8 June 13: Sarah Finds Lots of Scorpions and Millie Leaves Home?

Happy Saturday everybody! I am trying to get back into the habit of writing weekly so here it is! This marks the 29th post I have written. Can you believe that? I have been in Botswana for almost 10 months! Seems like just yesterday I was packing my life into a suitcase and bidding everyone farewell!

I am proud to say that I spent a lot of time this week playing with my kids. The scheduled topic for GrassRootSoccer was gender norms, so I thought it would be nice to have it at my house where there are fewer distractions. On Thursday, my kids showed up at "Maduo's House!!!!!!" and we talked about some sensitive stuff (why do I have to wash the dishes just because I'm a woman? Why do I have to cook for my husband? Why do I have to go to the cattle post just because I'm a boy? etc.) Afterwards, I handed out some of the balls and frisbees from the King's Foundation pack and we played until dark! We did it all over again on Friday with the other half of my kids! I continue to be amazed at how smart they are, and eager to learn. Through GrassRootSoccer I have been able to form relationships with the kids and foster an environment of openness and honesty. Yesterday, one of my best and brightest, Phomolo, asked me about female circumcision (aka female genital mutilation.) He had read about it in his Religious and Moral Education textbook. He was too embarrassed to ask his teacher so he asked me! It makes my life to know that I have become someone that kids feel like they can go to. We have two practices left, a graduation party, and then GRS is over for the year.

These ladies entered a traditional Setswana house competition and  BUILT THIS HOUSE!!!

Traditional Setswana house. Isn't it beautiful?

My garden is growing like crazy!!

I am devastated to report that Millie is still missing. My neighbor suggested that maybe she was attacked by a wild animal at night. Or maybe she is still sitting on eggs. Who knows. Phomolo wants to organize a "chicken search of the village" because "everyday walking home from school, it was so nice to see Millie. She was the most beautiful and nicest chicken in the world." If that doesn't pluck at your heart string...
Yoga at prison this week was a success, yet again! The theme of our class was "karma." I explained to them what karma is and how it works. At the end of class, anybody who wanted to could try a headstand on my mat. We clapped and made a big ol deal about it so that everyone could feel a little special. After yoga, I went to the police station for aerobics. Only one person showed up so I announced that aerobics is cancelled until after winter. My Wednesday afternoons are free now and I am a happy lady.

Complaint Alert!!! I am about to complain about my health problems in Africa, which is really annoying to hear about week after week I know, so you can skip this part and I won't hold it against you. On Tuesday night, I ate some leftover curry with chicken. After that, I started feeling nauseous. The nausea continued (without vomiting) Wednesday, and then Thursday, and then Friday, and now. I have no idea what is the cause. This morning, I couldn't stand the thought of eating anything other than bread (which I don't usually eat) so I marched myself to the general dealer, bought some flour, sugar, and margarine to make some daggon bread. Since then, I've made banana bread and soft pretzels. I'm remembering the time that I ate 2 pounds of beets in less than a day. I couldn't stop myself and all I could think about was eating more beets. Beets, beets, beets. After I ate all of the beets, I felt great and I no longer craved them. I've learned that when you crave something to the point of being distracted from your real life, it means that your body NEEDS you to eat that. So I'm hoping that maybe my body is telling me that rice isn't enough carbohydrates to live. We will see. Maybe it's just TIA (This Is Africa.) Either that or I'm pregnant by immaculate conception/gonna change my name to Mary/gonna be famous.

For the remainder of the weekend, I hope to spend a ridiculous amount of time cross stitching and reading, with a little bit of laundry and gardening thrown in. I'm going to the internet cafe on Monday to fill out the Annual Volunteer Survey and I'm going to update my blog with pictures!!!!!! I realized that I forgot to tell you about an amazing workshop I did at the beginning of May, so look for details of that if you're interested in the May post.

Oh yeah, I found another scorpion in my garden!!!!!!! And one in the bathtub!!! Baby scorpions, but still. One day they will be big scorpions with lethal venom. Aaah! Oh yeah, it's cold here now. It's pleasant by noon, but in the morning...brrr. Do you know what's worse than sitting in a boring meeting at 7:30am? Sitting in a boring meeting at 7:30am AND YOU CAN SEE YOUR BREATH IN THE AIR. Ponder on that one.
Well, I've eaten three soft pretzels and now I think it's time to lay down. Thank you for continuing to read my posts, all 29 of them! Here's to 17 more months and many more updates!