On the bus from our Teacher Retreat back home, Mpho and I bet whether or not we'd stop in Vryburg so the teachers could do more shopping. I said we would. In fact, we only stopped at the filling station (gas station) and only 2 teachers went in to buy pop. Back over the bumpy dirt roads towards my village.
We'd just turned into Pan and were slowly starting to make our way to the school when we stopped in a mud hole. I assumed we'd gotten stuck, then the engine died. We'd run out of diesel fuel. The driver called someone and told us it'd be 20 minutes for his boss to bring fuel. Yeah, right, it was at least a 40 minute drive to the nearest filling station. So Mpho and I decided to walk to my house and I called my mom to make sure he could spend the night.
Most teachers have started walking, a few in front of us get into someones car, but we set out across the village. It's a huge village, really spread out, and I'm not really familiar with this side. We follow one teacher, and Mpho is very kind to carry her bag to her house. He laughed at me when I tried to subtlety make sure I was on the right road to my house. We passed a soccer field where we saw several learners from school, and only stopped to talk for a minute or two. We kept walking and made it home after about 40 minutes. I may have missed a short cut, but we didn't get lost and I was pretty proud of myself.
No one was home, so we cooked dinner. I was a little embarrassed that I didn't have bread, I hadn't been making sandwiches for lunch since I haven't been going to school. We ate some of my Christmas presents from my mom, biscuits and gravy. :)
Mom came home and we visited a while. Mpho impressed her by killing lots of flies just by clapping over them. We left her to fix her own dinner and we watched several episodes of 30 Rock before bed.
The next morning, Sunday, I woke up early and did lots in my room to get organized and ready for a new school year. I'm mentally preparing myself for long stressful days, miscommunications and stubbornness. Mpho and I talked about our schools, gave each other ideas about teaching specific subjects and relating to teachers and learners. Late in the morning I walked him to my village's official catch-a-ride spot (I knew exactly where we were going) and we waited for a passing taxi or bakkie. Most people were at church, we could hear singing from all around us, from the multitude of churches in the Pan. A woman walked by and talked to us for 10 or 15 minutes in Setswana, even after we'd made it clear we didn't understand much of what she was saying. She started and ended the conversation with a request for 5 Rand from us. I said I didn't have any money and he just straight-American-talk said "No." She looked at us funny but finally moved away.
We waited maybe 30 minutes for a bakkie that had space for Mpho, but he got to be the only passenger in the front seat as they left my village. Back at the house, mom went to church, and since the boys are all visiting family in Delarey, I had the place to myself. I took a nap and watched some more 30 Rock. Yep, I'm prepared for this new school year.
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