lazy days

I have officially been on vacation since December 1st. this is nuts.

our trip so far has gone off without too much trouble. we did navigate lesotho roads in a super small car. messed up the muffler and got a flat, but overall we did alright. at one point we had to get out and build a road. for serious. so we could pass. we got together an army of small boys and piled up rocks in a creek. when it rains up in those mountains, the roads are destroyed. and they aren't much to begin with.

lesotho was beautiful but we were pretty astonishingly unprepared for that part of the trip. first off, i bring my damn bug hut instead of a real tent. this is how used to living in the desert i am. i never even considered the possibility of rain. bug hut? not a tent. i'm a moron. plus, it was incredibly cold and we were supposed to camp. ended up grabbing some dorm beds so we wouldn't freeze to death.

sani pass is pretty incredible. let me see if i can post a picture: so, there it is. up there. when we first arrived we were in a cloud so we had no idea how gorgeous it was, but the next day it cleared up and it was a bit shocking. if you go down the pass on the south african side (it's right on the border between lesotho and south africa) you have to have a huge truck with 4 x 4 because the road is insane. gaps in the road that are a meter across, driving through rivers after rain, etc. one of the peaks near sani top is the second highest mountain in africa.

so now we're just in south africa. at the beach. these backpackers we've been staying in are super chill and a ton of fun. but in a few days we'll be in cape town to ring in the new year, and i can't complain about that.

i honestly have nothing to say. i'm pretty boring.

merry xmas.

xoxo.

this post is full of medical advice

peanut butter m&ms cure tonsillitis. but they must come to you in a glorious package lovingly put together by your mother in america and shipped to namibia. i'm not making this up.

it's tuesday, and i'm on the internet at telecom. this is possible because i have this wonderful new class schedule where i actually get BREAKS. i mean, i was done today by 9:00. not joking. now, not every day is like that, but i'm going to take what i get.

things are going well. i'm still in love with learners. so in love with them, in fact, that i voluntarily gave up an hour of my time each night to sit with them during study. because i MISS THEM. i sit outside and watch my clock and wait for them to be done. i mean, i know this will not last, but i am going to enjoy it while it does. i figured it will be a good time for me to help them with things outside of class. and force them to do their homework.

i do have tonsillitis, but i basically feel fine. and i got to go to the cool doctor from cape town. i don't know why anyone would move from cape town to bethanie but....to each his own.

i am feeling a bit like you all are slacking off on your e-mail updates. i need to know about life in the land of way way way way way too much! tell me about all of the choices you have! options! food coming out of your ears! sometimes i dream of food. last night i had weird dreams. kimmie and ben were in them and then theresa and i were doing the peace corps together and i think i ended up in luderitz. weird.

i thought i had things to say, but maybe not. i heart bethanie, even though i'm sweating like crazy right now. can you please write to me? i love it when you do. <3 <3 <3

hello world !

coming at you from the big city. someone scolded me last night for never updating this thing. i'm sorry friends. i live in NAMIBIA. bah, i know i've spoiled you with all the letters/e-mails/occasional phone calls for the lucky ones/facebook updates but it's not as exciting to keep sending stuff out and not really getting it back. i mean, you all are NOT good at long distance friendships. if any of you ever approach me for some advice on whether or not to enter into a long distance relationship, i think you know what my answer is going to be. NO. because you suck. well, i USED to be able to get online on my computer and update my blog, but it's acting up and SO you'll just have to settle for e-mails and facebook nonsense unless i'm outside of bethanie (like now). i want to upload some pictures but the computer is being a bit silly.

i'm here for a vsn meeting for the next couple of days, and i'll go back to bethanie on saturday. i'm already missing that place when i'm away, but i am a bit overwhelmed with the schoolwork aspect of everything. it's just super hard to know how to get started. because i don't want to screw it up!

speaking of screwing things up: i've fallen madly in love with a group of about 6 grade 5-7 boys at the hostel and i have already broken one of the rules i set up for myself to maintain sanity. aka letting them into my apartment. before i got to site i was thinking about how i should probably keep my flat off limits so i have my own space etc. WELL, then i arrive and they are so great and the learners are really my only friends and sometimes you just want people around ! so now we just hang out and listen to music and they read books and act adorable and tell me funny stories. it's great now but maybe won't be so great in a couple of months. i'll let you know.

alright, i'm going to make this picture thing happen no matter what.

things are going well so far i'd say. i have a lot of behavioral issues with my learners, but i'm hoping that once things really get going everything will settle down. it's funny how the kids drive me to the edge during the school day, but as soon as i get back to my flat i'm like, "man i want to hang out with the kids!"

so, i'll be back at site on saturday, and then school will go on for the next almost three months and be over near the end of april. and THEN it's windhoek for peace corps stuff and then CAPE TOWN with the lovely and talented meghan kathleen deere. kind of can't wait.

i have nothing excited to say!! i'm so sorry. so, i hope you'll enjoy these few pictures. the namibian sunset is self-explanatory. gorgeous. right outside my flat. i've come to realize that if i just walk outside around sunset each day, no matter what kind of day i've had, i realize that i can handle whatever comes my way. when you have something like that to look at EVERY night, things seem a bit...lighter. right? anyways, the other pictures are of my favorites.

i'll leave you with this: the day before i came to windhoek, my favorites came over and said "but miss. we don't want you to leave!" !!!!?!?!? I. LOVE. THEM.

love you all too i think about you ALL the time xxoxoxoxo