SOUNDS OF BURUNDI

Since I can't play you a tape, let me try to describe some of the myriad of sounds to which we are treated here in Bujumbura.
At night about 11 there's the sound of the fan stopping, indicating that the regular night-time power outage is in effect. After all, who needs fans at night? And since the water was finally on after being off part of yesterday, we should be thankful for what does work. I have come to the conclusion that to expect everything to work is just too high an expectation for Africa and maybe elsewhere too!
While last night was quiet, in some nights we are treated to spectacular thunder and lightning plus torrential downpours. This is the beginning of the rainy season. Seattleites aren't used to thunder and lightning that almost makes you jump through your mosquito net.
By 4:30 or 5 am, there's the Muslim prayer call and sometimes broadcast prayers which follow.
Then, the birds take up the song. By 6 or so the fan comes on again.
Out on our morning walk, there's the cacaphony of street noises. "Bon jour!" or "Hello!" kids say with big smiles. Sometimes we hear "Muzungu!" (white people) being shouted behind us. Not many non-Africans around! This morning we passed a primary school and witnessed uniformed children being drummed into their classes-big African drum, marching students.
While we eat breakfast, we hear the chair scraped on concrete floors as classroom at HAU are readied for the day. Then we hear students singing western praise songs to practice their English. 1500 new students are on campus every day for intensive English classes.
At 11 am I join a prof from Roberts Wesleyan working on developing a choir for a concert a week from Sunday. I help by singing bass and accompanying on "Ave Verum Corpus." Why teach Africans Mozart? They want to learn how to read music. And a little bit of Mozart doesn't hurt anyone. Oh, by the way, at yesterday's choir I enjoyed the great voice of Methuselah, sitting next to me. Other interesting names we've heard: Good Idea and Number 7. Read what you want into that!
In the afternoon, as I am endeavoring to communicate with my Homiletics students in their 3rd or 4th language (English) I hear Mary Ann loosening her class up with "Heads and shoulders, knees and toes!" I am exploring a translation option via internet so that I can allow some students to submit sermon manuscripts in French.
Enough for today on the sounds of Burundi.