Random

So what to write about today…it’s a Saturday morning and I have no responsibilities or any errands that have to get done today. It is finally sunny too…the last couple of days its been raining very hard so its nice to be able to feel the warmth on my face again. Where I stay, that is live, in Mbabane, we do not really need the rain but it’s the other areas of the country to the south and east that need the rain. In Africa or at least Southern Africa the rainy season is in our summer months of Mid November to Mid February. Depending on what part of Southern Africa the rainy season may be much longer or much shorter. During the winter months down here a lot of places get no rain or very little rain. There is a song on the radio down here that’s popular right now. It goes, “Your kiss is like the summer rains”. I was talking to a lady from Zimbabwae and we were comparing what we associated with Christmas. I was saying how cold weather, snow and hot chocolate reminded me of Christmas whereas she associates Braiing (like barbequing but much more rustic approach) and warm thunderstorms with Christmas time. It’s interesting how different people’s experiences can be and how much we are shaped by those experiences.

Well just rambling about things today I guess…let see…what other random thoughts or explanations do I have. I kind of want to avoid the heavy stuff in this update because life is not always heavy over here. So, we were over in Mozambique the other day and Ben and I were sitting in a meeting with some of the community. Side note* the preferred place for a meeting is under a big tree and the women usually sit on mats while the men sit in chairs. Ok, back to the story so we’re sitting there and we’re talking to this committee that the community made. People keep coming up and sitting around the meeting trying to listen in on what is going on. Over on one side of the circle are the Mamas sitting on their mats. These Mamas decide to start breastfeeding during the meeting…and they have no shame…in fact it was almost like musical boobs at one point. In Africa you kind of get used to seeing women out in the open breastfeeding but this was such a concentration it was funny. We’re answering some questions and then all of a sudden a group of 6 old men with one young guy walk/march up to the meeting. Everyone got deathly quiet and we are sitting there wondering what was going on. It turns out no one had invited the chief of the area. It was straight out of a movie just how his presence changed everyone’s demeanor and how the meeting was run. Our Mozambiquean guy Mashalela now had to stand each time he talked and there was this whole formal atmosphere going on. Well we got things sorted out with the chief eventually but the funny thing was the chief and his men sat right in front of the Mamas. So on one hand you’re trying to look over there with respect but the every now and then you see behind the chief and see more of the musical boobs going on behind him. Definitely an Africa experience…interesting.