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It's quite cold here in Harare. A friend gave us some firewood so that we could have a fire in our home (don't worry, we have a fireplace!) to keep warm. It was lovely and romantic to sit and watch the fire together until we discovered termites in the wood. Sunday night, John started a bonfire in our backyard to get rid of all the termites. At one point, I went outside to check on the fire. Our neighbour, Ruth, asked me what the fire was for - and if we needed ashes for something. I explained that we had found termites in all the wood, so we were burning it. She looked so disappointed and said, "haven't you noticed that I do some cooking outside? I would have really liked to have that wood. It's ok if the termites are outside. I would have really liked it." Oh, I felt so guilty. I apologized, and she just looked sad, "I just wish you would have asked me first." I felt so wasteful. A lesson learned - in Canada, your neighbours likely won't want your termites, but here, nothing is ever wasted.