Okay so the last two times I posted on here I did not attach a link on Facebook my mom was saying that she liked that so she knew when I posted. My mom told me that Aunt Patti was saying she didn't know when I was posting so she didn't know when to check. So I guess I will continue to post a link on facebook when I post on here. If it is too much just let me know. I don't want to be consuming all of your virtual time :)
Anyways things are going well I have been keeping busy. I have been going to meetings and figuring out that I should plan nothing because things can change in a minute. Which is okay because it means that I am staying busy. Though when I am planning on going to the market to buy fruits and vegetables that I needed I got a little frustrated. But it’s a learning experience I just know if I want to make sure I go to the market I should go before I go into work and things change. I talked to my mom that day on skype and then headed to the little area to get some tomatoes, eggs, and bread to hold me over till I could get into town to get some more vegetables. On my way I saw a few people that I know and chatted which was nice then I was cleaning up my yard a papaya tree rotted out and fell over in my yard so the monkeys were flocking to my house not what I want. One was sitting on my window sill and just watching me until i noticed and scared him away. They were also on my back brick fence eating and watching me until I sacred them away. Anyway needless to say I found out that they are harmless to people from the locals they just want food for the most part. I also saw two having sex in the tree in front of my house haha. Later that day my neighbor gave me this outdoor broom that I could have and then I chased the kids around with it they thought it was so much fun. So needless to say I was quickly reminded that though I may have frustrations along the way there are great people here that are worth it.
I have a tutor that is helping me learn Chichewa which is going slowly but that is to be expected. So many people speak english here it is not a problem but to really help the poorest people I will need to learn it because they are the ones that have not had the opportunity to go to school and learn English. But when I go to the bank and the post office they all speak english to me which is nice kind of but also not helping me learn I try to great them in Chichewa but they often just start talking to me in English because they know that is easier for me. So it is just a matter of me forcing myself to chat to more people in Chichewa. It will come eventually.
Last week I did some local traveling with TRF(Tea Research Foundation) to meet with smallholder tea farmers. It was nice to see other villages and all the people dedicated to growing tea. I of course got introduced I am struggling with being the "center of attention" at times. I try to just blend in but well that just doesn't work :) I am sure people will in a sense get used to seeing me around and know who I am but until then. Some guy asked if I worked for BBC news I thought that was funny I think he was trying to make a joke with getting to know what I was doing at the meeting.
Oh I figured out that I need to close my bathroom door at night otherwise a bat likes to make it's home in there. I went in at night didn't really look up even though I had suspected a bat or some odd rodent to be going in there. Then i was sitting on the toilet felt something hit me and looked up and saw that a bat had just pooped on me. I will be honest I did freak out and ran out and finished peeing outside. I think because I was so surprised. But since then I have been closing the door and no bat poop and no sightings. So learning some basic life skills along the way :)
Things are going well and just trying to figure out some of the things that will make my house more like a home for the next two years. I have been reading a lot so that has been nice. I have already finished 6 books since being here.
Well I hope all are doing well and Everyone has a great Memorial Day Weekend.
Wow, Essie!!! I'm shocked! A few days ago i wrote a really long story on your blog and then forget my google password so it was never published. I got so frustrated that i said i would write by friday- 5/25 today-
ReplyDeleteOk Story time from last weekend you will relate a little since you are a camping vet-
My mom has an old +100 year farmhouse with a ton of land in southwest michigan. We decided to go the weekend prior to memorial day..since it's not as much traffic- in fact traffic was a breeze there. You take the same route as you do to Anne & Larry's place, however, you break off and go southwest about 15 mins into mich. Anyway, we took our new puppy (Coco) there. She's a soft-coated wheaton terrier- I was not sure i would ever be ready for another dog again...and after the first week of sleepless nights again, i really wasn't. But things are starting to progress and she's trying hard to win my over- i'm a softy for children and animals. :-) Anywya, Nolan has been talking about camping in a tent for a while. It's kinda weird becuase he's getting these cool ideas in his head- all on his own. So we brought our little coleman 4 man tent with just in case- When we arrive @ the farmhouse I usually spend the first half hour or so getting clothes and sleepign arrangments ready- since it's an old house there a many critters and bugs to clean every time we go- also we usually sleep on blow up mattresses inside- anyway, before i started to get things ready, i asked Nolan if he would like to camp out with me in the tent that night. And without hesitation and with much excitement he said yes! I was stunned- I told him it would be very dark and there might be animals that he might here throughout the night- There are no monkeys, but possoms, bunnies, ground hogs, deer, wild turkeys, snakes, etc are seen every time we go up there on the property-
later than evening when the campfire was winding down and our bellies were filled with hot dogs and smores, I asked nolan if he was ready. Even though it was now getting really dark and we needed a flash light to find the tent, he didn't hesitate- for a 3 year old i thought that was great! I'm proud to report that we told some spookie storries and went to sleep without a problem. The stories usually involved dinosaurs, dragons, and possoms. We cannot tell stories with monsters and ghosts because I found he doesn't sleep as good if that happens-
Nolan and I slept in the wilderness without a problem...I don't believe either one of us woke up at all...that is until the morning light began to creak into the tent. To our surprise, we felt something wrestling at our feet. Nolan cried out, "Oh now it's Coco!" Marisol had quietly, snuck coco into our tent- Then we opened the tent to marisol and my mom taking pictures of us- it was a great 1st time for our lil man- The next adventure that Nolan is now talking about is going fishiing- I have to get him a little man's fishing pole- i will have a story about that hopefully next time we go up there in a few week. Glad to see you are learning another language and culture- Do bats poop little hard turds or squishy soft like birds?
Awe sounds like Nolan had fun so that is good maybe we could all go camping when I get back that would be fun! I like that he is such an outdoors enthusiast. Fishing should be fun for you guys I always enjoyed that as a kid. Also I like that you call a outside a farm house wilderness :) Oh glad the dog thing is working out. I love these stories keep them up I feel like I know what Nolan and Selena are doing kind of.
ReplyDeleteUh the bat that was in my bathroom pooped little black turds like a string not pellets but they were hard but did not look like mice poop like little pellets. But I am by no means an expert I just know about the one in my bathroom. Hope this helps your research on bat poop.