killing time in the peace corps

it has pretty much been forever since i updated you all on my life. let me make a list of things that i have done/have happened to elaborate on.

1. freshly ground concert in durban
2. world cup tickets
3. threw my back out for the 3 time
4. turned 24
5. mamello had her baby at the office

ok well that is all i can think of, so lets begin...

some time back (it has been too long now for me to remember) i attended a freshly ground concert at the durban botanical gardens. freshly ground is a south african band that plays afropop music and i love them. i first fell in love with them when i was in cape town in 2006 and this is the second time i have seen them in concert since i have been back down here. the concert was amazing and i proudly stood in the front row with 12 year olds, singing and dancing along. the concert was in the afternoon in the gardens, and everyone brought picnic lunches and wine. it was a good moment in my sa life. one day, i will post the sweet pictures i took... one day.

next- i found out a few weeks back that i got tickets to the 2010 world cup. i currently have tickets to 4 games: two with american/norwegian friends and 2 that i will be attending on my own. all of the games are in johannesburg because i have a coworker who lives there and will let me crash at her place for free. two of the games are in soweto, which for any of you that know anything about sa means something. even though it is still pretty far away, i am excited and mystified. this is like the time i went to the world series right before i left america. i am sure it will be an experience that i will never forget- a once in a lifetime thing. and i don't even like soccer that much! i will also be attending the confederations cup this june, where i have tickets to see brazil v usa and brazil v italy, both in pretoria. i am pretty excited about that as well.

in exciting health news, the disc in my back slipped out again and i spent a week in bed, hardly able to walk. i woke up one monday morning feeling fine, and then all of a sudden, my back was in horrible pain. i instantly laid down on my bed and called a coworker crying. she came out and we tried to get me out of bed, but it was impossible. the pain was so bad that i could not sit up and push myself out of bed. even after lots of pain meds, i was stuck. i had to pee in a bucket lying down cause i couldn't move. finally, a physio drove out to see me and after a bit of me protesting, they were able to yank me from my bed, screaming the whole way. once on my feet, they had to hold me up because my legs were shaking so badly. i was instantly covered in sweat and felt like i was going to be sick. they helped walk me to the car, and the world around me went gray. once in town, i had the doctor come out to the car and give me some shots in the back. i also picked up some different types of pain meds. then my coworker (and great friend) let me stay at her place in town, with running water and normalcy. it was the worst pain i had ever felt in my life, and the feeling that i couldn't walk or sit was horrible. staying in bed for a whole week was horrible too. but since then i have gotten a new mattress and a board for my bed, and that has helped with the healing process. unfortunately, i am at risk of having this happen for the rest of my life. yay!

a couple weeks back, i turned 24. i can honestly say it was one of the worst birthdays of my life. we had a peace corps training all day, which was, as usual, pretty boring. i was away from my site and most of my good friends, and i couldn't celebrate with anyone because there was nobody for me to celebrate with and no where for me to do it. i ate dinner, had to get some hep a shots, then went to bed early. my dad even forgot to call, and i had to remind him of what day it was. overall, it was miserable and i can honestly say i hope i never have a repeat birthday like that one. and now i am 24, which isn't old but isn't young young and there are lots of things that i haven't done that i feel like i should have by this point in my life... like say, fall in love with someone, even if it doesn't work out. but seeing as how my life is on hold until peace corps ends, i pretty much will just keep on keeping on as i have been.

finally, and perhaps the most exciting news of this long rant of a post, my coworker and very good friend mamello gave birth a few weeks back to her second son in her car at the office. now of course i miss it cause i am always late to the office, but other coworkers were there to help her deliver in her backseat. the doctor was out of the office and while contemplating the next move, the baby decided he had had enough. he was born healthy and happy, although he had 6 fingers on each hand (they tied the sixth one so it died and fell off). his name is cebo or bheki jr and he is adorable. i got to see him and hold him when he was one day old, and seeing as how that is the first baby i have ever held ever, it was pretty special. and in addition to her giving birth, she also left me in charge of the agriculture department at the office while she is on maternity leave. so now i am acting manager and trying to keep things afloat while she is on vaca for 3 months. it has been interesting so far...


well friends, that is about the extent of the excitement in my life. basically, i work and work and work and sometimes do fun things on the weekends. in august i am going home for a bit, so that is the next big thing i have to look forward to. that, and i only have 10 months left of service. looks like i just might be able to do this whole peace corps thing after all.