Housing and More Odds and Ends

Today is Tuesday March 1, 2011.  It's the 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps, although you couldn't tell it here in PC land.

I stopped by the new house after school to drop off the locks they need to use on the doors - dead bolts provided by the PC. I got a peek at what's been happening. 

I was told yesterday that I'd be able to move in on Thursday.  I don't think that's going to happen, but progress is underway.  The great news, instead of an outhouse, they're building a bathroom on to the house.  Indoor plumbing.  And a kitchen.  Yeah, life is going to be very good.

The bath, which will be toilet and shower in one room, has been framed in.  They still need to finish that, install windows, which shouldn't take long and install a new back door.  Would be silly to put deadbolts on a screen door, eh?

I'm excited about the move and when I couldn't sleep the other night was imagining how I'll decorate.  I'm thinking food color in water in plastic vodka bottles I've collected will work to hold candles and add charm.

Other stuff:

Mirrors are very expensive here.  I have a compact mirror in my purse.  There's a mirror over the bathroom sink in my current house, but I leave for school before sunrise, and there's no light at the mirror to I head out having no idea how I look.  It's kind of freeing and I recommend it.  I blow dry in the dark, just to get my hair dry, not for style.  Then, I slap on some lipstick.  That's it.  And the men are still hitting on me.

I'm at war with lizards.  I love my lizards in Florida.  The ones here are athletically challenged.  This morning another one fell on my head as I was walking out to school.  Yesterday I did laundry and forgot to shake out the clothes before I washed them.  So, dried lizard poop became wet lizard poop and I didn't realize it had smearing all over a skirt until I was hanging it to dry.  Didn't matter though, since about 5 minutes after I hung my clothes out a storm blew in and soaked them all.  Washed off the lizard poop.  Thank you, God.

I have ice about once a month when I go to Apia.  I drink something cold about once a week when I splurge for a soda at the faleoloa.  I drink water, almost exclusively.  Everytime I have water with Crystal Lite I say a silent "thank you" to Kia, Michael, Madonna and John who sent me a bunch.  I can't tell you what a huge difference a small luxury like that makes.

My mission to bring Mexican food to Samoans is working.  The family is now requesting my "Fa'amolemole Guacamole" and the Mexicanesque chicken/chile thing that I make.  Sadly, avocado season seems to have ended.  I haven't had one in a couple of week.

I took five bean salad to school for lunch today.  The teacher's eat ramen every day.  With salt added.  I bought a can of five bean salad in Apia and added some onion and cucumber.  It was tasty.  When the teachers all tried it, I was laughing my head off.  The first one made a horrific face, then smiled and thanked me.  "Did you like it?" I asked.  "Oh, yes, thank you."  She lied.  The next victim asked for a taste and had a similar reaction.  So did the third and fourth.  A fifth declined to taste it.

Beans are not common here.  I've yet to find a place to buy dried beans or lentils which is a drag.  I eat a ton of canned chili beans, though.  Would be so much cheaper to make them myself.  Also, the sweet/sour taste of bean salad was a bit too tangy for their taste.  Oh, well. 

I've promised to bring more palagi food samples once I move next door and have a good kitchen.  I'll keep you posted on what flies and what they think is just not edible.