code: def _connectSimpleDB(self):
          
          db = boto.sdb.connect_to_region(self.region)
          if db is None:
              raise ValueError("Could not connect to SimpleDB. Make sure '%s' is a valid SimpleDB "
                               "region." % self.region)
          assert db is not None
          monkeyPatchSdbConnection(db)
          return db
docs: :rtype: SDBConnection