Just a quick side note: Aaron says he gets sparks and shocks sometimes when he plugs stuff in. Something about no ground wires. Don says he experienced the same thing. Could be why all the structures around us are concrete. Less likely to burn down.
So, we all lie down to take a nap. Si sets the alarm for 1:00, as we don't want to sleep too long and then not be able to sleep that night, and our plans are to all go to dinner at 6:00 tonight. Because of the AC in the living room there are doors that people shut everytime they leave the room, to keep the cool air in. Apparently, no one knows how to to do this quietly. Si and I are fast asleep and because of the curtains in the room it is very dark. All of a sudden, BAM! And lots of people talking very loudly. Si and I jump up, wide awake. Remember now, its very dark and we are very disoriented. So, Si hands me the clock to read, but hands it to me upside down. So, instead of 12:15, I see it as 5:45. Thinking they forgot to wake us up and that we are going to be late or miss dinner, we jump up and start getting ready. Its only after we are out of the shower, etc that we realize its NOT almost 6:00. Oh well, we're up now!
This would be a good time to mention the shower.
These pictures just don't do it justice. There are perhaps 3 or 4 little streams of cold water coming out the shower head.
NO hot water, NO water pressure! I didn't really mind the lack of hot water as the cold water was actually quite refreshing, but I'm standing there trying to figure out how I'm going to get all the shampoo and condtioner out of my hair. Aaron and Jeanne have a bucket on the floor with big plastic cups in it. They use this to "collect" the water and then pour it over themselves for better results. I decide I'm not washing my hair at this time; for a few reasons. 1) I think we are late getting ready for dinner, 2) I'm not sure I have time to stand there long enough to make sure all the shampoo and conditioner gets rinsed out of my hair, and 3) I'm not sure how I'm going to fix my hair without blowing the breaker again. I don't dare try to plug in the blow dryer or my straightener!Aaron's intent is for us to leave for dinner about 6:00 so we can see the sun set on the Atlantic Ocean. However, Jeanne is very busy with last minute wedding preparations and doesn't get home till almost 7:30. So, we all pile in the van and head to the restaurant.
Its an interesting place with beautiful decorations liningthe walkway towards the table area.
Not realizing we were going to be having dinner outside, none of us used our insect repellent or had any with us. Aaron finally asked the waiter / proprietor to light some of those coils that are supposed to keep the mosquitos away. He set them on the ground, not quite sure why, but it seemed to help a little with the mosquitos feasting on our ankles and legs. However, it didn't do anything for all the insects flying around the table and us. You know how they say, "everything's big in Texas?" Well, Africa has Texas beat on the size of mosquitos. The mosquitos here look like they are on steroids. I tried to get a picture of one, but the background was too light and it didn't show up. So, we spend the dinner swatting and eating; and as much as we swat, they keep coming! Thank goodness for the anti-malarial pills we're taking.
Dinner was very interesting. Jeanne and Lyn ordered spaghetti and the plate they each got was HUGE. Four or five people could have shared one plate and it would have been more than enough. I had grilled chicken with roasted potatoes and salad. Everyone else had some kind of local fish.
Each plate had a large (whole) fish on it. Head and all.Eyes staring at you! UGH! But everyone who had it said it was pretty good. They all got the roasted potatoes and salad too. Funny thing..........it was after we finished that Aaron remembered to caution us about not eating raw vegetables. Apparently, like, Mexico, you can't completely trust how it is prepared, so it can cause stomach distress. No one seemed to be the worse for wear, but this is a piece of advice we all now consider when eating meals.
After dinner we headed back to the apartment, sat around and talked a bit and then decided to go to bed. Jeanne left to go stay with her cousin so she and Aaron would not see each other till their wedding.Earlier this day, Aaron had had the electrician come in to check out the "situation" with the electricity. He adjusted the "regulator." It goes from 5 - 15, not sure what that is for, but anyways it was at 10 and the electrician set it up to 15. A fat lot of good that did! Once again, we turned on the AC in our bedroom and once again the breaker blew. I think we had a little help this time. Don was trying to charge his phone and I think that was all it could take. So, as we're all scrambling for candles to light (no flashlights), Aaron is calling Jeanne who then calls the electrician. I think it was about midnight or so when the electrician's show up. (Try getting someone to come to your house in the middle of the night here in the states!!!) Come to find out, one of the main boxes is "fried." The electricians work their magic and by (I think) about 12:30 they are done and we once again have electricity. Good thing, because did I tell you how HOT and HUMID it is here? Oh, and to top it off, when you open the windows you can hear the mullahs (through a loudspeaker at the mosque) chanting prayers
for Ramadan (VERY LOUD) and the lamb living in the yard of the house shown in this picture "baa -- baa'ing" all night. Glad the AC is back on and we can shut the windows and go to bed.TO BE CONTINUED.................
And we thought the electrical problems would come from the electric company that decides on their own clock when we get power and when we don't. But, it's true - we don't typically draw that much power when we don't have a house full of guests. At the same time, the apartment that we are living in is quite deceiving - it looks really nice, until you look at the detail and see the poor materials that they used in constructing the place. That's why we have fuses burning out, flooding in the living room, etc. It is a frustration that we deal with frequently and tried to remedy before your arrival, but apparently didn't succeed totally.
ReplyDeleteThe power continued to give us problems until just before you left. Not sure exactly what was wrong, but the electrician did find that the cover for the ceiling light on the balcony was filled with water. We didn't use that light often, but I am not quite sure what would happen if you turned on a light inundated with water.
As for the mosque, it's actually quiet at our house. Remember the trip home from the airport? We could have lived next to that mosque. It's something that you get used to though after a few days - you seep right through it.
As for the cement construction - well, it's the edge of the desert -there is no wood! Though, it certainly does help with fires!!