Stream Of Consciousness

I work at Underwater Adventures, which is the aquarium in the Mall of America. Among other things we have a touch pool where kids (and adults) can touch horse-shoe crabs, sharks, and sting rays. The area around the touch pool is very loud, we have music and a couple of videos playing, and it's near the escalators which let sound in from the Mall above. We all wear head sets when we're at the touch pool so visitors can hear us explaining things, and also can hear us yelling at them when they grab the sting rays tails. Think of the head set microphone that Brittney Spears or Garth Brooks wear.

I was thinking today that it's good that those microphones don't amplify what I'm thinking as well, because I was having some pretty random thoughts on that mic. Most of it is from looking at visitors and that reminds me of something else, and then I'm off to the races. I was looking at one woman who was pregnant, and then of course I remembered the horror stories of labor from girls that I'd worked with. Mostly the pooping on the table before the kid is born. Kind of makes you miss squatting in the field. Oh, squatting in the field, that's what they probably still do in Africa. They're funny in Malawi though, women don't admit they're pregnant there. And then when they do have a child, they tell the kids that they bought it at the store.

See. This is how my mind works. And now I'm thinking about all the other things I did in Mpalale. There was Vivian's sister who totally denied being pregnant even though she was about to burst. What a conservative society.

I actually really miss Mpalale. I keep thinking that I'll do the Peace Corps again. It's like I just need a second try at the whole thing, and I'll be able to get ahold of my feelings and not go so crazy. Nothing really like going crazy in Malawi where if AIDS and Malaria don't kill you, the traffic or the wild animals could.