Salajwe

So I've been at my site for week and have been keeping moderately busy.  That will change now that school is out until January, so I have nowhere specific to go on weekdays, and all of the teachers are gone for the break.  I've met a lot of the teachers, brainstormed a little bit with my counterpart and another teacher interested in running clubs, gone by the clinic twice, met the village chief, and seen the primary school. Now I need to get to know people in the village over the next month outside of my school- the 3 small shops, the clinic, random people at the hitching post.

My school has a lot of opportunity and a lot of problems.  Academically, it's the worst in the country.  I think more than 90% of the kids are failing.  This is due to a lot of factors, including lack of motivation and language barriers.  So far I've only interacted with teachers, but I hope to get to know the students well once term begins again in January.

It's hot here, but I have a fan when the electricity is on (70% of the time?).  I also have a bed, a couch, a huge table and 2 chairs, and.... a fridge!  Woo!  I also have a stove but no gas tank yet, so I'm using a hotplate.  I've got a house that has 4 rooms, none of which connect, so they all open to the porch.  I'll have to post a picture for it to make sense.

I've rigged a clothesline with Roses' help out of wire and ribbon, mcgivered my bednet up with ribbon, a pocketknife, and more help from Rose, and broken and fixed a door.  We've had rain, a fierce lightning storm (that sadly killed someone in my village), and a duststorm that sandblasted me before I managed to get inside off my porch.

I celebrated Thanksgiving with Rose, consisting of beef, a beer, pea salad, squash, and mashed potatoes... and watching Mary Poppins.  Then I walked home and almost ran into a cow (this was due to darkness and me still learning the way between our houses, not the 1 beer.  I'm a lightweight, but not -that- much of a lightweight).  Also I got to talk to my mom, aunt and uncle in the states, which was awesome.

I can now officially start listening to Christmas music as I try to play with kids, talk to people, and chase goats off my porch.  Hopefully I'll have more reliable internet in about 2 weeks, but for now, I'm hanging out in the Kalahari - practicing my Setswana, reading, star-gazing, and trying to figure out what I can do with and for the people of Salajwe.