softball update, black mamba in a pool

First things first... Good friends of ours found a black mamba in their pool. Not much else to say.. We go out to their house at least once every 2 weeks to swim in that same pool.. I hate snakes, and I really hate the dealiest snake in the world..

We lost our match yesterday and the second game was rained out.. A few mental errors, baserunning mistakes and some nice defense by the other team did us in..
My dad would laugh at this brand of softball.. the main problem I'm having is the kids don't understand that they need to stop at the bases and not run through them.. In cricket, which is what most of them play, you run through the base when you beat the throw. there have been at least a half dozen times when they'll steal third... but run 15 steps past it.. the other problem is that the gloves are actually a hindrance... They are used to catching with their bare hands.. yesterday, Jacob made a play and threw to the first baseman.. He stretched took his glove off and caught it with his bare hand.. It was a web gem without a doubt... but they can't catch a pop up to save their life.. And when they do.. it's like we just won the World Series..

Jacob and I leave tomorrow morning for Palapye and the Southern Schools/Northern Schools showdown.. I love the drive from here to anywhere outside the city. .You really leave a place that feels a little like home and head out to the middle of nothing.. We'll be back Saturday night. I'll update the blog on Sunday...
Everything is going well here, we just miss Michelle. She heads back on Friday. Jude came home from school because he is running a temperature.. He doesn''t look well, but now he is beating up Franny, so he isn't completely gone..

I've posted a few more photos from yesterday. As I post them, I wonder if people are tired of seeing them.. i really love taking them and have loved the opportunity to get out and meet people and get a glimpse of what life is like here.. I know a few photos of the kids would be a nice change of pace, so in the next few posts I'll put some up.. The photos.... A man drinking Chibuku( the sourghum beer here).. It's in a carton served warm and has the consistency of wheat paste... "barkeep! anouther round Pleassseee!!!!" It's an acquired taste and the locals have done a very good job of acquiring a taste for it..they've worked really hard at making sure they like the stuff.. 50 cents will buy you a carton.. I usually end up buying a round of chibuku when I head out to these places.. Another note of interest is the girls in the religious outfits.. I don't know what religion this is, but it is very popular.
The girls put them on after they told me they wanted their photos taken.

Here's a video of some of my drive out to Odi and Mmankgodi.. As stated before .. I love the drives to these places.. Always waves, thumbs up and smiles... oh yeah, and stares..



Be back on Sunday...