Sept 8th

Today, a bird crapped on me. I am told it is good luck but somehow I do not feel very lucky. My host mom prepared spaghetti for dinner and kool-aid to drink. I was excited! I haven’t had kool-aid in at least 10 years. Also for the first time since coming to Africa we got to see clouds. I know it may seem like a little thing but the sun is killer on my pasty whiteness. I enjoy my host family with one minor exception. They’re very conservative and seem to believe highly in gender roles. This is not really a problem because I’m a man and get out of doing housework, but I feel I cannot connect as well with my sister and mother because they don’t eat in the same room as I do. I have been trying to make a special effort to talk to my sister, though she doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Afrikaans, and it seems to be paying off. She now greets me in the morning and I try to help her with chores, though I’m often not allowed to. Anyhow, all is well today.