Lots to say cont. II

And then there was Halloween. The Johnstons decided to have a dress-up “Harvest party.” At first we (the teachers) were very unsure what we would dress as because it isn’t like we have loads of clothes and options here. But after some creative thinking and a short visit to the warehouse, we came up with some ideas. My housemate and teacher friend Candice decided to go as Cinderella-but like half before/half after the ball. I saw a magic wand in the warehouse, so decided to go as her FGM. Since we had such limited options, I had to wear a red dress and red glasses, so I actually was the FGM from Shrek 2. I don’t even remember her, but I guess Cathi (another teacher friend) dressed me up quite well because everyone knew who I was meant to be. I even had a magic dust shaker and gray hair (thanks to baby powder). It was super fun. We had all foods and drinks in black and orange. I made mac and cheese. It was well received. I wish I could post pictures, but I really can’t.
And lastly, yesterday (Wednesday). Well, I had invited a few people over for dinner and Kara had also just told us she was staying with us for a few days because a team from Florida came and the 4 girls were staying in her house. So, Jamie and Corey (guys from Canada) were coming for dinner at 7. At about 2 o’clock we (me, Kara, Cathi, Candice) decided to take an unplanned trip to Piggs Peak. On the way out of Bulembu we were stopped by Megan, who informed us that there was a big meeting about the future of the town and the ministries and EVERYTHING being held at 7 that night. Go figure. Our lives used to be full of bring and shares, now it’s meetings. Every day, meetings. So anyway, I saw Jamie and said we had to do 6, rather than postponing, because the chicken had already thawed. Well, we didn’t get back from Piggs Peak until 5:30 and I put the chicken in the oven…but then the oven/stove soon ran out of gas!!!! Our tank was empty. So Kara and I load up all of this food we have cooking and carry it all over to her house to cook. So the guys came there, but the food still wasn’t ready by 7, so we had to turn it off and go to the meeting, which lasted til 8:30, got home and turned the oven back on and ate at 9. It was madness. I say this only to illustrate life in Bulembu. You just never know what will happen. Any normal day can become a crazy day in the blink of an eye. Unpredictability.