shoes, umbrellas, internet, and something ordinary

I wrote this two days ago (Wednesday) and my very predictable internet connection didn’t allow me to post it… And now it won't allow me to post any pictures either. So just ignore all "see picture below"s and I'll try again over the weekend to get the pictures up (I got all the pictures up today!).

I’m sorry to all of you who check here to once again find that I still haven’t posted! I will continue to work towards consistency and shorter time intervals. :-)

I’ve worn through my first pair of shoes since arriving (see picture below). This shouldn’t be a problem since I brought six pair of flip-flops with me. Theoretically I should be able to wear through a pair a month. And since I’ve already been here two months and have only worn through one pair, I should make it until July. I could just go downtown and buy more shoes, which sounds much easier to do than it would be in reality, but it could be done.

I bought an umbrella this morning. It was very exciting. I’ve been needing one for about a week and a half. Since the rains started, there has been more than one day in which I’ve had to walk down the road and catch a taxi to work in the rain, or have arrived home drenched. Arriving home dripping water is not so bad- I was able to towel-dry my hair and change my clothes. But arriving at work dripping water would not be so good. So, for my umbrella I am very thankful. Karen and I had to hop out of the car and run through traffic chasing down the umbrella man. She yelled “parapluie!!” and he finally stopped and I got my choice from quite the variety of colors and styles. I chose a collapsible one that will fit in my bag- I decided I didn’t need a cane and umbrella combo. At least not this week. (ps- singles get one morning off of work each week for errands, shopping, etc.- that was this morning for me)

I’ve moved into my new apartment. Here’s a picture of the outside:

I have two housemates and a puppy. This is our puppy, Kimia, and my friend Rebecca (who cleans our house and does our market shopping). Rebecca has been sick with malaria since Friday!

I have to go across the driveway and sit in our neighbors’ backyard to get internet connection (see picture below). I get a lot of mosquito bites at the same time. Yes, I know I should just wear mosquito repellant, but I really hate the stuff. And don’t worry, the malaria-carrying mosquitoes only bite from sundown to sunrise. So I do sleep with a mosquito net (see other picture below).

The afternoon today was spent out at the international airport. We met controllers, police, landing fee collectors, flight plan filers, weather obtainers, and many others. I stuck out like a sore thumb with my pilot’s uniform, epaulets, and ponytail. It’s a big deal for me to be a female pilot, but I’m kind of tired of it being a big deal. I’m kind of tired of shock and surprise and disbelief. I kind of want to be something normal, something ordinary.