Here I am. In South Africa. Ready to go home. To DR Congo. And to my husband!
I have reached new levels of accepting flexibility this week as there have been constant updates/problems/questions on the Congo visas of our North American participants. (In an unusual flip-flop from the normal ease for North Americans, the visas for the regional participants into South Africa have all been resolved!) Last night when I was in the midst of the fourth round of "What should we do with X's passport/visa process/flight? What's the priority for x person to be present for?" I felt like throwing my hands up in the air - like this crab who really startled me when I was out walking yesterday morning.
So six of the eight participants are here for orientation, and it's been a good time together, learning about MCC, getting to know one another and having good discussions. I especially enjoyed hearing from Mulanda Jimmy Juma, who is from Congo and also has taught at Eastern Mennonite University's Summer Peacebuilding Institute. We spent a day in Soweto, and visiting the Hector Pieterson Museum opened up some good conversations about groups who have a lot of influence as opposed to those who do not. We had a skype session with one of our participants who couldn't be here, and here's a photo of us right after that.
We're still working here on Saturday, as usual, so I'll leave this short for now. Happy weekend!
I have reached new levels of accepting flexibility this week as there have been constant updates/problems/questions on the Congo visas of our North American participants. (In an unusual flip-flop from the normal ease for North Americans, the visas for the regional participants into South Africa have all been resolved!) Last night when I was in the midst of the fourth round of "What should we do with X's passport/visa process/flight? What's the priority for x person to be present for?" I felt like throwing my hands up in the air - like this crab who really startled me when I was out walking yesterday morning.
So six of the eight participants are here for orientation, and it's been a good time together, learning about MCC, getting to know one another and having good discussions. I especially enjoyed hearing from Mulanda Jimmy Juma, who is from Congo and also has taught at Eastern Mennonite University's Summer Peacebuilding Institute. We spent a day in Soweto, and visiting the Hector Pieterson Museum opened up some good conversations about groups who have a lot of influence as opposed to those who do not. We had a skype session with one of our participants who couldn't be here, and here's a photo of us right after that.
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