Category Archives: International Travel

Gisuru School for the Deaf: Africa Day 5

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Listen. Can you hear it?

Most of us can hear something right now– I can hear traffic and the vacuum cleaner. And my dog getting annoyed at the vacuum cleaner.

Pineapple and coffee field at Gisuru School for the Deaf

In the United States, about 3% of the population is deaf. Many hearing-impaired people identify with Deaf culture and belong to a close-knit Deaf community.

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But Burundi doesn’t have a thriving Deaf community. In fact, most people don’t have access to sign language, much less other accommodations.

This is a big problem, since deafness is common in the country. Many Burundians are born Deaf, while others become Deaf from improper administration of medicine or through illness.

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Ben with a huge mural of Burundi. Gisuru School for the Deaf is in the eastern Ruyigi region.

To address this, Ben’s father and grandfather established the country’s first Deaf school in Bujumbura decades ago.

Kirundi word of the day: Ishuli (school).

But what about those in rural areas? What about those too far from Bujumbura?

Me with one of the social studies murals on the cafeteria walls. Can you find Burundi on the map?

My brother-in-law Danny moved far out into the hills to start another Deaf school on the opposite side of Burundi. We were able to tour the boarding school during the summer break and meet a few students.

Meeting other students

We even got to meet the student we sponsor!

He looks a bit uncomfortable in the photo, but in real life he was super excited to have his photo taken and signed that it was “Beautiful, BEAUTIFUL!”

Ben and I with the student we sponsor and his father. The traveled an hour to meet us and we were so thankful!

Meeting this student was amazing! We have been praying for this boy for five years and have had his photo on our fridge and have received drawings from him, and later letters when he learned to communicate. Now we got to see he and his father in person!

Sponsor a student at Gisuru School for the Deaf
Students learn to cook in this kitchen at Gisuru School for the Deaf.

American Sign Language is derived from French sign language. I learned ASL in college and the two languages are close enough that I could have a conversation with this student as well as others we met during our time in Gisuru.

You can read more about that –and about Gisuru School for the Deaf– on World Footprints.

Africa Day 1: 30 Hours in Transit

Africa Day 2: Crossing Burundi

Africa Day 3: A Dowry Ceremony

Africa Day 4: A Burundian Wedding

A Burundi Wedding: Africa Day 4

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What would you do if you were asked to play a role in the wedding of a stranger? In another country? Where you don’t speak the local language?

More Africa Stories!

I recently wrote about attending a dowry ceremony in Burundi. My whole family was invited to attend the wedding the next day, even though we did not know the couple and were visiting from the U.S.

Yes, we did color coordinate our clothes. Photo credit: Danny J.

The wedding took place in a the couple’s church, a beautiful brick building shaped like a heart. It included performances by the choir and speeches with advice to the bride and groom. My family doesn’t speak Kirundi, but my sister-in-law whispered an English translation to us. The service also had a sign language interpreter for Deaf guests, and I could understand most of that.

Kirundi word of the day: Kaze (Welcome)

The couple prepares to be presented as man and wife.

According to the local tradition, asking someone to act as best man and matron of honor is also a request for lifelong mentorship and marriage counseling. The older friends who stood in this role for the newlyweds have a reputation for a stable, loving marriage despite challenging life circumstances.

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Jambo! Jambo bwana! Habari gani? Mzuri sana! Wageni wakaribishwa, Burundi yetu hakuna matata.

Hospitality is a strong value in Burundi, and we were offered seats of honor with the groom’s family during the reception. This accomplished the need to have someone stand in for the groom’s extended family members who couldn’t make it as well as the need to express a welcome to out-of-town guests.

I had another role, too. My sister-in-law made the wedding cake, and I had the job of walking up the aisle to deliver it to the couple!

A toast with Fanta Orange

It was quite an experience to see how Burundian weddings are done and to be able to appreciate the meaningful customs they observe. Getting invited to anyone’s wedding is an honor, and I always love having the chance to witness one of the most important moments of a couple’s life.

To read more about this wedding, visit World Footprints.

Africa Day 1: 30 Hours in Transit

Africa Day 2: Crossing Burundi

Africa Day 3: A Dowry Ceremony

Africa Day 5: Gisuru School for the Deaf

A Burundian Dowry Ceremony: Africa Day 3

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If you want to experience a traditional East African lifestyle, rural Burundi is a good place to go. You won’t have pavement or electricity or running water, but you will have the chance to discover local agriculture and artistry. Welcome to Gisuru, a small farming town deep in the hills.

