Last week Marilyn wrote with some questions to help free us from our writers block. She asked, "If you don't cook, what do you eat?" I guess I need to clarify. I can cook a few things. I don't enjoy it, but I can. `
We eat noodles at least two or three nights a week. We have rice and beans at least once, maybe twice a week. Once a week we rally and do some sort of real meal. On that night Troy might make enchiladas or we might grill chicken or make tacos.
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Food is low priority around here. We like good food, but we do fine without it. Some of the things we ate the most in the USA are double the cost here, suddenly they don't taste so great. ;)
Thankfully, we moved directly across the street from a bakery. As you can see in the photos, right outside our gate we can buy hot fresh bread. (We can also get our hair done or shop at a gift shop that sells the gifts of liquor and cigarettes.)
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The bakery/salon/giftshop has saved us many times. No, not the rum, the bread.
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Hot bread with peanut butter is an excellent breakfast, lunch, or dinner. This is our go-to meal when we have no plan.
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I sense that many women just cannot comprehend my disdain for cooking, I don't know how to explain it to you other than to say, if Emeril offered to come to Haiti for two weeks to teach me how to cook - at no cost ... I'd turn him down.... tell him to get lost. It holds no interest for me. I would eat cereal for dinner for the next 30 years before I would take up cooking. Talking about recipes is torture to me. Please never invite me to a recipe exchange party.
`The other question was about electricity/internet/television. We do not have television, but obviously we have internet. When the city is offering us power we charge batteries ... once city power goes off we run off of batteries. The batteries do give us enough juice for computers and internet. We need to be careful not to use the microwave or turn on many lights ... if you over use, then the batteries die and you sit in the dark.
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If we had nicer neighbors we would run our generator, but as it stands now we cannot run it at night -- which is the only time we ever lose power. Our internet is provided by a Haitian company. The upload is slow, the download is slower. We are not complaining, we love that we have Internet. After we get out kids to bed we read news, blogs, listen to podcasts, and instant message with friends. We don't miss TV at all. I would say we are online too often - especially at night. We probably need to cut back, do a self-intervention, get help, knock it off.
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If there are things you're curious about - ask. We don't know what is interesting and what is likely to totally bring you to tears with boredom.
`In other current events news:
- Aaron and Jamie and kids are here - staying here till Friday. Very fun.
- Troy came dangerously close to hitting a pedestrian today. (Troy says that the pedestrian came close to hitting us) My heart was in my throat. I am pretty sure he would have rotted in jail for life.
- Paige took Aaron to the market today. She is hilarious at the market. Haitian people literally flip out about her dead-on accent and the buzz it causes is very fun to observe.
- Sheila and I got to meet up with friends for dinner, they brought in a ton of stuff for the sewing ladies and bought us pizza and diet coke. Anyone who buys a diet coke in the land of limited diet coke is a forever friend.
- Zach has been supplying my diet coke lately. All of a sudden Jeronne will come running and tell me that our big friend brought a gift. Santa may run into a supply problem soon, I have not seen it in the stores lately.
- Sheila spoke further about domestic violence on Tuesday (and we will again tomorrow) and a lady came up after class to show us the bite on her neck and the marks on her legs. We're working with her to find options. This is so complicated ... SO complicated. Please pray.
- Troy and Aaron are
slightlytotally immature in one anothers presence. I expect to find a whoopie cushion or overhear the telling of fart jokes at any moment.
