Headlines: Independecnce day mask turns girl into demon!!!! and .... Be thankful for what you've got.

Here's a pic of Maura dancing in her Botswana Independence Day Mask.. Don't worry, it didn't really turn her into a demon, she's fine... But for a brief moment she was speaking in tongues and foaming at the mouth, but that happens every other day...

On a side note, the other part of the title was to remind myself that no matter how rough things seem, others(most of the people we encounter here)

have it worse and still find joy and peace in what they do. Take for example our securty guards Steve and James. Steve is a huge (football star material)Botswana man from Francistown who was once in the army. He now is our security guard and has worked for at least the past 8 days from 6am -6pm probably for a minimal fee. He is working through the weekend as well, and the holiday. The security guards sit in our front outdoor area and that's about it. They sit, read the paper, sit, sit and sit... But every time we see him he greets us with a great smile and a warm hello.

Our other guard James is an older man who works 6pm- 6 am, same as Steve, for the past 8 days at least. We give him tea and a bite to eat every night. He doesn't understand a lick of English, but is always very nice and smiling.

At the resaurant we go to, there's a manager named Chico, who just like most restaurant managers is there every night. He's from Zimbabwe, is always great to our kids, but because of the situation in his country, hasn't seen his 3 children in 7 months.

Things are getting exciting around here.. Most weekends this place is a ghost town, but there are sporadic fireworks and about 10 people on the street. Independence day is going to be rocking. Down at the stadium tomorrow is a big celebration with dancing, singing, a football match, and lots of drunks I'm sure.. We plan to go down for a part of the festivities, hopefully get some images. We'll see. Today, nothing scheduled.