on the run

At IST, I started running again. It was nice to run with people. It reminded me how much I like running and that I actually do miss it. The reason I stopped? Well, I have a bunch of excuses. It is hot. I wake up way too early in the morning to run before school. The shebeens are full at dusk. I'm lazy. . .

But, after talking to Jesse (a fellow peace corps volunteer) at IST and making plans to run the Longtom and Comrades ultra marathons next year have inspired me to start again. I'm pleasantly surprised. I started running at dusk and oddly enough the drunk men don't bother me. Instead, kids run next to me for about 30 seconds then say, "Ke lapile!" (I'm tired!) and stop. Grannies and kids greet me and cheer me on; there's nothing like hearing your name chanted at the end of a run. It's cooled a little (usually around 30 C [88 F] at dusk) and with all the rain the landscape has finally changed from brown and ugly to pretty. The picture below shows a field of flowers on one of the paths I run down. The field alternates between pink and white splotches and smells kinda like lavender. I also run past fields planted with mealies and surprise the men and women still working there. I hope the rains never stop!