Day 12

July 6
I can't believe it's only day 12. It feels like I've been here forever! I've seen and done so much, it's crazy. I also learned an important life lesson today. If you put trash in your bag, like a food wrapper, make sure you throw it out first thing, or make sure it is deep inside your bag. Otherwise, if you leave food in one of the outside mesh pockets, you might find that a nice family of ants has decided to take residence in that mesh pocket. I only hope that's the only place they found, because there's no way I'd be able to find them all myself if they found their way into other parts of my bag. I quickly removed that wrapper from my bag and my room and stomped on anything that may have moved. I stood there for about 10 minutes, just to make sure they were all dead. I'm pretty sure that I did a good job, but my bag is hanging up outside of my room, just to be sure.

Imagine this guy, times a billion million, and that's about how many ants there were.....

Other than that little adventure, today was a pretty good day. Setswana lessons in the morning, lunch, community service (which was where my bag must have met the acquaintance of those ants). After service, we played the best game of pickup soccer ever. I was goalie for most of the game, and I only let in one goal! I was especially proud because I think we may have played the world's best 10 year-olds. They were definitely giving us a run for our money, but we did win 5-1. Great fun, and many new local friends!

Walking back with our new soccer buddies

I came back for dinner, and I played cards with Rorisang and Refilwe while the younger kids watched on and tried to interfere. We watched Generations before I called it a night, and this brings us back to the discovery of the day: the relocation of an ant hill into my backpack. I am so tired. I think that tonight's time of 9:30pm might set a new record for how late I've stayed up since I've arrived.

Rorisang picking his next move carefully

Tomorrow, we were told that we have a special, weekend surprise. I heard some whispers about Mount Otse (the tallest mountain in Botswana), but we'll see tomorrow! :)