Weekend

Well, just thought I'd give a quick update on what I did this weekend.
We got back from the workshop on Friday night exhausted, starving and in desperate need of showers. All that was taken care of, and I think we all went to sleep by 9:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Suzanna and I decided that three days of sitting had gotten the best of us, so we went out into the cloudy, drizzly morning and walked. We crossed the border into SA (I finally got my TRP - temporary residence permit - which all visitors to SA need. It's what we never got last time we went to SA and why we were stopped at the border on our way back from Sani Pass and given all kinds of problems). Anyway, the border was quick, and then we just walked. We turned down a gravel road, and headed way out past farms, cows, barking dogs, and more farms. It was great. We hardly saw any people or heard any traffic. It was intermittently raining on our way out, and then once we picked a turnaround spot, it began the downpour, which lasted for about an hour. Our pants were soaked! I had to roll the top of pants over so they wouldn't completely drag through the mud. Fortunately, I brought my rain jacket and rain pants with me to Lesotho (though I didn't get the pants on in time on our walk).

Our mission on the way back was to buy a roasted maize. I'm totally obsessed with it. You just buy it on the street, usually for 4 rand (about $.50 with the weak Rand right now), and it's such a good snack. The whole way back Suzanna and I were talking about whether or not the corn sellers were going to be out or if the rain would deter them. As we approached the border back, we started to see smoke, and we both got really excited. The corn was there!

After about an hour of down time at home, Sarah and I headed out to a braai (bbq) at an ex-pat's house very near to ours. It was really fun, there were only about 10 foreigners there, the rest Basotho. There was a dj, lots of braai meat, an incredibly well stocked bar (who knew you could get Malibu in Maseru?) and really fun people. By 9:15 p.m., though, I was pretty wiped out, so I went home.

Sunday was pretty laid back. Got up, kicked some butt at the gym, then came home to work for a while in the afternoon before meeting with Bill in the evening. We were preparing for the meeting we have this afternoon and Wednesday afternoon with members of the MOHSW and others. It's going to be pretty interesting, I think.

So, the weather is getting pretty "cold" here. It went down into the 50s last night, and it's only peaking out in the 70s during the day. The Basotho are already wearing winter jackets and hats (though to be fair, people here wear hats all year long). June and July are going to be tough months. I think I'll need to invest in another comforter!

Happy St. Patty's Day!