It's raining, it's pouring...

This week, I helped another volunteer paint health-related (and other random) signs at her school and I found one of her sayings particularly inspiring. It's a quote from South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

"Never let anyone tell you that what you're doing is insignificant."

I thought it was particularly pertinent to what I do on an everyday basis and I thought I'd share.

In other news, my Kiswahili is rapidly improving, thanks to Rosetta Stone, and I've watched a million movies this week. Mostly, I'm escaping the rain that has been constantly falling since I returned from vacation.

If you'd like to know what it's like to be me this week, go stand in the shower, fully clothed, with only cold water on. Then, imagine that you're walking in these conditions for about 5k, in flip-flops, just to get anywhere. There's wind, and with every step you slide a little bit on the muddy path, nearly falling flat on your face several times. It's so windy that your umbrella finally loses its will to live and no longer stays open on its own, so you hold it. And then, at the end of this adventure, you make it to some building, some form of public transport, some shelter where everything is wet, everything is cold, everything is muddy. But at least you're out of the wind. My house is flooded, and even where it isn't wet, it's wet. Every morning I take my sheets and blankets off my mattress and hang them from a rope in my house so they can air out becuase my mattress is so constantly damp that if I leave them on my bed, they mildew. It's gross...

See, you'd probably stay inside and learn Swahili, too.

That's all for today. I'm meeting some friends in the afternoon, then going out to Pasture Valley Children's Home to visit the kids and Peter and Michelle. My Partnership Project is finally submitted, so I'll let you know when it's on the website.

Love from the Swaz!
Justine