Had a terrifying moment the other night.  I had been having stomach problems from the potatoes and was making frequent chimbuzi (pit latrine) trips.  On one of them, a bat got in and ran into a wall and started flopping all over the floor.  Scared the be-geezes out of me as I was worried it’d land on me like last time.  And no, that’s not the terrifying moment.  So that left me too paranoid to actually go to the bathroom, so I went back in and told Banda.  He pestered me for the next 20 minutes telling me that was no reason to hold it in and mess up my stomach even more.  So finally I decided to go back out with him going with me to stand guard and scare off the bats.  Thank god for this.  Because I open the back door and see a man in our fenced in porch.  I freak out and immediately slam the door shut.  Because I’m an American woman, right?  We lock the door and call for help.  But nope, Banda’s more interested in getting the door open so he can get the guy.  Oi.  So he gets the door open and recognizes him as he’s climbing over the porch fence.  Turns out that he’s this 14 year old punk who had been stealing from Banda at his last house.  So now we know who has been taking stuff  from the back porch.  Banda went and told his mother who basically said they’ve just given up on him.  Awwwesome.  Not really anything we can do. 

Although I’m not gonna lie, I’m more than a bit traumatized.  I’m pretty scared that every time I open the door now, someone’s gonna be there.  It’s not about the stealing because he only takes what he can carry over the fence with him.  A razor?  Underwear?  Annoying, but I can live with that.  What gets to me is the violating nature of it.  What if he decides to fight back next time?  What if he carries a knife?  What if he tries to get into the house?  Because he’s bold enough and stupid enough to come back just like he followed Banda from the last house.  Banda’s been great about it.  Even if he’s sleeping, he gets up every night to go out there with me.  He says it’s to keep the bats away, but I know he does it because I’m still freaked out.  Update:  Just heard a knock on the door.  Wasn’t going to answer because Banda is gone to town.  But then I realized it was probably Madame Secretary’s boys returning my clothes.  So I got up, opened the door and I was right.  There was Clifford (maybe aged 11?).  But he didn’t have a clothes basket in hand.  He had two rocks.  Not strange because he’s scared of our dogs so I have noticed that he always carries them as protection.  But out of the corner of my eye, I see a black arm leaning up against the wall just out of my eye sight.  My first thought?   “Oh my God, they’re going to break in.”  UTTERLY ABSURD.  Clifford is one of the sweetest kids I’ve ever met.  Most of them drive me crazy at some point or another, but he is always just well-behaved, polite and friendly.  I have no reason to fear him and I never have before.  And his family is one of the kindest, most generous I have met while here.  They welcomed us volunteers more genuinely than anyone else did.  So why did that that terrible thought jump into my mind?  I do believe that that stupid thief has irrevocably screwed me up.  And who was it leaning against the wall, you might be wondering?  Good Luck, his 8 year old brother, who was carrying the clothes basket for him and smiling at me adorably.  I’m ashamed of myself.  I really dislike the person I sometimes become in brief flashes here.   

The other day I got a craving to read.  I tend to go in spurts here.  I’ll read nonstop for a handful of days but am usually so burnt out by the end of the day that I just don’t have the energy.  I haven’t had a craving in a long time and was thus pretty excited about it.  Decided to get on Amazon and buy “Atlas Shrugged” because it’s one of my friend’s favorite books and I learned long ago that she has fabulous literary taste :)  She introduced me to “The Secret History” which is my fave and is now battered with love from how many readings I’ve put it through.  I found “Atlas Shrugged” in the Kindle Store.  $10.  Too expensive for my taste.  But I figure what the heck, I want to read so I’m doing it.  I click on the link and a message pops up, telling me that there are different prices for different purchasing regions.  And that apparently in Malawi, the book costs $19.  HOLD THE F UP HERE!  I have so many problems with I don’t even know where to begin.

Let’s start from the most pragmatic.  I do not want to pay double for an electronic copy.  I would understand if it were a hard copy – clearly shipping costs more.  Also, if I were having it delivered wirelessly, I might agree.  I’m assuming there are more steps involved or something with international wireless?  But it was just downloading to my computer… the link is already there.  Why the extra $9?!  Secondly, I object on intellectual accessibility grounds.  It’s already difficult enough to get books here in Malawi.  The majority of people have never owned a single book.  Students don’t have textbooks.  The schools don’t even have enough for each teacher to have a copy, much less each student.  Now I know it’s extremely unlikely that any Malawian is trying to use the Kindle Store and is balking at prices.  That’s not my point.  My point is that Amazon should not be increasing the barriers of accessibility that are already crippling this country.  On principle.  Thirdly, I’ve bought e-books books here in Malawi and never encountered this before.  Interesting, hmm?  Especially because the only books I’ve bought here have been trashy, romance novels.  So what?  Amazon is fine charging the same prices for smut and yet when someone wants to read something that is legitimately decent literature, that’s when they jack up the price?  Obnoxious.   Maybe if someone can explain to me why this price increase occurs, I’ll accept it.  But for now, I’m shaking my head at Amazon.  Way to ‘encourage’ a reading culture, ya’ll. 

So anyways, I balk.  I decide to buy “The Help” instead, which actually turned out to be wonderful.  But I didn’t find that out for a few days.  Why?  Because I download it to my computer.  Go home that night.  Hook up my Kindle to my computer.  What do ya know?  The USB cord has malfunctioned.  Because Amazon sold a faulty USD cord whose plastic casing disintegrates, leaving the wires exposed.  Now I know it’s not just mine because I’ve researched and found hundreds of the same complaints online.  Well mine always still worked in the past but now has stopped.   So I have a $250 paperweight now until I come back to the US and buy another faulty cord.  Awesome.  Thank you Amazon.  So I try to open the file on my computer.  Of course it isn’t compatible.  So I have to go online the next day and download their Kindle for PC application, which of course takes forever with our internet connection.  Then I have to redownload the book multiple times because it isn’t recognized by the app the first few times.  Sigh.  Finally got it to work.  Amazon is not on my liked list these days.