You guys rock. I appreciate the input.
Pretty much I'm the blogger, aren't I? The girls get distracted on the computer with more fun things to do (iTunes, youtube), but I'll try to steer them towards it. Suffice it to say that they are in deep: going to school, eating weird food, living away from every single friend. Wow. They're heros. I will pass on your great cheering on to them.
A question about Obama; I've not heard a single mention of this down here. People ask us where we're from, we say US, they say what part, they sometimes ask us if that's in the middle part of the country, we say it's near California, they nod. Then we speak of other things.
Clothing: So, we're on the Equator. Central America is all in the northern hemisphere and thus experiences rainy when US is in summer, dry when we're in winter (more or less). Makes for great vacations. Here, there is not an annual weather change of much significance. I did hear of a "summery period around Christmastime" [El veranillo del Nino], but pretty much the significant weather is a daily fluctuation. And in a fairly narrow range. Honest question: Has any of you ever lived in a house with neither heat nor air conditioning? I have not, until now. It gets hot and cool every single day here. I have decided that the best description of the climate here is... Mister Rogers! I'm always taking off and putting on long sleeved garments. I wear a light wool/chamois shirt in the morning over my shortsleeved shirt, sometimes a thin wool hat, and then by 10 I'm hot and taking it off to put on my sunshirt for protection because we're at 8000 feet on the equator. I wear a dopey floppy sun hat when the wool hat comes off. I've not yet wanted the shorts I brought, jeans every day. Loose running pants for the sessions at the stadium. It's a very different mindset; in OR, you wake up, if it's cool you kind of decide that today is a sweater day and head on out. Here you have to change clothes a couple of times each day. And heaven help you if you go out in the heat at 3 to meet a friend without bringing your wool shirt because by 6 you're cold. The Andinas all wear shawls; this is good shawl country. When you get hot, you sort of fold like a banquet napkin and balance it on your head. No photo, sorry.
First full market day (Saturday) Yes, it's like Hood River in August. You know where to not go, tons of stuff to buy, tons of folks have come who want to buy it. Food and handcrafts out the kazoo. Amazing.
Tomorrow: energy consumption. I'm so enjoying being in an OPEC member country full of pedicabs hauling cinderblocks, papayas and grandmothers.
P
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2 comments:
Bev just told me about your blog, I love it.
You're realling experiencing it whole hog, huh? Culture shock? It may be tough now, especially for the girls, but they'll gain confidence from this, knowing that they can deal with new situations.
And just think - when you return, you'll get to experience reverse culture shock! Some things that you formerly took for granted will no longer make sense.
I can honestly say that I lived in a house with no heat or air conditioning, for over five years.
I never needed screens, never had bugs. And I was always comfortable.
Gotta love San Diego!!
Thanks for the continuing updates and good luck.
Cindy
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