Oh, Is That What They Call It Now?

Right now I am wearing my green headband. And attached to it is my clip-on reading light...INSTANT HEAD LAMP! Why didn't I think of this before?!?! Now Ilga and Kirsten and Ajay can watch their movie in the dark while I type! Amazing, really. Oh, and on every hour, his computer says what time it is, in this monotonous computer voice. It goes off during the movies we watch, saying "it's ten o'clock" or whatever time it is. It's funny EVERY time!

Ajay was so funny today. He came home and the first thing he asked was "do you guys want vodka and coke today? While we watch Mission Impossible 3?" Of course I declined...Anyway, Kirsten then asked him how his day was, and he said terrific. His boss was out of the office and so he took over, and while he told us how many responsibilities he had, he made spirit finger circles, wiggling his fingers around high and smiling. It was hilarious.
He just put on the movie, and Kirsten asked if he was sure it was at the beginning, and he replied saying, "yes. this is the bigning" and Kirsten didn't understand. He just kept saying, "this is the begning, this is the begning." It's so funny how he says it!

So...the rest of the day...
Today Kirsten and I didn't go to the center. Instead we went on some errands. First I went to the photo printing shop and printed two pictures that I took for Taura. One is of this little three year old girl Candy, with Taura's guitar on her lap, totally taking over her whole body. The second is with Taura watching Candy. They are really beautiful, and I'm excited to give them to Taura tomorrow.

While I was doing that, Kirsten was a few stores over printing her resume and cover letter. After that, we walked to the Goethe Institute so that she could give them everything. She wants an internship teaching German or Geography. While she was talking with them, a woman also from Germany asked me if I was a volunteer here. I said yes, and she asked me to fill out a survey for her thesis. It was all about volunteering and my stay in Namibia- basic stuff. Kirsten filled one out as well. Then we walked down the hill to the Tourist Center to ask about trips to Etosha and other sites up north. Then we walked around the inside of the mall, and stopped at Checkers, another grocery store, and got drinks. It was so hot today! Then we went back to the Goethe Institute so she could meet with the woman who was not there the first time we stopped in. On are way back down the hill, we walked by the vendors, and decided that Monday we will go buy our wooden giraffes and bracelets. Requests, anyone? Then we went to the Pick and Pay, and I got a ton of food. I got tomatoes, chocolate-mint ice cream, the makings for burritos and French bread pizza (thanks for the idea, Dad!), toilette paper, sun screen, and some other essentials. The sun screen was $64 Namibian dollars! (thats only $10 US, but still...). OH and I got the February South African Cosmopolitan magazine. Interesting stuff...Ilga and I always have a laugh over some of the stuff they publish.

We walked back home, and it was a quarter to one. I made the French bread pizza, which was really tasty. I was flipping through Cosmo and I pulled out two ads; one was a hot guy with a tool belt and stethoscope around his neck, and the other, four men standing, with a womans body and a place to put your one picture. At the top it says "be with the men of your dreams this Valentines day". I cut out the place where you paste your own face, and underneath it I put a poloroid of Mark's face, and stuck it on the fridge. I can't wait for him to see it. Kirsten, Ilga, and I left the house at a quarter to two for the center.

Today at the center a woman and some of her students visited. They are going to be interning as social workers starting in September. They seemed to really enjoy being with the kids. Who wouldn't, really?

I spent most of the day playing games with Rosein and Wendy. We played Halli Galli, which is this crazy card game. It's this game where there is a bell in the middle of the table, and everyone gets a stack of cards. Each card has either a plum, banana, strawberry, or pear on it. Some cards have two fruits, some three, some four, some five. Each player puts down a card, going around the table to each person. Whenever there is five of the same fruit on the table, you ring the bell. The person who rings it gets the cards out around the bell. The winner is the last person left with cards. Its a blast, really. Except when the kids take the bell and go crazy ringing it. I also spent some time with Helton and I played a Lucky board game with Meroldi and Edelsien. MB is going to get rid of the dominoes forever soon, so I've been trying to teach them other games. They never seem interested, until I take the games out and start playing, and then bunches of kids swarm around wanting to play.

-side note- Helton is 10 years old. He will be 11 in July. He is adorable. Absolutely adorable. There should be a picture of him in the dictionary next to the word cute. I will marry him.

Helton and I went to the playground, and while we were sitting talking we saw a group of maybe 15 kids sitting on the alley next to the center, talking about something. I asked him what they were talking about, and he told me that they had built a house by the soccer field out of scraps of metal and wood. I asked why, and he said he didn't really know. When the kids were done talking, I grabbed Sha, who was one of the girls in the group, and asked what they were talking about. She said they were talking about stories. I asked what kind of stories, and she said about some girls and boys. Ilga came over, and this is how the conversatin went:

Me: What kind of stories, Sha?
Sha: about some boys and girls.
Me: who?
Sha: like her (pointing to Jessica). And him (pointing to a boy, maybe 12 years old), and some others.
Me: did you guys build a house at the soccer field?
Sha: yes.
Me: for what? what do you guys do in there?
Sha: I don't know.
Me: Yes you do Sha.
Sha: we are going there later.
Me: to do what?
Sha: the girls make rice for the boys.
Ilga (to me): Oh, is that what they call it now?
Me, laughing: make rice? what about dessert?
Sha: yes, dessert too.


OH MY GOD. I almost peed my pants. It was so funny. MB told me later that she thinks that they really are just playing house, making forts and pretending to cook. Helton helped MB clean up the library at the end of the day, and he asked her if she was going to tear the "house" down. MB said to Helton, "Helton, are they doing okay things, or naughty things?" and Helton said "well, sometimes they are doing okay things, Mary". I'm a little suspicious, but MB seems fine with it.

Ilga and Kirsten want me to pitch in on the rent, so that they don't have to pay as much. So next month I will have to pay $500 Namibia, which is fine with me (like I have a choice, I wasn't going to say no...). We may not get to go to Etosha because it will cost probably $5,000 per person, and Ilga and Kirsten definitely don't have that money to spend. Oh well. But I think Swakopmund is still maybe on the agenda. Who knows what will happen, though.

I just had a long conversation with MB about her ex Bill. In my opinion, boys named Bill are bad news...towards the end at least...I hate boys.


xoxo
I miss everyone! Don't be having too much fun without me! (like that would even be possible...)