This Week

Yesterday's post makes my life sound terribly boring, so I thought today I'd list all the little things that are going on this week that spice things up a bit.

On Monday my backyard hosted a donkey slaughtering. Donkeys are primarily used here attached to carts to fetch water, but when they grow old and infirm they're eaten. The donkey was killed and the meat cooked in a big iron pot over the outdoor cooking fire. Because donkeys are considered communal property (they roam free and you round one up when you need one) a whole crowd of people came over to get their fair share. It was kind of distressing. I think donkeys are cute. I passed on eating this one.

Tomorrow is a field trip up to some caves in Heuningvlei in celebration of National Science Week. I'll have more on that later. I'm excited. I've been to Heuningvlei before, but in the summer when it's just too hot to walk anywhere.

Today was the last day of negotiations between the government and the teaching unions. A strike, if it happens, will begin this Friday. We should know by the end of school tomorrow what's going on.

This weekend is another Kuruman shindig/fiesta, this time in honor of our first year of service. We will eat, drink, make merry and shower. I'm excited about the shower, the food is a close second. I had instant soup for dinner. I look forward to chewing something with substance.

Judging from my blog, Peace Corps is all parties! It's tough out here in the Kalahari, but we manage.

In other news, I've just finished another round of antibiotics and other pills. It was exhausting, but the good news is that with all the pill-swallowing practice I can now swallow my elephant-sized multivitamins no problem!

One more thing: I forgot to post about last weekend! So here goes...

It had been months since I last saw my dearest PCV friend. Months! She doesn't live far from Kuruman and spends most weekends in town. It was quite ridiculous that we went so long without seeing each other. We decided to meet for dinner on Saturday night. I arrived in town in the morning. With nothing to do for most of the day, I wound up at the usual PCV hangout where a couple of PCVs were chatting with some locals. The conversation turned to horses and before we knew it, we were all given a lift to the local Rugby Club. The Rugby Club was also home to stable housing three horses belonging to our hosts. We saddled up and went riding. It was a complete and total disaster. I was in a dress and ballet flats, so I was hanging onto the horse with one hand and trying to keep my skirt down with the other. J's mount had a spasm and he was tossed to the ground. N proved to be a decent rider, but his horse kept heading home (back to his stall). Horse whisperers we are not. Dinner was great though (and J is uninjured).

The Rugby Club in general was a bit surreal. The atmosphere is so European, and yet the acacia trees and black groundspeople remind you that you are, in fact, in Africa. It felt very colonial. Interesting, but also uncomfortable.