English is my native language, and the only one I speak relatively fluently. One would think that I would be able to keep common phrases straight and use them properly, but this seems to be a virtual impossibility. The other day I was chatting online with a friend and I said I was ‘green with jealousy.’ Somewhere deep in the back of brain there was a little alarm bell that went off (note: a ding, not a gong) because I knew I did not have it right. But did my mind manage to pull up the right phrase? Nope. A couple of hours later it suddenly dawns on me that the phrase is green with envy. 

I have to admit that I was rather impressed with myself the other day in that I realized I said the wrong phrase and later figured out the correct phrase; most of time I remain clueless. The exception to this is when dad is around–he laughs and corrects my mis-phrased phrases. I wonder what goes through everyone else’s mind when they hear ‘Pam phrases.’ 

 And what else is that I do to jumble this language you ask? There are times when I can practically grasp the word I want in my hand, and yet am unable to find it. When I am tired or cold I have to remember to not slur my words together as they remain clear in my head regardless of what comes out of my mouth. When I am excited I talk really really fast. One good friend would point it out every time it happened by sarcastically saying, “Could you talk a little faster?” He eventually got used to the fast talk and gave up his little quest to slow me down.  And so I remain a fast talker, sometimes word-slurrer who regularly says the wrong thing. 

And yet I love to speak. I love to talk with friends for hours, debate odd topics, lecture to a room full of student, and inspire kids through spoken words

Yep, that’s me. And yes, I have red hair, but that’s a topic for another day

Priceless.

Tags: me

Last weekend I was up visiting friends in South Bend and was adamantly told by one that I needed to get the book list back up–asap if possible. I promised her that was in the plans, though it might take a different format (maybe this time I’ll tell you if the book is worth reading or warn you if the book was complete beach trash). That’s when I realized that you (the grand plural you that we do not have a word for in English) might have an opinion about something you do or don’t want, or styles that you do or do not like for this website. This is your chance. All I can promise is that I will consider what you suggest, but that I do promise. So if you have a preference, an inkling, or something that always makes you smile, tell me in a comment!

Tags: blog

I’m the midst of updating the blog. Eventually there will be other stuff available on the website that might or might not be of interest to you. Please be patient with me as the look and the pages of the blog change. In the mean time, the blogging will continue.

I hope you are well.

Tags: blog

Butterfly; Downtown Nashville

Tags: butterfly, nashville, nature

Rubber Duck Race. Yep, that’s right. Today I bought a raffle ticket in the body of two little rubber ducks to race down the river all in the name of a fundraiser. I named them Bill and Bob; I figured they were my southern ducks. Unfortunately, in a sea of over 7,000 ducks, Bill and Bob did not win any prizes. But…my souvenir duck is making a new home of my bathtub.

Tags: ducks, fund raisers, nashville

In Southern Rwanda, I visited the villages of Kanyonyera and Rubugu where I saw water lines and water taps recently constructed by a local partner organization. The cement platforms and structures were well constructed, and the piping and hardware well chosen and installed. A seemingly ideal image of water provision in a rural region.
In Kanyonyera, a woman by the name of Pellina told us of the value of this water tap. She said that they used to get water at the lake, which was dirty and was a long way to walk. This problem was compounded by children collecting water who could only stand on the edge of the lake, where the water was the dirtiest. To top it off, every year children would die from drowning in the lake. Pellina was happy about the clean, flowing water at the tap. 

A little while later I noticed Pellina, deep in conversation, did not seem happy. I found out that the mud bricks near the water tap were hers. She planned to build a house, but the land she was going to use was taken to build the water tap. Now she had clean, flowing water, but no place to build her house. In such circumstances, the Rwandan government works to compensate the individual and provide alternate land. But, that was still in the process of happening, and today Pellina was stuck in the middle of the complexities of development. She had mud bricks to use, she had access to clean water, and she had no place build her home.

Clean water provision is so simple on paper. People need water, and water is provided. People walk long distances carrying large quantities of water by hand or by head, and now they walk short distances. People had little water to spare for laundry and hand washing, and now more is available. It would seem that the simple provision of clean water would solve so many problems. And yet we were told of a another village where a team (not funded by Blood:Water) came in and drilled a well. Fantastic…except the people never used the well. I don’t know if the water did not taste good, did not smell good, was in a politically poor location in the village, or if there was some other cultural issue. Bottom line is that a well was drilled but was not used; a ‘simple’ solution did not work. 

Tags: BWM, development, rwanda, water

Sometimes I struggle when I know I should write about one thing and I feel uninspired. It is these times that I wish a writer would modify my words filling them with eloquence that would better express what is in my head and my heart. It is not that I am uninspired by what I should write about–quite the contrary. What I do not know is how to take such a fantastic and inspiring series of events and present them in an image that will portray a piece of what I experienced.

On Saturday the final game of a 13 team, 52 game, soccer tournament was held in the midst of a grand ceremony. This tournament was a dream of our partner in Northern Uganda who saw young men being idle in their villages unsure of how to fill their time and lacking hope after 10 years in IDP camps (internally displaced people camps). Yes, stability is returning to the region, safety is the norm rather than the sacred, and villages are being rebuilt. But the rebuilding of a village is easier on paper than in reality, and hope is a magical tool. And so our partner dreamt up and created a soccer tournament where they fund uniforms and soccer balls, and there are prizes of bulls and goats to eat, and a beautiful trophy for the winner to display. Participation requires the building of latrines and hand washing locations, and soccer scores include community transformation in terms of WASH (water, hygiene, and sanitation) and half-times are filled with song and dance about WASH created and performed by the players. I could never come up with a plan so brilliant–not in my most wild imagination.

The day of ceremonies included a parade of the players through town, demonstrations of latrines, washing stations, and hand pumps. Officials present included not only local and regional officials, but also the Minster of Water and Environment of Uganda; she was impressed by what she saw. The final soccer game was exciting and demonstrated the impressive skills of the players. The song and dance were both beautiful and inspiring.

As we visited communities in the two days following the ceremony, we saw transformation beginning in communities. We saw biosand filters and hand pumps and hand washing stations and dish racks. We saw hope and we saw soccer players filled with ownership of their program. One year. This program has only been running for one year and already the impact is tangible. In the coming years the program will grow–the hope is 60 teams within three years.

I wish I could capture these events for you. Smiling women. Laughing children. Welcoming men. Stories of triumph and a sense of pride. Over it all, hope. I am at a loss of how to share this, of how to construct this image, and so I close simply wishing that I could have transported you to a soccer field in Northern Uganda for a day of celebration.

Tags: BWM, development, soccer, uganda, water

Thank you. Apoyo matek. Thank you for coming to Uganda, and in particular, to Lira. Thank you for visiting. Thank you for breakfast. Thank you for lunch. Thank you for dinner. Thank you for water. I thank our God that we have been able to meet. Apoyo matek. Thank you for joining our celebration. Thank you for inviting us. Thank you for welcoming us. Thank you.

Those are the words that fill my ears and exit my mouth all day long. I am now in Uganda which, like much of Africa, is a thanking culture. Little can be assumed about any event–the starting time, how long it will last, what will occur, or what will be expected of me–except that I will say ‘Thank you’ and be told ‘Thank you.’ Sometimes it gets old and I begin to think that it would be great to hop skip and jump over the many thank you’s, effectively thinking, “Let’s move on and not spend more time on this.” And then I remember what it is like in America where we say “Hey” and “What’s up?” with more frequency than ”Thank you” and suddenly my patience increases. Apoyo matek.

Tags: BWM, culture, uganda

Begins with good coffee and pastries.

Tags: amsterdam, cafes, travel