New Experiences

Part of the reason we agreed to this international assignment was for the experiences, and today I had several.

I went to the morning market here at our club. For less than $12 usd I purchased strawberries, a zucchini and yellow tomatoes, a bouquet of fresh flowers, 2 small baguettes, and some pork chops.

Sophia, our ayi, did not want me to take Molly outside, because it is "too cold". At 39 degrees, I think it would be OK for 15 minutes. I know she doesn't approve of how I dress the girls. They are not bundled with enough layers. You should see the children around here. They all look like stay puff marshmallow men. No joke! They have layers and layers of clothes on. The poor kids look as though they will melt with all those layers.

I did take Molly out to Carrefour today. We bought an automatic rice maker along with a huge bag of rice. You cannot buy a small bag of rice. I have a ten pound bag that will surely a year. It is funny to see more rice makers than toasters and coffee pots in the electronics area of the store. I'll need Sophia to show me how to use it. But I'm hoping I can duplicate Morgan's new favorite meal, fried rice with eggs. Its a good way to sneak in the veggies and protein. While standing in line at the checkout, there were several Chinese women flirting with Molly. They are fascinated by her. They too were not happy that she only had on jeans and no other layers of clothes. I could even see the disappointment in our driver's eyes when they were discussing this.

I've been looking for some large area rugs for the house and have not had any luck. IKEA has some that would work, but the colors are a little funky. I went to B & Q today, similar to Home Depot, hoping for better luck. Mr. Yu thought the prices were too high. I asked him where to go to find cheaper rugs. He took me to the local shopping mart. I've been in the markets here where you bargain for silk scarves, and cashmere sweaters and fake bags. But this was different. This is where the locals do their shopping for home goods and clothes. Mr. Yu took me in and found the booth where they had rugs. I found one I liked and asked if they had three alike. They did and I was able to bargain for the three rugs. I paid the same price for 3 that I would have paid for 1 at B & Q. They are a cream color, shag style rug. They look very nice with the decor in the home.

Mark gets in very early on Thursday morning. We are anxious to have him back home.