In other news, following Reconnect, the place I work canceled classes for two more weeks. No classes while I was away for training, then no classes because there was a one-day holiday (so they celebrated all week) called Mashramani ("to celebrate hard work" I'm told), and then another week to "clean up the gardens." I've started stealing back students. The next week, they wanted to pull all the boys for a meeting. I told the head-honcho-in-charge-of-whatever that he couldn't have them until the break, and then herded all the students back to class. The next day, the principal took them for an extra singing practice. I went down and took them back. Then, during a test, someone came to have them mill about in the background of a documentary. I insisted they wait until the students were finished. Yesterday, I think my class was the only one that actually ran. Now, the administration is complaining that the students haven't learned enough to have their end-of-term exams, and they can't understand why. Go figure.
I had my first up-close-and-personal interaction with a snake! All the power was out in the compound for about a week, and I came home one night with my comically dim flashlight, opened my back door to go out to the bathroom, and a foot-long snake fell, inches from my face, to land at my feet. I had just enough time to think "Oh crap, a snake! Please go away" before it slithered into my house, under my bookcase. Now, back home, I could just catch it and put it back outside where it belongs. (Don't get me wrong, I like snakes, I just like them better when they're not in my house.) Here, that would be a bad idea. I couldn't see the colors on it well enough to identify it, but I'm assured it was almost definitely a rattlesnake. On the slim chance it wasn't, I'm told it would have been a "house labaria" which I've never heard of, and can't find in any ID book, but don't worry, because it's even more venomous than a rattlesnake. Oh goody. Lucky for me, I can't find it under my bookcase anymore. Maybe it left? If not, then the reason you won't hear from me again in my twenties won't be because I turned thirty, it'll be because a tiny snake has been hiding in my house for days, waiting for the most ironic moment.
People who are away from home for a long time start to crave the strangest things. Lately, for me, it's been hula hoops. I CANNOT FIND HULA HOOPS ANYWHERE. You don't even understand what a distressing thing that is. You never appreciate things until they're not around anymore, so, for me, go find a hula hoop and appreciate how fortunate you are.
Steven, the closest PCV to me, has gone back to the States for a visit. He'll be away from Region Nine for a month. I feel a bit like someone just lopped off my arm and said "don't worry, I'll bring it back in a month." Maybe I'm overreacting a little, but there are a lot of days where I'm pretty sure that he's a real Peace Corps Volunteer, and he's just nicely helping me pretend to be one too. Also, my candy stash is dwindling, so maybe it's just a crisis of confidence based on a lack of sleep and sugar-withdrawal.
One fun idea to liven up your day: Try explaining St. Patrick's Day celebrations to someone who has never heard of it. Holy crap are we super weird with our holidays.
On that note, it's party time. Wish me luck!
