No electricity most of today, that means no air conditioning or fans!

Big news of the day (yesterday): I got a phone! Actually both M and I got cell phones because they were half price. SO basically it was like getting two for the price of one. Annnnnd…we can take pictures with them! Ah, technology…We took an adventure to the Trinicity Mall because there were things we needed. So we took a taxi (As long as you don’t look at the road, you won’t be scared gray). How deftly the taxi driver wove on teeny-narrow roads avoiding other cars and pedestrians with fine precision! (*is in awe*). Anyway, the mall is like almost any in the US, although with mostly different stores, with some exceptions like Radio Shack and Payless Shoes. Also, KFC is king here. Don’t ask me why, but I’ve seen more Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants than anything else here. Interestingly enough, no McDonalds…lol! Other American chain restaurants that seem to be plentiful here are Subway and Popeye’s Chicken. Anyway, we avoided that altogether in the food court and found a roti shop at last!

Let me explain roti to the uninitiated. It is a combination of curried chick peas, potatoes and veggies in a pita-like doughy bread. That being said, I didn’t even get one at the roti shop. We got curried chicken and potatoes with curry gravy and rice and some really spicy sauces to put on it. M was not fond of his (too spicy for him) but I loved it and the very doughy naan bread that came with it.

I’m trying very hard to develop an ear for the accents here. They are very musical and very difficult to understand. If I really focus, I can hear individual words and get meaning in context. For example, on the way home, at a red light, the taxi driver said something to us. This is what I heard: “blah blah blah open blah blah.” We nodded and smiled, and he grew more animated and then reached back and opened the window and this time I heard something about “blah blah open blah breeze blah blah.” So of course we figured out that without air conditioning in the car, that opening the window might give us a nice breeze. Thank goodness it wasn’t: “Open the door and get out because something’ s on fire!”

We also bought a coffee maker. Oh boy, we had taken that little piece of technology for granted. For the last two days we have been forced to put filters over individual cups and pour hot water gradually into them. After an excruciatingly long time, our coffee would be ready. However, it’s rare that we only want just one cup and so the excruciating process would begin anew. So now we have a wonderful Mr. Coffee and all is well in the world.

Also purchased were two large fans. Things not yet dealt with? A phone line, television. Those things will follow eventually. Also don’t have a bunch of kitchen stuff, although we still managed to make a mean curry this evening.

So Amy is possibly going to come next weekend, almost for sure, bearing our darling Tico Goldenwings. (Khalil, for those of you who might not know, has been fostered with a new family with lots of other cockatiels and he seems to be doing well.) Anyway, I’m a little stressed since I still have to get the import permit. I just hope it goes smoothly. Amy will only be here one full day. Hopefully we can get to Maracas (sp.?) Beach, which is supposed to be stunning in beauty and try the Bake and Shark there that is world famous. Right now just need to be able to get through tomorrow which will involve trying to find a place that will fax for me and talking to the import permit guy again...