Holidays!

Almost at the end of week two in my new place! It feels like home most days but I’m still getting used to not having running water or knowing if I’ll have electricity. The temperature has been in the 90s and 100s all week so that’s been quite a change from Alaska. I keep telling people in my town it’s going to take me some time to get used to because I’m from a place that is cold and has lots of snow, but the people here can’t conceptualize anything less than 60 degrees so it’s been a little tough to explain.
Christmas is right around the corner, so all of us in my province are headed to the beach for the weekend to bask in the sun (not that I need any more sun but why not), grill out, and drink mimosas. Most of us are not thinking of it as Christmas break but more as a chance to get together and share stories from our first two weeks at site. It’s strange not having snow on the ground and holiday music playing constantly, but in a way it’s nice.
Ok- fun facts. Sand is everywhere- a nice change from constant mud. The sky is always blue, cloudless, and gorgeous. Not many trees but the ones we do have are huge and beautiful. Several trees in town are right out of The Lion King so that’s pretty cool. (For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, think of the most stereotypical African tree, and that’s it.) My house has cement floors and walls with a tin roof- I feel like I’m in an oven all the time. I don’t actually have an oven or a fridge but I’m learning to cook little by little. I can cook an egg on my floor- I did it on accident yesterday. I cracked my one and only egg into a container to beat it, set it on the floor to prepare a few other things, and when I came back it was already cooked. Who needs a stove when I have heated floors! I have cockroaches that fall from my ceiling. I actually just killed two that fell onto my couch as I was typing this blog. While raking my sand yard the other day, I threw a rock into my lixo pit (a hole dug in the ground where I put all my trash- and where children like to find new toys) and accidentally hit a chicken. I have neighborhood galinhas do mato (“bush chickens” that I’m pretty sure are turkeys) that squawk from four am until ten at night (and I thought roosters were bad!). My neighbors and colleagues are so friendly and helpful and are making my first few weeks here very enjoyable and comfortable. Professora Telma invited me over for dinner to make Matapa (coconut milk, crushed peanuts, and green leafy veggies- amazing!) and Professora Carlota has come by with cooking and fruit and other yummy treats. Every day several herds of cows and bulls come through town. Because they take up the whole road, I usually have to move to the side of the road in the bushes to get out of the way. I’m sure they’re not harmful but when I have sixty sets of horns coming at me a get a little nervous. My laundry dries outside within 10 minutes which is awesome. Then again yesterday I had to look through my health manual and find out how to get rid of the bugs that attach themselves to cloths left outside to dry. They’re not pleasant- believe me. I have about 14 neighbor criancas (children) that like to play on my porch (so much for it shocking kids). They typically stand in my doorway and watch whatever I’m doing, usually reading. Stare and scream are what they’re best at. A few are pretty adorable, but it’s sad to see them with their distended bellies and ringworm covered heads. And let me note my power has gone out six times in the last 10 minutes. It makes me cherish the moments when I can use my fan. All in all, many funny moments throughout the days due to things previously mentioned. I’ve learned to laugh at most things and really appreciate the things I used to take for granted. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love it here. I wouldn’t change a thing about my situation, even the spider that lives in my kitchen. It just takes time to get used to.

Wish List!!! I know I won’t get any of this by Christmas, or New Years, but think of them as valentines wishes 
**Powder drink mix (ice tea, Gatorade, Kool Aid, lemonade)
**More drink mixes
**Powder cheese from Mac and Cheese boxes
**Brownie or cookie mix
**Letters!
**Powder soup mix (Really any powder mixes- i'm craving it all!)
**Cute tank tops
**Visitors!!

Happy Holidays to all!!