Two weeks and counting...

Success!  Tyler works!

We have a computer and a router but internet connections is irregular at best.  Thanks to all who have sent notes and I am sorry I have not responded earlier.  I keep typing messages.  They just go into a black hole when I try to send them.  Hard to believe I have been here two weeks tonight.  It is a rather laid back environment which I need to constantly keep in mind.  Have some resumes out but nothing is moving as quickly as I would like. I did meet someone close to my age who is also bored, adventurous and a fast walker so we have started daily excursions/adventures, including one deep into a bairros.  I believe there were some young children in there who had never seen two old white women. One little boy actually started crying!  (Who ever said 59 was the new 39?)  People, especially children, are everywhere, plentiful and constant.

This is my first attempt at a blog so bear with me.  Once I get the hang of it will work on posting pictures for those who don't like to read.

The HOUSE

If you like pink tile and neon yellow trim paint have I got a deal for you!  The house is way more than we need or want, at least as large or larger than the house we just sold in order to downsize.  House – rather apartment – hunting looms large and critical.  Home sits on a road that is several of inches of dirty sand, muck when it rains.  I empty enough sand out of my shoes on a daily basis to build a castle and all my socks are brown.  We have a pool that was clearly an afterthought to market the property to captive expats.  It sits in the shade and has various life forms, swimming, sinking and floating on top.  However, it has come in handy for other reasons.

The Maid

The former Director and his wife had a maid, gardener, and a cook.  I would have kept the cook.  They let the cook go and kept the maid and gardener.  The maid shuts doors and windows and moves things around.  I open doors and windows and put things back.  The gardener moves the dirt around and skims bugs out of the pool.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, it’s off to market we go

Supermarkets are limited and super is a relative term.  The South African department store chain, Woolworth's, does carry some exotic food items like capers and pesto - at a price.  Best bet for produce is two markets which about 500 small vendors cohabitat with 5 million flies and what seems like 5 thousand children.  The children follow, beg, plead for coins.  There is a fish market down the street with fish in dubious stages of freshness (count the flies).  However, discerning buyers can get good seafood - at a price.

Driving Ms. Crazy

Those crazy Brits!  Who else would ever think to start driving on the wrong side.  It must be a nation of lefties.  Am learning to look right instead of left.  Also how to quickly turn off the windshield wipers which are located where the turn signals should be and to quickly turn on the turn signals where the windshield wipers should be.  Only one attempted crash so far.

Over hill, over dale, we will hit the dusty trail

To get to anything useful or interesting the poor locals and I share the sliver of a shoulder along the road which also serves as trash dump and public urinal.  Also tough on shoes.  I have already had a pair literally fall apart.  The maid yelled at me for tracking in dirt.  Turns out it was the soles of my shoes disintegrating.

And on the third day she said…

Water system for the house consists of two large outdoor cisterns and a pump which has the decibel level of a 747 to move the water up to two tanks inconveniently located over the master bedroom.  When the pumps kick in at night it is like sleeping on a Dulles runway.  Gravity moves water through the house.  There has been a water leak on one of the main roads since we arrived.  Every once in a while a group of about 8 or so show up with a shovel and dig.  Based on this one would think water conservation was not a critical issue.  However, our water stopped Saturday night, then Sunday late afternoon, then Monday early afternoon.  I had just returned from a long hot hike in the bairros (eg ghetto).  Epiphany - the pool is good for something!  We ended up having water trucked in and pumped into the cisterns.

500 flies, 500 flies, 500 flies, 500 flies, You can hear the bugs a-buzzing, 500 flies

My fellow trekker and I hiked to a park and craft market and then had lunch at an outdoor “Italian” restaurant.  Nice – would have been better minus the 500 flies (cross reference: markets) who were also enjoying me and the food.  There were several sellers from Zimbabwe at the market.  Apparently they are in relatively high demand in the service industry as they speak English.

Two weeks down - only 128 more to go!