Learning about the Neighborhood

This morning, first thing, Mark worked on the Ferdinando’s car to get it running and I worked with Emily on French. Later in the morning, Jan Rossington took Emily and I on a walk around the neighborhood a little bit. We went to the local market which is an outdoor market with loads of fruits, veggies, etc. They also had lots of fabric for sale so we may go back at a later time and get a dress or two made. She showed us a couple of small stores that she sometimes uses and then we walked over to FATER to see their current facility, which is pretty pathetic. We met one of the administrators who it seems that I will be working with some. I will be working with Bruce next week to learn how to do the bookkeeping for FATER on Quickbooks. Elias, who I met, is the one who receives the money from the students so he will be then passing the info along to me.

The city is definitely hilly so we had quite a good workout on our walk. I wouldn’t mind doing that every day to get into better shape! We had lunch with Rossingtons again and then Mark, Emily and I drove to a couple of small local supermarkets to buy a few basic supplies for the kitchen. We will begin cooking on our own on Saturday.

I have now spent the evening working on emails and other computer matters. We don't have an internet connection at our house yet so we work offline and then go to the Rossingtons use their wireless connection. It works but will be nice when we can do it on our own schedule at home. (Emily doesn't get to use Facebook as much as she wants!)

One thing I have discovered here is how time tell time in the morning without a clock. If I wake up and it is pitch dark and very silent, it is between midnight and 5:00 am. Shortly after 5 the call to prayer comes from the Mosque on the other hill but we hear it very well. Around 5:15 the small song birds start singing. The songs gradually become louder as more birds wake up and join in. Eventually the roosters start their call to wake up. By 5:30 or so the sky gets a bit lighter and the sun is up around 6:00. Other than the mosque, it’s not a bad way to wake up.

Well, I will close for now. We’ll let you know how the visa goes!