My shopping trip today

This weekend I am going to the wedding of one of my neighbors. I am so tired of wearing the same clothes for every occasion. They are becoming faded and holey so I went to town this morning to buy something special for the special day. And man, clothes shopping is difficult here. The clothes have a lot of criteria in order for me to buy it, like it can't be white(that would last for .2 seconds), it has to be relatively wrinkle resistant(no iron, don't want to use Make's iron that gets hot coals from the fire inside it, and even if I had an iron I wouldn't want to use it), not too short(you'd be surprised how short everything is especially in such a conservative culture. I am going to a wedding in a church not a club) or too long (I can't pull off a maxi dress). I wanted a dress that would be nice for the occasion but could then wear anyother day too and not one of the multitudes of prom dresses or mother of the bride Hillary Clinton skirt suits. It is winter here now so sweater dresses are all the rage, but I would wear that 4 times before its 100* again. Ugh, to find all this criteria for my perfect dress and on my Peace Corps budget, mission impossible!

I feel like I went in every shop in the city. I eventually did find a nice skirt, but I didn't realize how late it had gotten. I missed the last bus to my house, so I took a different bus and make a transfer at my closest town, which is no big deal for me after living here for a year. I even know most of the people on the khumbi with me.
I finally arrive home. It was only 6pm, but the sun is setting fast these days, so it was already dark. The walk from my bus stop to my house seems long when its dark. One of the other passengers who also got out at my stop is walking the same direction as me, he says "Hello Fisiwe (my Swazi name). My name is Patrick. Do you remember me, we talked the other week."

I talk to a lot of people. I don't remember any particular conversation probably since most the conversations I have with guys his age is me telling them that I don't want to marry them and I don't really want to deal with a marriage proposal in the dark.

Then he says, "I'm a nice guy. Don't be afraid to walk with me.". Why is it that when someone tells you not to be scared that is the tome when you begin to feel the fear. I wasn't actually scared, just thought it was ironic that I didn't think to be scared until he told me not to be.

Disclaimer to my mom: I am safe at home curled in my bed and about to turn a movie on. At no point did I feel actually scared. My Make knew I was on my way home. I also got off the khumbi with a bunch of people. We went different ways, but other people were not far away so you don't need to worry about me.

Tomorrow is a busy day. I wrote a draft business letter for one counterpart, so we have a meeting tomorrow so he can check it, then we can edit it, then print it so he can use it. After that I have another meeting. Hopefully I will be able to start helping with tutoring out of school children, and I think I found someone to help me start a girl's empowerment club in the community. Then in the afternoon there is a planning meeting for a community clean-up day. Thursday and Friday I will be working with my counterpart. Our grant to make a garden for the Caregivers of the Orphans/Vulnerable Children was accepted so we need to get the project going. Saturday is the wedding where I will wear my new skirt and then Sunday I plan to be lazy all day!
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