retraction

I spoke too quickly. No internet at home. No skype. No laughing at my sister on the big screen tv. :-) I know I am completely spoiled to even have the ability for internet in my home in Mozambique. I was thinking of our time at Daystar in Athi River, Kenya and how us crazy American students would do whatever we needed to get on that bus or hitchhike in a matatu or back of a truck to get into Nairobi on a Saturday and anxiously climb those stairs to Lazards and check our email. The days we had to wait for an open computer – torture! I have some amazing friends who have put up with my impatience! (I may have been the worst one. :-)) I remember once Katie and I were meeting the girls at Java downtown (and then we were going to check email) and we had hitchhiked in, after several attempts, squeezing into a full matatu sitting in the very back with very little space. I hope for Katie’s sake, I fell asleep on that ride. :-) When we arrived in Nairobi, it was raining and we were literally dumped into a pile of garbage. The matatu door opened and we jumped out…into a wet, stinky, smokey pile of garbage. I remember thinking all I wanted to do was check my email! There was also the trip with the bloody toe, the runaway matatu chase when they made us whities duck from whomever was chasing us down the wrong way of a one way alley, and the time we had to hide from the angry street mob who blocked our bus ride back to campus. But not every trip was so exciting; the good ones we got ice cream at Java as well as emails! Those were fabulous Saturdays to get us through the next week. :-)

I am thankful I can walk to the office or a friend’s house here and use their internet when mine doesn’t work – no sweaty stinky full matatu rides or angry mobs keeping me from the outside world. Times have definitely changed. ;-)