I am currently sitting in my room, at the Cluney Lodge, reaquainting myself with the Internet, email and Facebook. My last placement in Nkhoma didn't have a particularly reliable Internet service, so although I did a bunch of blog postings, I wasn't able to get them posted until today.

Here's a few pictures to brighten up the blog a bit!

This is the guest house in Nkhoma, where I stayed from last Tuesday until this morning.

On Sunday, I went for a short hike, towards, but not up, a local mountain. It was kind of overcast and late in the day, when I started on my trek. But the scenery was quite nice:

En route, I encountered a little goat family - the mother was tethered, but the kids weren't.

I thought I'd take a picture of myself along the way. Apparently, I was concentrating so hard on taking the picture, that it didn't occur to me to smile. And yes, I know I need a haircut!

Prior to my walk, I had lunch at Nelly's home. Nelly is one of my current students, and she had invited me to lunch on Sunday. She served a delicious meal of nsima (ground maize), chicken, beef and a stewed vegetable. Nelly is sitting on the left, wearing a blue shirt, her husband is next to her. The other woman is Christina, the woman who serves us coffee every day.

One last picture, then I'm off to bed! Some local vegetation, for those of you who are currently enjoying the brisk January weather in Canada!

Which reminds me, now that I am over my toilet paper and soap hang-ups - my new obsession: should I wear jeans or a skirt or my long past the knees shorts (I am suddenly drawing a blank on what they are called - all that comes to mind is "pedal pushers" but I know there is a more modern word for them...). If I wear jeans, I will be all set for the second half of my trip, but will be hot and sweaty for the first half. If I dress lighter, then I will be comfortable for the first half, but cold to the bone for the second half. I could bring a change of clothes, but then I have to lug them around.

Decisions, decisions...