So it turns out when I came up with my two indispensable things that I’d packed, I had forgotten about my chacos. Probably because I considered them to be more a part of my feet than something I’d brought. And now the soles are coming apart on me. I’m pretty upset. My chacos were a source of joy in my life. I wore them without any problem in the states, and then a month into real conditions (the kind of place chacos are supposedly intended for), they failed me. Those were expensive sandals! That pretty much means I’m going to be rocking the shower shoes (flip flops) now, which is not cool. (The ground here is equal parts sand, manure, and thorns.) I guess that moves up my chaco replacement timetable. I know they will definitely reglue the soles, for a price, but that’s not really an option when you’re in the middle of africa. Shipping is going to be more than the actual sandals. Sigh. That’s probably why they give peace corps volunteers a discount. Why bother if it’s just going to happen again? Maybe I can super glue them or something. Or maybe I should just stop trying to have nice things. This sucks.

I wonder how moving their factory to china is working out for them.

A month. Seriously. Come on.