While we were in Africa, my sister-in-law Annie, who lives in Gisuru, invited me to come with her to a Burundian dowry ceremony. This event happens shortly before a wedding, and it entails a dinner and a reception with the exchanging of gifts/bride, speeches, and a lot of soda.

More Africa Stories!
The happy couple. Photo credit: Abel N.

I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying, but I did enjoy the soda. Soda in Africa tastes better than American soda.

I might end up with a cavity by the end of this trip.

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Annie lent me a traditional dress. Photo credit: Danny J.

It’s Africa, so we expected the event to start late. We arrived two hours late and then waited an extra hour. I was in the car with Annie and four Burundians, and they taught me some Kirundi words in the meantime.

Carrying – you guessed it! – cases of soda. Photo credit: Abel N.

Kirundi word of the day: Fanta/soda. (Soda of any brand. Also a euphemism for “bribe,” so if someone asks for a “soda” they probably want money in exchange for a favor.)

Dinner was delicious—chicken, beef, rice, cabbage, and fried potatoes. We sat with the groom’s family, as we’d been asked to stand in for extended family members who couldn’t make it.

Carrying gifts to the dowry ceremony. Photo credit: Abel N.

Some of the events:

  • Dinner
  • Sodas
  • Traditional speeches: representative of the bride’s family takes turns with the groom’s representatives to publicly discuss the culmination of their bride price arrangements.
  • The family reiterates their acceptance of the terms and gifts arrive (more sodas, in this case).
  • The bride arrives with an entourage and the women vocalize their joy.
  • The brothers of the bride block the groom’s path to her until he gives them a gift.
  • Together, the two families sip a banana drink from a big bowl with straws.
  • The bride gives the groom a gift—new shoes.
  • The bride gives gifts to the parents.
  • More speeches.
  • More sodas.
  • More speeches.
  • More sodas.
The bride gave her groom new shoes.
Annie and I sitting with the groom’s family. Photo credit: Abel N.

It was a big day for the bride and groom. And the next day would be even bigger: their wedding day!

Africa Day 1: 30 Hours in Transit

Africa Day 2: Crossing Burundi

Africa Day 4: Burundian Wedding

Africa Day 5: Gisuru School for the Deaf

Crossing Burundi: Africa Day 2

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If you look at a map of Africa, you might be surprised that it takes five hours to drive across the small country of Burundi. But Burundi is all hills and valleys, dirt roads and steep escarpments.

Kirundi word of the day: Murakozi (thank you)

This snapshot of rural Burundi does not do it justice

The rural town of Gisuru is across Burundi from Bujumbura, the big city with the country’s international airport. Ben’s brother Danny and his family made the drive to Bujumbura to pick us up and then brought us to Gisuru the next day. They did ten hours of driving between the two days!

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A passion flower

For me, the five-hour trip was easy—everything I could see was interesting and new to me, so there was a lot to take in.

We stopped for lunch at a place the president frequents during his travels and even saw his motorcade.

Then we bumped along winding dirt roads for a couple of hours, the appearance of a rare car causing people to pause mid-hoe in the middle of their fields to watch us rumble by in a cloud of dust.

Sunset over Gisuru School for the Deaf

Finally, we arrived at Danny’s home, where my nieces and nephew gave us a tour of their various pets: guinea pigs, a rabbit, some lovebirds, a talking African grey parrot, and a pair of monkeys.

I couldn’t stop staring at the view. So much green! So much land! The house where we stayed overlooked not only the valley but also Gisuru School for the Deaf, which Danny established so the large population of Deaf kids in the area can learn sign language and have an education.

Read my post about Gisuru School for the Deaf on World Footprints.

Africa Day 1: 30 Hours in Transit

Africa Day 3: A Dowry Ceremony

Africa Day 4: A Burundian Wedding

Africa Day 5: Gisuru School for the Deaf

30 Hours in Transit: Africa Day 1

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We’re in Africa! We’ve been looking forward to this trip for nine years, and we’re finally here.

Kirundi word of the day: Amahoro (hello)

Fun fact: It takes 30 hours to get from Glendale, Arizona to Bujumbura, Burundi.

Actually, it should take longer than that if you schedule long enough layovers– I don’t recommend sprinting across Chicago O’Hare Airport toting six carryon bags and an angry preschooler to catch a connecting flight.

Little Man was happy for most of the trip 🙂

If you’ve been following for a while, you might remember a previous post announcing that we’d be in Kenya for six weeks last spring. Well, that didn’t work out. But the Africa vacation to Burundi and Tanzania that we’re taking now is turning out to be much better than trip to work in the hospital would have been!

