Beauty and the Beast

            Here are some of the strange things I was trying to explain to my ladies today:

1)      Pearl necklaces.  Or more specifically, where pearls come from.  Trying to describe an oyster and a pearl to women who have never even seen the ocean and don’t know what seashells are is very difficult.

2)       A beast.  We’re reading “Beauty and the Beast” and I kept saying, “Umm…a beast in this story means a man who looks like an animal.  Yeah, kind of like a lion.”  They thought I was crazy.  I’m bringing pictures tomorrow so hopefully they understand it a little better.  After finishing Snow White, they must think we’re crazy for reading stories about seven dwarfs, poisoned apples, and men who look like lions. 

3)      I have to keep telling them that the names used in these stories aren’t normal names – they think Snow White and Beauty are pretty strange.

4)      “He drew near the castle.”  This does not mean he was drawing, it just means he was getting closer.  English is so confusing!

At one point during class, I covered my face and exclaimed, “I just wish I could speak Nyanja!”  The ladies laughed at me and encouraged me to keep trying.  They’re being very patient.  I keep imagining myself being in their place and having to learn Chewa or Nyanja from someone who only spoke those languages. 

This afternoon, we played volleyball with the missionaries for a while.  They head back to Malawi early tomorrow morning.  I went for a short run and came back to the usual wonderful dinner prepared by Anne.  She is the sweetest woman.  She showed us pictures of her and her husband, who died about ten years ago from leukemia.  I’m beginning to realize just rare it is to find a family intact.  The death rate is something ridiculously low…I think in the 30s?  All of my ladies came from large families but most, if not all, of their siblings have died.  I think every woman has lost at least one of their parents.  It’s so sad and again reminds me of how blessed I am to have my health.