do what you should

What a glorious month it will be. I came to Ouaga yesterday specifically for the premiere of the World Cup. Oh it was divine watching South Africa play Mexico under a fan, drinking a coke and eating a salad with eggs and chicken. And tonight! Golly I can’t wait for the USA and England game. England will probably win but I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

I don’t have much to update: School’s over, all my students have either returned to their villages and/or are working in the fields. I’ve been reading a lot, staring off into space, wrapping myself in a wet pagne and laying on my floor, covering myself in baby powder (blasted heat rash!), and hanging out in village people watching.

For a week there I thought that my cat Herman was dead. Someone left one of those traps outside of my courtyard that looks like an open jaw with razor teeth, and Herman got caught in it. Just his front left paw, but it was so mangled that it no longer looked like a body part. I called the veterinarian—he was in Gaoua, naturally—and didn’t show up at my door until a week after I found Herman. I even called my Major who runs the health clinic in Bouroum-Bouroum. I was desperate, but he said he couldn’t help me either. Herman wouldn’t let me near him after I tried to clean his wound and put it into a splint. He crawled into his litter box and just layed there for hours. He howled to be let outside and I let him because I couldn’t do anything for him. I thought he was leaving me to die, and I didn’t see him for a week.

But after returning from Diebougou, there he was! With Harriet! He’s limping, but he’s putting pressure on his paw. Two of his bones stick out in all their glory, yet he still tries to knead. What a silly kitty. Herman’s back to eating, drinking, being my little lover kitty. And the vet finally came and gave him shots of antibiotic, so I think Herman will do just fine.

In other news, I’m going to Johannesburg in two weeks! Dad and I are going to rendez-vous there and see a World Cup match on the 27th. Oh amazingness in a can!