Dancing in the Rain

Well, the impossible happened. For the first time since we have been in Gaborone it has rained. Rain storms here are kinda epic, involving lots of thunder, lightning, the wrath of God etc. Being a crazy Lekgoa, I naturally went outside to enjoy the rain with my friends as we have been a bit parched (Read: oh my god it is so hot and dry here, what did I get myself into?!) while out there, we were chatting with the poor security guards who were taking cover under a veranda and they agreed to teach us a rain dance. (Rain is quite critical in this desert culture, even the money is "Pula" which is Setswana for rain) At about the point that we were just jumping up and down, yelling "Pula" at the tops of our lungs, and waving our arms in circles I began to suspect that he was taking us for a ride (especially as he could not breathe because he was laughing too hard) and decided that perhaps I should not believe everything said by a University security guard.
Speaking of general dampness, some idiotic soul left the water running in a clogged sink on my friends' floor and they woke up when water began creeping into their rooms. They frantically turned off the water and called the RA (as we are not allowed to call maintainance directly). She, and this is a direct quote, said "I am pretty sure this sounds like a problem for the morning" She then asked if they turned off the water (duh) and suggested that they deal with it tomorrow. To put this into perspective, an entire floor, consisting of a 10ftX15 ft common room, 2 bathrooms, and 8 dorm rooms was completely flooded with about an inch of water covering the tile floor and the RA refused to call maintainance. In the end, my friends got buckets, bed sheets, brooms and (in a continuation of the cleaning service war in their block) the blanket on which the cleaning women sleep and they managed to push the water into the bathroom with all of the sodden tools. The cleaning lady actually threatened one girl with a broom in the morning but all's well that ends well I guess. Maki, the most awesome japanese girl ever, also got out her umbrella and kept it open while directing salvaging efforts during the operation.
In other news of biblical proportion, I had an interesting cultural epiphany today whilst on my way to aerobics class. I was walking with a girl who also seemed to be on her way to class and while exchanging questions about school, home, and dorms, she asked me if I was a Christian. I was totally taken aback as this is not normal first-ten-minutes conversation material (unless you are about to get a fire and brimstone lecture) but I told her I was a general Jesus fan and we continued in our conversation. Later I mentioned to her that in the states and the UK (where she was headed in the spring) one would never ask that of a stranger. She was surprised and simply explained that if one asks and the person is a christian then you two have just that much more to talk about. In her explanation, asking about one's religion was similar to discussing the city one grew up in- just a search for conversation and common ground. This view has made me thoughtful and I think that it could be awesome, as it encourages inter-religious dialogue, but as almost every Motswana is some flavor of christian (and if not they are dabbling in traditional african religions) I don't think it has the same ramifications it would have elsewhere.....hmmm..... And then I battled an anaconda with only my trusty pocket knife (I have no good transition here, so just pretend)
I finally (Read: easily) got my visa to Mozambique; I guess they weren't too clever at the embassy if they are letting in characters like me. By the way, the Mozambiquean embassy is a small house with only one unarmed guard who smiles and waves as you walk past on your way to the living room/ visa office; awesome, the US should take notes. I am stoked for our trip but I will unfortunately be out of touch for the duration. I will, however, try to save up lots of stories and pictures for when I return. I might post once more before then but if not, "keep it real yo, see you on the flip-side" (as we say in the US ALL the time. Again, if anyone asks).