Thinyoka

I knew this day would come, I was warned time and again and even given specific training on what to do if the worst happened. Thinyoka-Snake. In my room. I was on my bed watching a movie with my friend Peggy on my laptop and I saw it slither in through the pretty much ginormous cracks that are on both sides of my door. I froze and felt paralyzed with fear. My immediate thought was "I am NOT meant for this life". How would I get rid of it??? If it bit me how would I get to the hospital when it's 10 pm and no one in the village has a car. I screamed for Dongo, my closest neighbor, and I think the noise scared it away so it slithered out on its own. When Dongo came over the three of us tried to find it to kill it, and it was sort of thrilling to be on a snake hunt. Now the excitement is gone and I live in fear the second the sun goes down of any weird noise (peeing at night is extra terrifying.) I am sort of being dramatic because I looked up the snake in the snake/scorpion book Peace Corps provided and it says it was not venomous. But still...I made eye contact with a potentially poisonous African snake creeping into the room I sleep in alone and that image won't ever fade. Good news is that snakes eat mice so that may eliminate that problem. I realize that by posting this entry I run the risk of having no one come visit me but...I wanted to share my fear :)

A different snake found later that week. Green Mamba I believe!

It may appear that my biggest troubles are reptiles and rodents, but that is not true. Trying to see life through the eyes of my kids and really trying to get on their level has been hard pretty much everyday. I feel like I am a fellow Mbukushu, I have even been adopted into the 'Lion' family heritage (sooo much better than being in the Hyena lineage) but no one can ignore that I have more. Even if I have nothing I still have more... That sentence makes sense if you think about it....The differences hit me at random times, like when I throw away a few really, really moldy tomatoes (they go bad in 1.5 days in 100 degree weather and no fridge) and I see kids go in after them to eat. Or it hits me when I ask one of my kids where she could go if she could travel anywhere in the world and she replies 'Andara' which is a slightly bigger village 20 km east of here. My upbringing was just so drastically different and I find it overwhelming and even depressing at times how privileged I was... am. This blog entry is sort of all over the place but that is probably the best way to think of my life here right now-emotions alllll over the place.

Some kids doing chores and pounding the maize for their porridge