Open Letter To Mom - Part II

The expats we’ve been hanging out with have been strewn throughout the blog, but here’s a rundown of some of our closest friends:

Wendy – Wendy works for World Relief in Baltimore and gets sent out from time to time to help with different organizations like Turame. She’ll be here for about the same time we will, and we really love hanging out with her. She works extremely hard, and occasionally finds time for a game of Phase 10 with her friends.

Isaac – Isaac was on the plane with Karri and me from Brussels. He’s an MK who grew up in Mozambique and just graduated from Virginia Tech. We tease him mercilessly for being young and being single and being perky, but he’s actually extremely smart and well-traveled. Whenever we have questions about international affairs or travel, he’s quickest to chime in with his experience. He’s a joy to be around, even though Karri threatens him with physical violence every once in a while.

Jillian – Jillian is here for two years as the Church Partnership coordinator here in Burundi. She came from a ministry in urban Washington DC, running an after-school homework help and alternative recreational center for the youth of the neighborhood. She’s got a big heart for those kids. She’s also a fiery personality and a straight shooter. She’ll set you straight if you’re off the map, and she’ll love you while she’s doing it.

Brandon – A Canadian who loves waking up in the morning, putting on classical music, and drinking a good cup of coffee. When we hang out with Brandon, we’re either going to a great restaurant, normally a place called Ubuntu which has the best pizza in the country, or hanging out at his place watching Planet Earth, a nature-type series by the BBC. But whatever the activity, it usually also involves listening to his music collection (he has impeccable taste) and talking about the stuff we love to talk about: world politics, environmentalism and development, emergent Christianity, art, just brilliant, brilliant stuff.

Duncan – Hailing from the UK, Duncan is one of the few people who speaks faster than my wife. He splits his time between Bujumbura and his place upcountry, working in agriculture development. Duncan is very easy to be around, loves the Lord, and is quick with an anecdote.

Adam - A terrific guitarist from Liverpool who works for a Belgian organization that de-mines African countries. Burundi is pretty mine-free right now, so they’re focusing on collecting and dismantling small arms. He and I like to grab a drink at Circle Nautique, a club owned by a Frenchman named Jean Luc, after rehearsing with our musical ensemble. Adam is dating…

Martina – A singer from Italy and photographer for the UN. Martina has one of those voices that works so well on French torch songs, with that thin tremolo of a vibrato and crooning style with long, arcing approaches to notes. Karri says she reminds her of the main character from the movie “Chocolat”, a free spirit with a zest for life and all things beautiful. She’s also passionate about cheese.

Fabien and Jenny – Fabien is a Frenchman and a great guy, who plays and sings in the band occasionally. He’s what Adam refers to as a “mutterer,” meaning his French is so French, it’s nearly indecipherable, but he’s a lot of fun to hang out with. He’s dating Jenny, a South African, who works for Accord, a mediation and conflict resolution organization. Karri has had a great time chatting with Jenny, and they have a lot in common.

Matt and Daniella – Matt’s from Kansas and works at the Embassy. You can tell he really loves life, and volleyball might be his favorite part of life. The story goes that he had pined for Daniella, an Italian girl who works for the UN, for months, and she finally noticed him. Now they spend as much time together as they can.

We also frequently run into Christy, Suzie, Meg, Tomas, Fred, Estelle, Maria, Mohammed, Steve, Andres, a veritable United Nations of friends, and I'm sure I'm leaving people out. We hang out at the beach, catch dinners, spend evenings sitting around eating good food and playing music. It's a real joy to be around such a diverse and interesting community.

-To Be Concluded!-