Petrol powered TV

October 2, 2010 continued

I could not sleep because of the sounds out there. What the hell is that noise?! It sounds like a hippo mating with an elephant-goat. I felt isolation for the first time. I am in Africa. Those ain't no coyotes out there, we ain't in Kansas. For all I know that could be a Rhino ready to charge the cinder block fortress. But it wasn't of course. It's just the sound of donkeys. I do not know if you have heard donkeys, but it is indescribable. I can honestly tell you that once I found that out and talked about it with some of my other friends, I could not stop laughing every time I hear them. I had to explain to my host family why I have bursted out laughing on occasion and they thought it was hilarious also.

My sister who speaks English leaves and I am sad, but I know that I need to get more integrated into the family and stop speaking English with the girl my age. When we are dropping her off (yes we have a car!), we stop to say hello to many people. I am feeling euphoric, but lonely and then i see three white people walking down the street who are in their 20s. I do something weird, impulsively. I shout out the window, "Hey guys, what's up? Are you from America?" My host dad pulls the car over, and they answer reluctantly, "Nothing... No." My mother asks, "Do you know these people?" And I answer, "No, sorry." Even though they clearly were from America, they had to deny it, because who wants to converse with a stranger yelling from a car window?

So we go home. I get my book out and start reading outside. I look over and see my mom yelling at my brother to get this machine working. He is pouring petrol in it and pulling the cord to crank it into gear, just like a lawn mower. I see that it is a generator. Finally he gets it going, and it is as loud or louder than a mower. I'm still reading and trying to ignore what is going on. Then I get called into the brick building, "Jeannine, come." I go in, "Sit." I see two plastic chairs and I sit in one next to Meme in front of the old school static-y television She has the channel on Big Brother South Africa, which is basically the Real World here, except there is a channel dedicated to it all day in real time, like the Truman Show. I watch, even though i just want to read, as to not be rude. My mother thinks that I am enjoying it and then leaves. There I am, smelling the fumes of the petrol generator that was cranked up to power the TV to watch a bunch of drunk South Africans fight with each other, by myself.

I honestly love my site. The principal seems really determined and driven to make improvements and there are a lot of things that need it. They have a computer lab with new computers from 2003, but they do not have internet or anyone that understand how to work a computer well. Looks like I will be teaching some computer classes. Go figure, the girl who can not even figure out how to put pictures on Facebook will be teaching IT classes next year.