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Zimbabweans are very sensitive about bad news being spread about their country. People are very offended at all the international press about how violent and poor Zimbabwe is. There was a big discussion about it this morning at work, and people are upset about the bad press that makes Zimbabwe seem so bad. I feel torn. Obviously, Zimbabwe is a great country. People are kind, hard-working, entrepreneurial, industrious, hopeful and full of faith. There is so much potential here, and tonnes of natural beauty. There is peace (although I would call it more an absence of violence than peace) and people miraculously keep on finding ways to survive. And yet... it's tough in Zimbabwe too! People ARE struggling to buy food and send kids to school. Are people sitting around aimlessly, so depressed that they cannot even swat at the flies surrounding them? - no. But are people affected by poverty, inability to access medical treatment, and constant funerals? - yes. I guess I've realized that it's really important for people to hold on to hope. And it's harder to have hope when the rest of the world is either mocking your country or shaking their heads in pity when they hear where you live. Anyone with an ounce of nationalism in their blood can see how that injures self-pride...

On a lighter note, yesterday in the hallway one of my co-workers said to me, "Amai McAlister, in those clothes, you can see that your butts are getting much bigger!" I laughed out loud - at her use of the plural and also at the fact that she considered it a high compliment. What can I say? Bananas are by far the cheapest fruit!