Strange.

It’s strange how you kind of start getting used to not so normal things. I’ll give you a few examples:

• At the school there are buckets filled with water to wash hands. I realized the other day that they were putting Listerine in the water as some sort of sanitizer. Hey, that’s not that strange? Why not? It’s supposed to get your mouth clean. 
• I’ve gotten used to now coming home to sand covering my floor (and most of my stuff) due to the excessive winds sweeping it under my door. I now just shrug my shoulders and crawl into bed. I’m too tired to clean it up again.
• When the power goes out (which it does now regularly due to the rolling blackouts), eating apples for supper and going to bed at like 6:30PM seems normal.  Actually, I don't go to bed that much later when the power is on if I have to be honest?  Not much night life here...  
• Carrying toilet paper with me at all times is terribly normal. In fact, I will pass this advice on to all incoming Peace Corps Volunteers. Strangely, I now sometimes take it from public toilets in the “city” when I am traveling. What if I need it?

Anyway, I actually encountered a not so normal situation yesterday. I came home from work to a goat at my house. Now, there are a million goats here. But this one was tied up in the yard. I asked my host father why? He casually said, “Because tomorrow we are going to slaughter it and offer as a sacrifice to the ancestors.” What?!

Yep. Today they killed the goat. All of the relatives came and there was a big celebration (honoring the ancestors) for one of my host father’s sisters because she got a job. Luckily, I did not witness the goat killing. But they did feel that it was necessary to show me the poor goat’s head in a bowl later in the day…not a pretty site. I almost lost my cookies.

Sadly for all of you I did not have my camera to take pictures of today’s celebration. Maybe if I’m lucky there will be another goat killing so I can take pictures. And next time it will probably seem normal?