I’m kicking off a new segment on our blog today. The blog is a great place to share the big stories — about babies on the way or what is happening in the lives of students at MICS. But I think it is also the perfect place to share the little stories. In “What’s Different”, I intend to share with you some of those little moments that make life here in Zambia what it is — moments that are quirky, or maddening, or beautiful, or hilarious. So today, I am kicking off the segment with “What’s different about boots?”

What is different about my boots here is that there is a very decent chance there will be a toad in them in the morning. In fact, I have just come off two consecutive mornings of slipping my foot into my boot, and pausing because something doesn’t feel quite right. It takes a moment to register. Feels like maybe the insole has slipped out of place. But no. If I remove my foot and pick up the boot for closer inspection, out hops the culprit.

You would think after the first incident I would have checked my boots the next day. But it is easy to forget. Many years of I-can-just-slip-on-my-footwear-before-heading-out-the-door-and-there-is-almost-certainly-not-a-toad-in-there do not just disappear overnight. But I am learning.

So that, friends, is one of the things that is different about living in Zambia. More to come…

Tried to get them to pose for a photo for the blog. Boots co-operated. Toad did not.

Retreating to the corner and looking guilty.

 No toads were harmed in the making of this blog post.