Mixed Message.....

Ok, I've got several tidbits of information to share, thus the "mixed" message:

1. Happy belated birthday Thabi (aka Charlene)! I just want to give a big shout out to Thabi on turning the big 2-5! A few of her random, LifeLine, and Jesus Dancing (even though she's Jewish) friends got together this past weekend to celebrate this special day! Thabi was treated to a trip to Spur for food and fun! Per the tradition of Spur, the birthday girl (or boy) has to wear a Spur crown while standing on their seat, and the wait staff embarasses them by singing a crazy happy birthday song. Happy birthday was sung in Afrikaans, English, Tswana, and Spur! Happy birthday again!

2. This is an appeal to the South African postal service. My mother sent me a package with
many of my requested goodies inside around the beginning of December 2006. Packages
generally take two to three weeks to reach my South African city. Well, it's now 2007 and I
feel like either Tom Hanks or Meg Ryan in Sleepless in Seatle, desperately hoping to be
united with the one I love (aka my package sent from home). I can't focus at work. I've
shyed away from friends and strangers. I can't sleep. I've lost my appetite. All of this is
due to the fact that my packages is somewhere in the world, lost.........forever? If you know
the whereabouts of my package....please connect it with its rightful owner!

3. On Friday, I was walking down the main street in my city, minding my own business,
when all of a sudden, some nasty old man decided that it was ok for him to pinch my arm
and wink at me. Yuck! Yesterday, again, I was walking down the same busy street, when
a strange man thought that it was cool for him to grab my hand and lick his lips. Double,
tripple, quadruple Yuck! If you haven't figured it out yet, it is NEVER ok to touch a
stranger (particularly me) unless said stranger (me) expressly gives you permission to do
so.

4. It's really hot in my city! I've never sweat so much! Ok, that's a lie. I've never sweat so
much when I'm not participating in an activity that really calls for sweat, ie. horse
back riding, softball or other sports-related activity, cutting the grass, etc. I've never
really appreciated a cold bath, or a lunch break bath as I do now!

5. "In town", there is an electronics store that doubles (or triples) as a beauty shop and
snack shop. I want to take a picture, just so that when I tell this story again, I'll have
hardcore evidence. I think my friend has a connection with the lady who works there.
Maybe she'll let me take a picture, and if not, I'll be forced to do it undercover.

Cultural Faux Pas

Yesterday, while visiting the home of a friend, I noticed that the women and children in the family where all gathered around the back of the house, looking under the eve of the roof. Very soon I noticed what was the object of everyone's attention: a small bat about the length of my index finger. It was a cute little bat, hanging upside down as cute little bats tend to do. My curiosity was the subject of both discussion and entertainment. My friend's younger cousin explained that I should not get too excited by the bat's presence, because just before I noticed the bat, they were about to kill it (by means of beating it to death with a long metal pole, and if that didn't work, by spraying it with hair spray and lighting it on fire). I was a bit mortified! I placed myself between them and the bat, doing my best to recall all of those interesting little factoids I'd picked up during my days as a volunteer (Jr. Zoo Crew member) at the Atlanta Zoo and on the Nature Chanel.

• Bats are generally harmless
• Bats help to control the insect population (which is a plus for me, because I don't have an appreciation for insects)
• Just one bat can catch hundreds of insects in an hour
• They aid in the pollination of some of our favorite fruits and veggies: figs, dates, peaches, mangos, bananas, etc.

I knew that I started running out of reasons to spare the poor bats life when I finally said, "but he's so cute!" Finally, I offered an alternative: What if I tried to shoo the bat away with a stick? My friend's aunt shook her head (as if to say, "you silly little American"), but she allowed me to give it the old college try. Well, I think that I made the situation worse when the bad crept even farther under the roof until it was out of sight. A look of terror came across everyone's face. I was quickly told that the bat was intentionally sent to their house by someone in the community to do harm to the family. It would sleep all day, and in the evening, it would wake up and do it's dirty work. I was told that bats rarely ever go anywhere alone, and because this one was alone, that was a sign that it was no ordinary bat.

My friend's mother and aunt tried poking the bat out of it's hiding place. Finally, the hole was plugged up with wet sponges in hopes that it would suffocate.

I was torn. Part of me rationally knew that this bat was simply minding its own business by catching up on some sleep. The other side to the story is that my friend and his family really believe that they would suffer as a result of this bat's presence. It's not like me saying...step on a crack, break your mother's back...or don't break a mirror or you'll have seven years of bad luck.

Feeling kinda bad, I asked my friend if my actions were going to harm his family. He said that his family just thought I was funny because I didn't understand. I asked about the consequences if I did understand. He said, "that would be bad, very bad!" In this particular situation, I was happy to be an uninformed American.

Life's a beach...in Durban!

Dancin' in the streets like it's 1999 in 2007!

Braai meat, fireworks, and friends on New Years

Qhawe (Marissa and Charles' son)

Sistas 4 Life (Marissa)

LaQuita, Jade, and Guess Who at the beach (if you couldn't tell)

LaQuita, Charlene, n' Me

During the festive season (South African for the Christmas break), a few of my Peace Corps friends and I headed down to Durban to visit my friends/family. It was rather surreal, I must admit, to have someone other than myself make the long (but not as long as the 18 hour flight it takes to get to South Africa) trek down to "South Africa's playground". Instead of taking a plane (as I ususally did), our charriot (aka Greyhound bus) shuttled us through exotic locations such as Pretoria and Jozi. What was extimated as a 9 hour trip turned into something like 12 hours, thanks to a delay in Jo'burg.

As we approached Durban, my friend Marissa and I were coordinating our meet-up spot. I knew that we were all in for an exciting reunion by the high-pitched squeal in her voice. I asked, "Are we about to make a scene in the bus rank." She responded, "Oh, hell yes...!" When we arrived, Charlene asked me if every other person was my friend. I kept reassuring her that there would be no question of who was who when Marissa, Charles and Qhawe arrived. I think I heard Marissa before I saw her!

Spending time with my friends from Durbs reminded me of how familiar and close we are with each other. It had been two years since my last trip, and meeting up two years later felt like I just saw them earlier that day. Knowing my friends the way I do, my Peace Corps friends would surely experience that same feeling, as if we've all known each other forever. By the end of the trip, I know this prediction came true...plans have been made for future visits...without me!

New Years Eve was spent in Lively Rustenburg...All I have to say is that prayer, braai meat, dancing in the street, 6-to-6's, fireworks, and alcohol have to potential to be either really exciting (as it was in my case), or explosive (like when drunk people who've prayed, eatten, stayed up for nights on end without sleep, and listen to the hottest songs in South Africa, play with fireworks and send people ducking and diving to avoid getting hit, and ending up being a story on the 7 o'clock news!)- true story!