It's Africa Hot!

Hello all!

Hope all is well with everyone and everyone is settling back into the groove of school and fall and everything that comes with it.
School has started here again and so I am starting to learn what “the groove” will be here. At least for the next few months. Most days, I do just about nothing, but a few days a week I sprinkle in a trip to the clinic or the schools or some homestead surveys. But most days consist of a morning run and lots of reading. I stocked up on some books last Friday when I went into the office, so at least I have some new material. I also got a nice handful of letters when I went into the office (still no package though : / ) and I hope to send out a few when I go into town this Friday.
I uploaded some pictures to Facebook when I was in the office, I wanted to put a few on here, but the Internet was not being very helpful so they are just on Facebook if you want to check them out. No, the first picture is not a kumbi (DAD) and of course I had to take a picture with the hippos (MOM). : )
The only other new thing that has happened is that last Sunday, yesterday I guess, I went to my first Swazi church service. I have been avoiding these like the plague because, A: These services are EXTREMELY long, 3-4 hours, and when we had the Gospel Service at Oak Knoll that went an hour and a half and I was complaining, I didn’t think I could handle a 4 hour church service, B: I don’t want people to think that I will be there every week and C: It’s all in a language I frankly do not understand. But after 3 months of avoiding it, I gave in, only after I learned it would only be 2 hours. Two hours I figured I could handle. And I did, it wasn’t too bad. There was a lot of singing, very beautiful and, well, loud. They had microphones and I don’t think they were necessary. I was actually pretty impressed with the technology the church had, a very nice computer, six microphones and a nice soundboard and a new looking drum set and keyboard. It was all of course in siSwati so though it was only two hours, I did find it hard to pay attention and was thinking about all sorts of different things. During the Pastor’s sermon I tried to imagine Pastor Paul, or Pastor Michele or even Pastor Floe giving a sermon like he was. But after the yelling, the jumping, and the kicking the air, I almost started laughing and had to stop envisioning any of the three of them in this situation. But unlike most other things I’ve seen here, church started and ended on time and was exactly 2 hours like I was praying it would be. Everyone seemed to be happy to see me there and I received more hugs that I think I’ve gotten since my going away party. Ha ha. But the worst part of it all was the ½ hour walk home in the midday African sun. I thought I was going to pass out on the side of the road, it was AFRICA HOT. Finally. After last week reminded me of Minnesota in November while absolutely FREEZING doing a marathon 18 homestead surveys, I was getting a bit confused as to the weather situation here. But summer seems to be coming, as weird as that is to say, but on the other side of the world, in the other hemisphere, summer is coming. And its gonna be a hot one.
I think that’s all for now. I want to save some battery life for some episodes of How I Met Your Mother tonight. Hope all is well with everyone. Miss you and love you!

Love, Megan