Reading Rainbow

As of today, I am a member of the local library. They may have spelled my name wrong on my library card, but I don’t care. I can check out books and movies and CDs. They don’t have a lot of books (certainly not by U.S. library standards), and the books they do have are divided among three languages (which limits my selection further). They have even fewer CDs, and even fewer than that of DVDs. But this still makes me happy, and more like a full-fledged member of the community.

I browsed the entire room, looking for nothing in particular. This wasn’t my first visit to this library, but it was my first visit as a member. I looked at some world history and geography books, just to see what kinds of things might be printed about the USA when you aren’t in the USA. I think it also made me strangely comfortable there, that I could read about Ohio or Arizona or anywhere that I know well.

When it came time to leave, I checked out a “Learn Zulu” CD-ROM. It’s a bit old (especially by CD-ROM standards) and doesn’t look too promising, but I figure I’ll give it a spin … every little bit helps! I also checked out two music CDs: Lovely Day: The Very Best of Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye Live (recorded from a 1974 performance in Oakland). Now that I think of it, I’m sure my old pal Obie would approve of both music selections.

So, after today’s stroll down Literacy Lane, I thought I would take this opportunity to make a few reading suggestions. I may not have any book recommendations, but I do have blog recommendations.

First off, a friend and colleague, Laura, has beautifully depicted her day-to-day living situation in her most recent blog post. This is similar to me in some ways — like water and buckets — and dissimilar to me in other ways. Most notably, I have electricity. Yes, it is a sketchy installation (I mean, you wouldn’t need to be a Starfleet Engineer to know what I mean by “sketchy”, if you could see it) and my village is subject to frequent blackouts and brown-outs. But it’s enough to keep my fridge a-chillin’ and my laptop a-buzzin’ into the wee hours. Laura’s experience so far in this regard is different: http://laurafrica.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/beautiful-stresses/

Second, another friend and colleague, Vanessa, has recently posted a list of observations on South Africa. They are funny and true. But you don’t have to take my word for it: http://settingsailforpeace.blogspot.com/2012/09/observations-on-south-africa.html

Finally, if you haven’t done so, please check out the blogs of the rest of my compatriots here in the Rainbow Nation. I’ve added some more to my list of links this week, and will continue to add them (if more of them care to be added). Just click the link that says “Other PC SA Blogs” in the top menu … or this link.

The coming week is a break for the learners (that’s SA for “students”), so I should have some extra time to get back to my roots and add to the “flashback” posts about my Peace Corps training. I didn’t really need to tell you this, but in doing so, I have obligated myself (somewhat) and am less likely to put it off until the next generation. (Okay … that one was really stretching.)

So, unless I can manage to incorporate any other LeVar Burton references into this post … I’ll see you next time.