Iron deficiency?

I usually pick pictures according to what I want to write about, but I'm not very inspired in the writing part tonight. I do want to share these pictures though, specks of life in this wide African world. Above is the attempt to capture an odd moment in Damo, a community with a market that sells about 9 tomatos and 3 onions... and nothing more. They have a Frelimo flag flying high and the secretary for the area comes and sits proudly in a bamboo gazebo type thing. Night fell early last week when I was visiting them, and as soon as a fire was made at the catechist's house, the children huddled around and they brought out an 80's style cassette player...except it was even better: it was crank-powered. For hours the children and a few adults took turns winding the cassette player to listen to their one cassette of Bible stories in ciSena. They had a flip book with illustrations.

As previously alluded to, it's winter here, and I'm cold. I laughed heartily at Catercia, who's mother, our maid, dressed her in a snowsuit when I could walk outside in my short sleeved shirt and pull a papaya off a tree. Moms in North Dakota only get snowsuits out when it, well, when it snows.

However, I end up eating that laughter, because every evening I don three sweaters, wool socks, slippers, a scarf, wrap a blanket around me and drink hot tea, dreading the ensuing trips to the toilet when I'll have to remove myself from the blanket. I'm here now, in fact, bundled up, my fingers typing as fast as possible to keep them from freezing. And I probably would put on snowpants if I had some. But, don't judge me a wimp yet-- it's been getting down to 50 degrees F at night...how many of you set your thermostat at 51? I don't have a space heater. Which makes me think about a letter I got from my alma mater, Wolford Public school, asking for funding for an electric furnace--otherwise with fuel prices as they are, they'll have to close down

I was impressed that they went to such great lengths to send a letter all the way to Mozambique and I believe that they are fortunate to have caught me in this state of constant chilliness rather than in the state of constant drippiness from the sweat of summer in Mozambique. My chilled fingers, the ache of cold on my insides, and the search for heat from my gas stove in the mornings acutely reminds me of the heating system of our school. Keeping students from sitting on the heaters was one of the few things that our diligent high school teachers just could not enforce. I guess it was the innate struggle for survival, as we stumbled into school each morning, shedding our outer 3 inches of down. Maintaining the warmth of a drafty old school building in 70 mph winter winds is just not really possible. Maybe the chill in the air kept our minds keen and alert, but I think mostly it made me tense. And since that's how I feel now, and how I will feel until I climb into bed, I feel more than happy to contribute to a better boiler. I will regret that it will mean I'll never hear the clanking of the those silver radiators in the old part of the building. Perfect mitten drying spot.

Well speaking about going bankrupt, I hear that inflation is on the rise in America. Has that got you down?? Well, count your blessings--in Zimbabwe it is now 2.2 million percent. Check out this note: it's not a lie, its not play money from the Stockmarket game. Its worth...

approximately $2
(at least that's what it was two weeks ago, meaning it's now less)