Pepper Spray for Chalk? Maybe I am Cracking.

Yes, it's true. I did it. After the 20th abduction of chalk from my classroom, I decided to be proactive and give the chalk a fighting chance. My chalk will no longer be a victim to senseless eating! I mixed together cayenne pepper, hot curry and paprika spices with a dab of water and soaked my chalk in it. Yes, I made pepper spray for my chalk. No, I'm not crazy ... at least by Peace Corps standards. It makes perfect sense – if you eat chalk you don't like spicy things. How to prevent that? Make it ultra spicy. Sheer brilliance!

I let my learners try the concoction too. I hate to say it, but I enjoyed watching their facial expressions when the flavour “hit” them. Before you start to think less of me, I tried the mixture at least four times myself to prove to them doesn't kill you, and paid for it the following morning. I swear Namibians are somehow Scandinavian in the sense that they'd think ketchup is too spicy for their palette. I sent Waldo a text (the APCD, boss of the teachers in the South) claiming this was my new secondary project. He loved it :-)


I just found out I can get Cities 97 on the Internet! Schoolnet prevents many things but apparently this slipped through their icy fingers of censorship. Hooray!!! A touch of the Twin Cities in Namibia. Can't wait to hear Acoustic Sunrise and Acoustic Sunset on Sunday, that is if they still do it.



From Monday night:

I was in the library watching the Peace Corps episode of Family Guy (they've taken the place of The Simpsons in my heart now), preparing for my classroom observation tomorrow morning – did I mention I had just met with the country director, associate country director and safety/security advisor earlier in the day? It went well but had to do a lot of thinking, something I'm not quite used to anymore. My favorite quote, "Try living like a Peace Corps volunteer." I can't belive those words came out of my mouth, but am glad they did.

After it all, I just wanted to relax. I get a text message, one in a flurry of messages during the day, to go check out NBC radio (Namibian Broadcasting Company) for this “special” program. I rushed home, taking pause to view the moonless night sky (was going to say 'drink in the moonless sky' but it sounded too artsy-fartsy). Billions and billions of stars. Finally getting in my hostel, the program on the radio was an adventure about a cake escaping from axe throwing people, enlisting help from a talking fox along the way. First of all, what kind of cake has arms?!! And why wouldn't the fox want to eat it? Do you see why I'm going a little crazy? Oh wait, the fox just did.


And now for something completely different...


Hooray! I had my first overnight visitors this past weekend – Courtney and Dani. My site isn't exactly the social hub of the Karas Region, but we do have a nice sand dune with its own three meter snakes. They were here to do a girls conference for my school. My principal really wants to get a girls club started and they were willing to spend the extra time to do one just for us!

Aside: It just blows me away ... the more I get to talk to fellow PCV's here, the more amazing I find that each of them are. I have Dani listed as “Amazing Dani” on my cell phone since January when I (and other 25ers) got to talk/spend time with her in M'tal. Without a doubt you can add that prefix to Courtney's name. They just put together the Southern Girls Conference in M'tal (I couldn't attend due to a schedule conflict) just a month ago and took time out of their schedules to do one just for the girls here at St. Therese.

The conference, chatting, chicken quesa's, choc chip pancakes, a near impulse trip to Keets at 9pm Saturday night (having to be back by 9 the next morn). Nice refresher before the second trimester finals begin.

Ah sanity, I feel you flowing back into my body. Hopefully my immune system doesn't fight you off. I truly miss you.