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Helping with the luggage

Ben was born in Burundi and lived here until he was four, when his family was displaced to Tanzania during the war. In fact, he lived in the house where I’m writing this– his father built it on the family’s mission station 30 years ago and now his oldest brother lives here. But being born in Burundi gives Ben more than just a passport that makes border agents do a double-take. It’s also given him a lifelong connection to a place that will always feel like home.

It took three hours to get through the Bujumbura airport

After our long trip to Bujumbura, Burundi, we finally managed to extricate ourselves from the airport to find the people who would pick us up. To my joy, I saw eight family members waiting for us in the parking lot, where they had spent hours so they could be sure to greet us! We haven’t seen some of the nephews in six years, so our drive to their home a few miles away was a happy reunion.

Bujumbura, Burundi

Keep following to hear about the rest of our Africa adventures! We’ll be here for a whole month traveling between several locations.

You can also sign up for my newsletter in the sidebar to get new posts sent monthly to your inbox.

Africa Day 1: 30 Hours in Transit

Africa Day 2: Crossing Burundi

Africa Day 3: A Dowry Ceremony

Africa Day 4: A Burundian Wedding

Africa Day 5: Gisuru School for the Deaf

How to Become a Doctor: Ben’s Journey in Pictures

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Ben graduated from residency! He’s now a full-fledged physician.

If you’ve been following our journey for a while, you’ve seen snippets of his path to medicine through stories of our lives at American University of the Caribbean in Sint Maarten, to Detroit, to Arizona, to California, and back to Arizona.

But I have yet to share the process from start to finish. Here’s what it takes for someone to travel from high school student to doctor.

High School in Kenya: Discovering His Calling

Surgery in Kenya

Ben’s interest in medicine started when he nearly died of spinal meningitis in Kenya during high school.

After graduating high school, Ben flew to the States with two bags and a couple hundred dollars in his pocket. He started college at Arizona Christian University.

College in Arizona: Pre-Med

Ben and his lab partner, Bizi, in pre-med classes at Arizona Christian University.

Ben worked on pre-med and began to tackle the Medical College Admissions Test. Studying for the MCAT was a lot of work.

Graduating from college was just the beginning of his path into medicine.

Gap Years: Applying for Med School

Ben taught science for two years while applying to med school (and waiting for me to graduate).

Photo credit: Eyeshot Photography

We got married in 2014.

In 2015, we traveled to Los Angeles for Ben’s interview with American University of the Caribbean.

Med School in the Caribbean: Learning How to Become a Doctor

Soon, we were on a flight to Sint Maarten for medical school.

Arrival in Sint Maarten. We were as exhausted as we look.

Ben’s white coat ceremony was the first of many reasons to celebrate during med school.

Most of students’ time in med school is spent in class or studying.

Bern studied constantly (we made that shelf out of two trash cans and a board from the dumpster).

We had fun in the Caribbean, too. Here’s Matt and Ben surfing.

We loved living on the island.

Getting into the community to volunteer and make friends was my favorite part.

Hard work paid off! Ben made the dean’s list each semester of medical school in Sint Maarten.

Lab work for a zika virus study was a great opportunity.

Med school honor and service society. Can you spot Ben?

We moved home from Sint Maarten after two years. We gained a dog.

Clinical Rotations in the States: Immersion in Hospital Work

Ben was a third-year med student in Michigan. He did one year there, nine months in Arizona, and three in California.

We spent a lot of time at home in Detroit since we were both in school and I was working from home.

The 4th year of medical school is a student’s 20th year of schooling.

For med school year four, Ben transferred to a hospital in Arizona so we could be near family.

Ben became a daddy during fourth year of medical school.

Residency interviews took Ben all over the country. I went with him to this one in Palm Springs.

Match Day during the last clinical rotation in Bakersfield, CA! Ben matched at his #1 choice of residency. We got to move home to Phoenix.

We went to Florida for med school graduation.

Quite the crowd of family members attended Ben’s med school graduation. He had a huge cheering section!

Residency in Phoenix: First Three Years as a Doctor

Here’s the official Dr. Johnson in his long white coat at work. Ben spent 3 years in his internal medicine residency.

Residency is tough, and not just because of the 28-hour shifts. Working in the ICU during a pandemic was draining.

But he made it. Finally, residency graduation! Oh, happy day!

After 11 years of this journey, we’re celebrating the end of a chapter. Can’t wait to jump into the next one!