3/14/2010

Soooooo last night I felt a pinch in my back. I bolted upright, because I was convinced it was a scorpion. I felt it crawl over my hand, and just stay there. Hannah screamed at the boys to get up, and Benjy leaped out of bed, almost fell over, and turned on the light. I look at my hand to see a praying mantis that extended from my finger tip to my wrist. Thank god it wasn’t a scorpion, but holy God was I scared for a second. I didn’t sleep very well the rest of the night, as right before we had gone to sleep, Benjy had so comfortingly said that scorpions like to crawl underneath you because its warm and sting you afterwards. Thanks Benj.
Today was our last day in the village  After breakfast and washing, we went to visit the chief of the village. He was a very smart man, and very nice. We came back and waited to be picked up. While we were waiting, we watched the women re-dung the floors. It’s a very interesting process; they make designs in the dung while smearing it, so when it dries it looks unique. They do this about once a week or so, and it’s a long process. Around 10, everyone got there to pick us up, and we said our good-byes. Mpo gave each of us a broom that she had made, and I now have to find a way to get that home intact. We went to the store quickly, and then drove on to our next destination.
We are staying for the next few days at the camp site that Tshulu trust owns. It’s a beautiful area, and I’m very excited to be here. We are living in tents (6 to a tent), and there is a main area to eat at and have lecture if needed. We went down to the river to swim for a bit before lunch, and then came back. We had a meeting to de-brief about the homestays that lasted about 3 hours, and then we had the night to ourselves. We can’t do much electronic work here, as the only power is through a generator, and it uses petrol to run. So, instead of working, we all went down to hang out at some rapids up the river. It is beautiful here, have I mentioned that? We came back, had dinner, and then I just relaxed for the rest of the night, as I was still exhausted from the homestay. Movie for me!