People in Africa laugh. And do so with sincerity I have rarely seen. For example, Thursday, I went to the “sports field” or “the only spot where maize in not planted” to witness track practice. Kids ran barefoot in skirts and pants and dress shirts. The hurdles were two sticks in the ground with plastic string between them. Nobody knew how to jump them anyway. Kids held out vines to indicate a finish line. Kids laughed. Adults laughed. The sorta laugh that emerges from the soul. Sheer bliss. It is how it should be at sports event from time to time.
As a kid, I remember having a little jar to collect whatever insects inhabited the yard. I placed dirt and grass in it and poked holes at the top so the critters could breathe. The other day, I had an epiphany. I was inspecting the toilet for large spiders when it occurred to me that using a latrine during the rainy season is a little like taking a dump in an insect jar. The latrine has holes at the top, grass and dirt on the floor and every sort of flying, creepy crawling insect imaginable is housed within. Bugs fall on me. Fly into my face. Crawl across my feet. Sitting on the can is a fantastic place to cultivate patience. I owe any personal growth to the fact I used a pit latrine for two years.
Lusese was hit with a snake frenzy days before my return from Holiday. The highlight of which was the Python discovered in the wash area of a teacher’s hut. The snake was smothering its dinner, which on this day was a small dog. My neighbors walked in on the snake mid-squeeze. It promptly dropped the dog and made a hasty escape. Brave souls took chase and shot the snake in a field. I saw pictures and it goes without saying that anything that can devour a dog is large, impressively large.
I am teaching a Life Skills class. A learner asked me to teach him how to get a girlfriend. This is not my area of expertise. Wish me luck, or perhaps you should wish him luck;)
Warren and Chris arrive in a few days. I should have pictures of our Namibian adventures to share with you soon.
I miss you.
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2 comments:
you crack me up. i love the part about pit latrines being like bug jars. you are a star!
have fun with chris and warren. can't wait to hear stories and see pics! xoxo
At the Boy Scout camp that Bill, Gordon and I went to there was a latrine there that had a spider in the hole and that insect kept getting larger at every visit. I miss the lightning bugs we used to keep in a jar and the june bugs we tied thread to one of the legs and they would fly off. I am getting a package ready for ya. Give Chris and Warren my best on their visit.
Fred
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