French Lessons II

As I’ve said, we have Rosetta Stone and it is really great.  I don’t know if we are learning any French but taking the lessons gives you the feel of being close to the French language.  There are 5 levels to Rosetta Stone, Sally and I got three of them.  Each level has four Units and then there are 5 to 12 lessons in each unit.  Each unit also has a Core lesson and a review lesson.  Then at the end of each unit is a Milestone which puts you in a real situation and you have to be able to respond to the people you meet. 

I have been working on this for two month and am now on Level 2, Unit 3 and Sally is close behind.  I have really expanded my vocabulary and I am even learning some grammar.  The most difficult lesson is writing.  They say something, like the Gettysburg Address, and then you have to type it out.  I don’t come close and yet it is phrases that we have seen before.

Learning French has been character building for me.  The character trait that has been building for me has been humility.   There has never been a time when I have been doing my French and someone has been around that they haven’t started laughing.  Not just a smirk or a giggle but a laugh out loud belly laugh.  Same thing happens with Sally too.  There must be something funny about someone trying really hard to speak French badly.  I remember how funny it was when Steve Martin, playing a Frenchman, was trying to “hamburger.”  That must be the way Sally and I look.  Americans must have had ECL/TD (Early Childhood Lip/Tongue Disorder.) We just can’t form words like the French.

Neither Sally nor I have gotten to the fluent stage.  Our kids have asked us to say something in French.  It takes us 10 minutes to come up with a simple statement or phrase.  French just doesn’t come to mind that easily.  Then when I listen to the questions the CD is asking of Sally I can’t understand them.  And I have already covered this stuff.

Its Just Not That Easy

(I know my blogs are long.  You don’t have to read them and probably won’t.  At this stage they are more of a record for Sally and I than interesting reading.)

You’d think getting ready to go to Niger to volunteer for a few months would not be that big of a deal but let me tell you, it’s just not that easy.

First, we had to apply to be accepted by Wycliffe.  That meant we had to:

·         - Sign an agreement form

·         - I had to update my resume

·         - Sally had to write her resume

·         - We each had to write our testimonies

·         - We had to provide references.

Once we were approved we sent letters to family and friends.

Then we had to get tickets.  I had a travel agent in Edina that looked for me and then we were given a contact via Wycliffe.  I also looked for options on the Internet.  My best rate on the Internet was $3,600 per person, that’s down from $4,500; Edina got it down to $2,800, and then Pam, my Wycliffe contact, got it down to $2,061.  (Note:  At this rate we leave at 6:00AM, stop in Atlanta, New York, and then have a 14-hour layover in Casablanca.  We leave Casablanca at 9:30, make one stop in Mali and get into Niamey, Niger at 2:30AM.  Almost two days.)

Once we had tickets we were asked if we wanted insurance.  We had been to AAA and I had called Medica and we could get Evacuation Insurance for lots of money.  Pam got health insurance, evacuation insurance, and trip cancelation insurance all in one for a lot less than the others or any I could find on the Internet.

The next thing was getting International Drivers licenses.  That meant a trip to AAA, filing out forms, and getting pictures taken.

We of course had to make appointments with doctors, travel clinics, dentists, the furnace man, Comcast (our TV reception went out), and there were many friends we wanted to see who know Africa, but we have only met one person who has been in Niger.  I wonder why?

How do we get money in Niger.  They don’t have any ATM’s, zero.  (Did I mention that Niger is considered the most non-developed nation in the world?)  Wycliffe has money accounts where donors can send money and then the missionary draws from that account as they incur expenses.  Since I am the only donor to my account the added restrictions made this a not so good choice.  Then I asked my financial planners, Dani and Lance, if the Bank of America could help.  There is a Bank of Africa but no Bank of America in Niger.  Dani and Lance have been very helpful and are still working on it.  Wiring money to a bank in Niger feels like a bigger risk than it probably is.

Oh yes Visas.  Visas are a big deal.  You have to have:

·         - Passports (Sending your passport off six weeks before you leave does not give me comfort.)

·         - Three pictures – back to AAA again

·         - A letter of invitation from Niger

·         - A letter from your financial institution that says you have more than $500 in the bank.

·         - Verification that you have round trip tickets.  One way won’t do.

·         - A vaccination for Yellow Fever

·         - And embassy fees, service fees, and Fed Ex expenses

Clothes?  Of course.  Shorts and tee shirts are not big in Niger for men or women.  So Sally has been looking for things that cover most of her body and I have been looking for shirts and pants that I can wear everyday around the center.  The first criteria for anything we look for is will it be cool.  No clothes is cool.  Some clothes are less cool.  Clothes that cover you whole body are hot.  Needless to say, we have been to every outdoor or sporting goods store in the state.  Let’s not forget hats and shoes too.  Not much of what we currently have fits what we will need.

Medically we need to be at our best.  So Elgin’s viruses, first something that left him listless, more than usual, and then a summer cold along with knee shots are not what we need right now.  Sally getting a tick bite that sent her to the emergency room was not on her agenda either.  Here is a list of the shots we need:

·         - Influenza

·         - Chickenpox

·         - Measles/mumps

·         - Diphtheria

·         - Polio

·         -Typhoid

·         - Hepatitis A&B

·         - Yellow Fever

·         - Meningitis (We will be in a Meningitis belt)

·         And then you don’t get a shot for it but Malaria pills are a must.  We have already bought two large cans of Permethrin and we plan on taking a case of mosquito spray with 50% deet.

Now what about our townhouse?  No problem.  Jeff Lindsay’s daughter Nicole and her roommate need a place to stay starting in September.  Perfect timing.  Yes but…

·         - What do we do with the van while we are gone?  Should we leave it in the church parking lot for six months?  Should we leave it at the cabin, will we be able to get it out of the snow in March?  Should we rent a place?

·         - Our Association informs us that Nicole and her friend will have to get background checks if they are going to stay in the our place.

·         - We will have to have a formal lease agreement to submit to the Association Board for approval.  Anybody got a lease agreement form around?

Then what about bills?  I had hoped they would stop if I left but they don’t.  Some recurring bills can be paid automatically, some recurring bills can be paid as they come in, and then there are those that you just don’t know about.  I guess I will need a personal accountant.  Also, who gets my mail and who sorts through it to see if I have bills?  Then how do I get “bill pay” to pay them?  Its just money.

We were worried about duffel bags, we need four, but Jeff Lindsay came through and will loan us three.  Thanks Jeff.

We have to make copies of every important document we can think of and leave with our kids.  Wills, passports, visas, powers of atty, deeds, drivers licenses, itineraries, insurance documents, just to name a few.

Lastly, we wanted to take some stuff with us to welcome the people that come to stay at the center.  Also Sally wanted to do some nesting things and I wanted some games to play with the kids that come there.  Looks like we will need another duffel bag.

I know this doesn’t seem like much to do in four months but when you are trying to learn French, planning Cousin Camp, up at the cabin with no internet, and thinking about going to a whole new world than that which you have lived in for 71 years it ends up being a big deal, one that has caught us a little blind side.

Don’t get us wrong, we are not exhausted, nor are we wondering what we are getting ourselves into, it just that there are lots of things to do before we leave that we hadn’t thought about.