Things I like about life/culture in Kensuli

1. The relative lack of manmade noise-I can go for months without hearing any motors apart from an occasional plane…for me, it’s much easier to feel closer to God when there’s not 10,000 cars passing by each day.
2. The noisiness of the culture-yeah, this contradicts #1, but each morning I hear someone out on the trail whooping, then answered by someone else a mile or so away. It’s FUN to walk to the Tamleng Gorge and play with your echo there!
3. THE STARS. Ohhhh man are they stunning. NOT even the stars in Brazil trump these.
4. That the bulk of my communication with the outside world comes through snail-letters. This is a practice I hope to maintain upon my return….letters are so much meaningful and intentional than texts, Facebook messages, or emails.
5. MY GIRLS-I love them like sisters, and I hope I’m as good of a teacher to them as they’ve been to me. Their parents are in KMTN for a meeting tonight, so we had a sleepover. We ate linidgid, had worship, I read them a bedtime story (or WE read a bedtime story…the book about gecko noises are better than mine…) and the funny thing is-Kensuli’s water is gone and we all DESPERATELY need showers. STINKIEST SLEEPOVER ever!
6. People have chickens for pets. Like, they love their chickens more than their dogs. It’s great.
7. If you want to go somewhere, you HAVE to walk there-good for the mind, body, and relationships.
8. The language. Palawano is a really cool language, and I’m happy to say God’s helping me acquire it WAY more proficiently than I ever expected or dared to hope. Language learning is a game, and I want to play this game again, with more languages.
9. Datag. I will MISS having a floor that has so many cracks that cleaning is a breeze.
10. Living without electricity. Life is simpler, by default….it’s easier to think, to meditate, to prioritize.
11. Emphasis on family and relationships. This is a part of Palawan that will be coming home with me-really-is there anything more important?
12. Utter need for dependence on God’s strength. For the first time in my life, I can’t do it by myself.
13. Abundant laughter. Almost everything is funny, so you laugh at it. Makes sense, diki Le?
14. Teaching. I enjoy it far more than I thought I would, and am getting better at it, too. There are still days when I wish all my classes were science classes, though.
15. The effort it takes for mere survival.