Des pays et des gares...

Yesterday, Njabulo and I gave our unconventional thanks – on Sunday instead of Thursday, without turkey, and minus the cranberry sauce shaped like the can and green bean casserole. Instead, we feasted on slow roasted chicken legs with gravy, apple-herb dressing, and steamed green beans. Traditional? Kind of. Delicious? Absolutely! We didn't have dessert, because I forgot to buy a pie tin while we were in our shopping town, but next weekend we'll enjoy a butternut squash pie. Gotta have something to look forward to, right? On Turkey Day proper, we're meeting fellow volunteers for Ethiopian food in Naas. Perhaps it'll become the new tradition here in Peace Corps SA! We'll definitely be thinking of everyone back home (Maple Leafers, enjoy the interdenominational service for me, it's one of my favorites!) and giving thanks for what we have, which is scads more than what the folks around us here have. For your viewing pleasure, I present a photo of our pre-

Nomsa naNjabulo savakashela eKruger National Park futsi sabona tilwane kakhulu!! KNP - Malelane Gate  Two weekends ago Njabulo and I went on a a day-long game drive in Kruger National Park. We used Echo Africa and our driver was Elsa, who was an excellent guide. What an awesome day! It was raining at 5:15AM when we were picked up from the backpacker's  (in fact, we'd had a truly spectacular thunderstorm the night before, storms are awe-inspiring here!) , but by the time we were in the park it was just misting and the rain eventually stopped. Drives are taken in nine passenger open-sided safari vehicles, but we only picked up one other passenger, a nice gentleman from Portugal, so we basically had an almost private tour. At first, we didn't see many animals, but later in the morning, we saw a wide variety of animals all over the park, and very close-up, too! I think the only animals we missed seeing were the leopard and the wild dogs – must save something for nex