Time

My life is quite different now from how it was a couple of months ago. One thing that’s impressing me is how much time I seem to have. I keep wondering where it all went when I was in America. Upon further analysis it’s easy to figure out: driving kids here and there, running errands, practicing or teaching Zumba, idly scrolling through Facebook on my phone, etc. Well, I don’t drive the kids around anymore because the bus picks them up and drops them off right at my front door. Furthermore, they go to school for the full day: 7:40 – 2:30. I have run a few errands but I do it infrequently, since (1) I don’t have a car and (2) there aren't as many stores here. No frivolous Target or Costco runs for me! I no longer teach Zumba, although I’m looking into options. I need to find a venue and figure out how to make it work. And I certainly haven't been wasting any time on my phone because we don't have cell service and just got wireless internet the other day. I can use most of the apps on my iPhone at home now, but I try to forget so I don't revert back to my old ways...for now I’m just enjoying the break that my simple Embassy-provided bar phone provides.

I'm actually glad that my circumstances have forced me to slow down. I've been able to cook a meal every night, devote a bunch of time to Jasmine, casually explore my area, etc. I have also been improving my brain health by working on the book of word games I brought along with me. :) I jump on every opportunity for socialization, and it seems like most of the expats around here do too. The other day F. hosted a get-together for the spouses at his house. I enjoyed talking to people about where they've been, which stores they go to for certain items, and what they do to keep themselves busy here in Guyana. I've met a few non-American expats, too. The other day my kids were playing with French-Portuguese, French-American, Israeli, and Canadian-Japanese kids, all on a Guyanese playground. It was great. I'm always astounded that people from other countries just come here to work for different companies or organizations, but I guess I'm one of the weird ones now too. It's still surreal.

Here are some recent pics.

Bought a soursop and it was delicious! Sevak made juice. It's just time-consuming to de-seed.

Meanwhile Rose juiced some sweet lemons for lemonade.

She also lost her second tooth and the Guyanese tooth fairy came! 1000 GYD is great even by U.S. standards...that's five bucks! The only other bill we had was 100 GYD and Sevak thought that was too cheap. :)

Went exploring with Jasmine one day.

There's a sea wall that is behind our house and it extends all along the coast. Here are some fishermen I saw while walking along it.

Quite a common sight.

Pretty tennis court in a nearby neighborhood.

Wish we had one of these in our yard.