Yesterday I ran a session for university campus workers on crossing cultures. I was the teacher, but I learned heaps too. For example, I learned that the way people treat children is a key way in which you can judge their character. I knew that interacting with children is very important […]
Since we moved to Dar I’ve been pretty isolated. I can’t get a work visa, but being a stay at home mum is not really a thing in middle-class Tanzania, so it’s been hard to even find people to be friends with. I had an American friend who worked full-time […]
Late last year Lausanne Global Analysis asked me to write something about the global abuse of women, so I got over my imposter syndrome and did. Their fantastic editing process means it didn’t come out until July: Why Equality Is Not Enough When You’ve Been Abused: pursuing the flourishing of […]
“This is such a heavy burden. May God give me strength to bear it.” This is what people say when they have been elected to Christian leadership in Tanzania. During elections, people are very reluctant to put themselves forward, always waiting for someone else to suggest them. Even the most […]
We have discovered that we have a henna tree in our backyard. Callum’s nanny started picking the leaves and I asked her what they were for and that’s how I found out what it was. Where did I think henna came from before this? Did I think it was some […]
One of the common laments for westerners living in the majority world is how long it takes to do things. It’s often hard to work out why, so every now and then I record all the steps it takes for me to fix things. For example, it took me this […]
Since we moved house, I have joyfully returned to having house help. (The story of why is for another day.) Mama Pendo is a grandmother who comes twice a week to clean the house. This week she said to me very kindly, “Kama kuna tatizo, usinyamaze.” It means, “If there’s […]
