started playing at one point. It turned out that the governor was expected at some point that day. It wasn’t quite known when so the people could have been there the entire day. The police were out in force – all armed with AK47s of course.

We stayed at a Catholic Retreat Centre for our week of meetings, an hour’s very bumpy drive from Bunia along muddy roads. Thankfully, we didn’t get stuck! I didn’t quite figure out if it was the road that was exceedingly bumpy, or just a lack of suspension on the pickup truck we were crammed into (the result of much driving over bumpy roads!). Going into what seemed like thick bush, it was quite a surprise when we reached the Centre to discover an oasis of peace and tranquility, with a backdrop of green hills. It was beautiful there. Some evenings, between the close of the last meeting and dinner, those of us who wanted to made the most of the opportunity to stretch our legs and walk along the roads surrounding the Centre. We were met with smiles and greetings wherever we went. “Unashinda” (literally “Are you overcoming?”, but more “Are you passing the day?”). We were gawked at quite openly, but not in a menacing way. They were just genuinely pleased and surprised to see us. Indeed, one gentleman stopped in his tracks, and said, “Je suis surpris!” (“I am surprised!”). Around us were scenes of everyday life in an African rural setting – ladies carrying great piles of firewood on their heads; children carrying jerrycans of water; people chewing sugarcane; people gathered together… What was slightly unusual was the sight of 5 wazungu (white) ladies walking in the midst of it all!

Sightings

Some things I’ve seen in Africa that I probably wouldn’t in the UK:-

- People carrying an assortment of things on their heads – jerrycans of water, bundles of firewood, stacks of clothes, a tray of bananas, piles of soap, bowls of laundry. Perhaps the strangest recently were a number of men in Yaounde, Cameroon, each carrying a single shoe on their heads!
- Vehicles reversing back round a roundabout to the turn they’d just missed!
- Vehicles driving along the pavement to get ahead of the traffic.

- Giraffe, warthogs and baboon at the side of the road, on my drive to church.

- A walking clothing store (this in DR Congo).

- A group of labourers sitting at the side of the road, making road chippings out of lumps of rock, using hammers and chisels.

- An entire household of furniture on the back of a pickup truck.

- A truckload of 20-30 people standing in the back – no seatbelts there!

- A herd of cows being driven across one of the main roads into the capital city.

- Workers on wooden scaffolding, or on top of billboards with no safety harnesses or hard hats in sight.