9/19/02

It’s been a busy couple of days.

On Wednesday, I went with Selma to the satellite center in Choiseul again. There were probably 75-100 people in the class. The way the place is set up is with several little hut-type structures all connected by walkways. The class filled one hut and the walkway and half of the next hut. I don’t know how Selma maintained her sanity while teaching that many people. There also are several smart-asses in the class who have to give cute answers to everything.

Yesterday there were no classes in Choiseul, so I was in the main office. I was just in during the morning because I had some errands to run in the afternoon. From work, I went to town to catch a bus to the hospital. One of the trainees here at the center, Florencius, is friends with my Babonneau host family. He told me that Chelsea was sick and in the hospital. I talked with them and they said that Chelsea was having some kind of a kidney problem. I wanted to go visit at the hospital because they said she’d be there for about a week. I had to walk all over town to find the right bus for the hospital. Finally I got up there and found my way to pediatrics to find that Chelsea had been discharged that morning. It was a little frustrating, but good news.

When I was leaving, there were a number of buses going back to town. I got on one that was partially full. A couple more people got on, including one guy who was leaving the hospital and on crutches, and they told the driver to go. The driver said he would not go because the van was a 14-seater and there were only 13 people in it. Then probably 3 different people started yelling at the driver and having a big argument in Kweyol. This continued all the way to town. It was pretty funny even though I didn’t understand.

In town, I got some pictures developed, which should be up soon…. Also I had to pick up my new ATM card at the bank.

From there, I went up to the Peace Corps office. Not much was happening there.

After that, I stopped home for a few minutes, then I went to Tom & Mary’s to settle up on my apartment. I decided to take the one owned by their host family. It’s a little farther from the road than I would have liked, but it’s very nice. It’s in a nice neighborhood, and the landlords are good people. It just so happened that I got over there right at happy hour. Tom and Mary have a tradition of having happy hour every day. By doing this they support the local rum businesses. I stayed and chatted for a while with them and the family there, Paul and Mary. They have three dogs there and a nice kitty! Now I think I probably won’t get a dog. (Mom and Dad, you can thank me later!) Paul told me he’s been cleaning and painting in the apartment. I don’t know what there is to clean or paint, the place looked pretty much immaculate to me! Also I was able to work a TV into the package. The cable and hot water are covered; I’ll just have to pay for phone, electricity and gas tanks, as I need them for my stove.

Today seems to be a little more chill. I had planned to go to Choiseul again with Selma, but at the last minute she had to pick up the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and go with him to Choiseul. Unfortunately there are only two seats in the jungle jeep. So instead I’m doing some maintenance on my webpage. I should have quite a few more pictures up soon. Not many people are around at the office today. There are no official classes and everyone is dressed down. I may skip out later and go to the beach.

Tomorrow we’re working on a beach picnic at Pigeon Point. I’m hoping Renee and Lauren can come up from the south. I’m in need of some beach time.