Pretoria

Unfortunately I don't have much to report this week. I went to Pretoria to check out the office and picked up a few books on education (including 101 Kid's Chemistry Experiments) and few fiction books. I ran into a couple of other volunteers there and we spent the weekend feasting on food that I remember from home (I really want a bagel with cream cheese but I couldn't find any), watching movies, and wandering around the largest mall in the Southern hemisphere. We also went out and danced at night and ended up at a predominately Afrikaner club called "Drop Zone." The place always makes me laugh because of the wierd mix of music, Afrikaans folk song leading into gangster rap, and the attempts at dancing by Afrikaner men that look like they've had a few too many steriods. Regardless, I had fun primarily because the other Peace Corps Volunteers are so cool. Without them, Pretoria is a place to buy delicious food and feel very lonely.

In the office, there were a pair of med-evacs: one from Botswana and another from Madagascar. When I say that Peace Corps volunteers are simply happy for no apparent reason in other countries, Madagascar is one of the places I'm speaking of. The volunteer had been at her site for the same amount of time as I have but only had positive things to say and had never contemplated going home. I'm happier, but still jealous.