Siggi
December 6, 2004
oshitayi 7002 (a shorter one, I promise)

Hi everyone,
Dong Yun asked what a cuca shop is, so here's a short description.

Cuca Shop (or Cucu Shop): The only source of entertainment in all of Namibia. Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but to make it more clear: Oshitayai the "town" is made up of about 10 cucu shops, 1 general store, a church and 2 schools: a primary (grades 1-7) and a secondary (grades 8-10). AND THAT'S IT. Cuca shops sell beer, homebrewed alcohol, brandy, gin, soda and maybe some candies or cookies. After work or school everyone goes to the cucu shops to hang out. It's a big socialising scence. It's a lot of fun to sit outside on a bench and talk and drink. Girls drink soda, guys drink alcohol - so dont' worry I have had very little alcohol since I've been here. (Can't say the same for my guy friends though....) But the thing is they do this everyday, and all day on the weekends, because seriously, it's the only source of entertainment. It's bad because guys drink a lot. And it seems like a big waste of time to me, but maybe that's just me being an eager-beaver american. My host sister came home drunk last night, which i think was a problem with the family because it's socially not ok for girls to drink alcohol.

A student that likes to hang out at my homestead braided my hair this weekend. It's a bunch of little braids. I like it! I've had it in for 2 days and it hasn't come out yet. Tonight I'm washing my hair though, so it's gonna come out.

so much for my "short" e-mail plan...I'll chat wid you all l8r!
siggi

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