a random list of slightly funny happenings.

1. it has rained here the past couple of days. it's almost instantaneous when it rains that the air becomes flooded with moth/mosquito looking dragon flies. i attempted to ask my Tanzanian roommate what they were called. he couldn't think of their name but he said, "OH! those are SO good. we look forward to the rain season because we catch a bunch of them and fry them up for a meal. their a really great source of protein, but just hard to catch!" he's holding out for another rain before i leave so he can force me to try them. gross.

2. i spent half of my sunday afternoon snapping green beans i bartered for at the market yesterday. i cooked a few carrots with a few string beans and called it a meal. delicious.

3. i have taken up a pet lizard. he likes to play hide and seek underneath my bathroom sink. lizards generally cover my walls and any crevice on the floor. he's quite friendly, but a bit shy.

4. this is the staff room where our tea time occurs. daily.

5. i had two cockroaches bigger than the palm of my hand taking up residence in my bathtub. i decided it was time to rid of them. i did so without any assistance. i was proud of myself but it was gross.

6. this is a flower i picked up on the sidewalk today. it was soft and smelled a lot like lemon. the kind people wear behind their ears in hawaii. quite lovely i must say.

7. my friend mika is having a difficult time fighting off the neighborhood monkeys. they like to catapult themselves from a nearby tree and jump onto her tin roof. as you can imagine the noise, the monkeys do a great job of waking her up at early hours. in attempts to save her garden from becoming rubbish and get some sleep, she chased after them, only to find that they chased after her!

8. i gave in. i got a cell phone. i didn't want one. i have enjoyed not having one. but with everything being a walk away - you can often walk to meet someone and in the time it took you to get there they have moved. it happens often. so now i have a british phone. i've somehow managed to finagle it to the english mode. my phone number is 078 5659 926 if you'd like to call. (hahaha!)