Weekend (02/26-28): I could hope for more progress than has been made but I’ve become realistic that things just move slower in Africa. It seemed that reminding my coworkers of projects that have been started and just need a little focused attention seemed to enlist their help. I did that with Phyllis about finishing moving people from printers set up on the old servers and we spent time on a couple floors switching people over to printers set up on the new servers. Nice to get that done.
I mentioned another one of the projects to Larry, to move all the common shared files to a new server and simplify how everyone logs into the network to find these files. Since he left Friday at lunch for the rest of the day, we agreed (I thought) to meet at the office Saturday at 9 am. I spent the afternoon making sure the new setup was ready and tested the new login script everyone would be using. After everyone had left for the weekend, I also began moving the files over to the new location.
I’ve never seen so much stuff people have collected, most of it quite dated. I estimate there is over 150 GB of files. I found one folder with 27 GB of pictures. So I started moving the files after 5 pm, went to have a meal, and returned later to outside the building to reconnect to the servers via the wireless to do some more. (Of course, I also placed an Internet call to Julie, too.) Went to bed about midnight.
I woke up Saturday, reconnected again and did some more moving. I really would have liked to sleep in more but was at the office by 9 am. Larry didn’t show and I left close to 2 pm. I eventually got the files moved (yes, it took 5 more hours!) and made most of the changes we’d intended.
Is Larry okay? Did I change the login scripts correctly that everyone will be using? I know there are people who won’t be able to get to their files because only Larry knows who these people are and so I couldn’t finish setting up their security permissions. Third, it’s the ex-pat/visitor/new guy who made all these significant changes without any direct supervision or involvement from anybody at the center. What if I shouldn’t have proceeded and exceeded my authority or made unintended mistakes?
I returned to Kip’s church again Sunday. The woman leading the worship team does a great job selecting God-focused, God-honoring songs. The songs that have words that talk about nations across the world worshiping Him together still have deep impact on me. The message, from Psalm 103, was good but I’ve had a headache for 2 days and I always find it hard to concentrate. The preacher was a woman pastor on staff and my doctrine about woman preachers was lurking in the back of my mind.
I had another chance to return to the African market that is held every Sunday outside one of the malls. It’s quite different from anything most Americans are used to. The wares are spread out everywhere, hung from anything that’s vertical, whether natural or man-made. The temporary aisles are narrow, filled with both vendors and customers. The vendors are very aggressive. They’ll stop you, shake your hand, and then lead you to their merchandise. They’ll suggest items they think you, as a man/woman/tourist, should (not would) want. If you tell them they don’t have what you’re looking for, they’ll tell you to stay put, they’ll hunt it down and then try to sell it to you. In other words, they never take “no” as an answer. The thumb rule is to cut their price by a third and never pay more than 50%. They’re tough negotiators, always changing. You want one item, they’ll put four in your hand and throw you a new price. You want one of each necklace and they’ll put two of the same in your hand and give you a new price. You try to decline and hand them back their stuff, they ignore you and try a new tactic.
Ever stir up an ants nest? The rain that had been threatening started to fall, eventually pretty heavily. They pressure you even harder, hoping you’ll fall prey to a faster pace and a higher price. They also start either covering everything with plastic or packing up their goods and leaving. As we returned to the center, the rain had stopped, and I’m sure the vendors are back in place. Still, I’m sure their gross sales suffered today.
As an aside, if you’re wondering why I’ve not posted any pictures of the African market, it’s because pictures are not allowed. That astounds the American in me where it’s our right to take pictures of anything. Someone told me it’s because Africans think pictures we take are used to make us money, and they don’t get a piece of the pie. I was warned about pictures I wanted to take at the airport because the police would think I was a terrorist scouting the place out. Odd since we take pictures at US airports all the time.
As I’ve said before, everything in Africa is different from home.
The rest of Sunday will be for relaxing. I’ll probably cook chicken with potato and green beans. Vern, the guy heading home to Canada after visiting DR Congo for a couple of weeks where he used to be a missionary, will join me.
I return home myself in 5 days.
I mentioned another one of the projects to Larry, to move all the common shared files to a new server and simplify how everyone logs into the network to find these files. Since he left Friday at lunch for the rest of the day, we agreed (I thought) to meet at the office Saturday at 9 am. I spent the afternoon making sure the new setup was ready and tested the new login script everyone would be using. After everyone had left for the weekend, I also began moving the files over to the new location.
I’ve never seen so much stuff people have collected, most of it quite dated. I estimate there is over 150 GB of files. I found one folder with 27 GB of pictures. So I started moving the files after 5 pm, went to have a meal, and returned later to outside the building to reconnect to the servers via the wireless to do some more. (Of course, I also placed an Internet call to Julie, too.) Went to bed about midnight.
I woke up Saturday, reconnected again and did some more moving. I really would have liked to sleep in more but was at the office by 9 am. Larry didn’t show and I left close to 2 pm. I eventually got the files moved (yes, it took 5 more hours!) and made most of the changes we’d intended.
Is Larry okay? Did I change the login scripts correctly that everyone will be using? I know there are people who won’t be able to get to their files because only Larry knows who these people are and so I couldn’t finish setting up their security permissions. Third, it’s the ex-pat/visitor/new guy who made all these significant changes without any direct supervision or involvement from anybody at the center. What if I shouldn’t have proceeded and exceeded my authority or made unintended mistakes?
I returned to Kip’s church again Sunday. The woman leading the worship team does a great job selecting God-focused, God-honoring songs. The songs that have words that talk about nations across the world worshiping Him together still have deep impact on me. The message, from Psalm 103, was good but I’ve had a headache for 2 days and I always find it hard to concentrate. The preacher was a woman pastor on staff and my doctrine about woman preachers was lurking in the back of my mind.
I had another chance to return to the African market that is held every Sunday outside one of the malls. It’s quite different from anything most Americans are used to. The wares are spread out everywhere, hung from anything that’s vertical, whether natural or man-made. The temporary aisles are narrow, filled with both vendors and customers. The vendors are very aggressive. They’ll stop you, shake your hand, and then lead you to their merchandise. They’ll suggest items they think you, as a man/woman/tourist, should (not would) want. If you tell them they don’t have what you’re looking for, they’ll tell you to stay put, they’ll hunt it down and then try to sell it to you. In other words, they never take “no” as an answer. The thumb rule is to cut their price by a third and never pay more than 50%. They’re tough negotiators, always changing. You want one item, they’ll put four in your hand and throw you a new price. You want one of each necklace and they’ll put two of the same in your hand and give you a new price. You try to decline and hand them back their stuff, they ignore you and try a new tactic.
Ever stir up an ants nest? The rain that had been threatening started to fall, eventually pretty heavily. They pressure you even harder, hoping you’ll fall prey to a faster pace and a higher price. They also start either covering everything with plastic or packing up their goods and leaving. As we returned to the center, the rain had stopped, and I’m sure the vendors are back in place. Still, I’m sure their gross sales suffered today.
As an aside, if you’re wondering why I’ve not posted any pictures of the African market, it’s because pictures are not allowed. That astounds the American in me where it’s our right to take pictures of anything. Someone told me it’s because Africans think pictures we take are used to make us money, and they don’t get a piece of the pie. I was warned about pictures I wanted to take at the airport because the police would think I was a terrorist scouting the place out. Odd since we take pictures at US airports all the time.
As I’ve said before, everything in Africa is different from home.
The rest of Sunday will be for relaxing. I’ll probably cook chicken with potato and green beans. Vern, the guy heading home to Canada after visiting DR Congo for a couple of weeks where he used to be a missionary, will join me.
I return home myself in 5 days.
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