Hump Day 10/08/08

Hi Everybody-

It bugs me that these posts seem to get more and more boring each day-I guess that means I'm getting in the swing of things. However, I am determined to write in here as much as possible because even though I am far away, I like to be connected to all of you back home!

Yesterday was mostly uneventful-it was the first day that I grabbed a quick lunch by myself as Alex and Stephanie were hard at work. I managed to set up my excel spreadsheets that I will use to collect my data so I have less to do when I actually get the data-any day now. It seemed like everyone decided to drive early painfully slowly or extremely erratically yesterday evening while I was driving home-maybe there was a full moon and it was making people go crazy...

Audrey went to a friends house for dinner so Alain and I ate alone. It was rice, beans, greens, lamb, potatoes, and cabbage-fantastic! We had interesting conversations about pop culture and whether or not all of the houses look the same in the states (He said that that is what it seemed like in the movies) but I told him just like everything else-the houses are all different.

I also thought it was interesting that he called Mauritius a 3rd world country. To me, a 3rd world country is a place where people don't have running water or electricity, internet, grocery stores, shopping, and the like (I think the Sudan). Mauritius has all of these things-everyone is educated, seems to speak at least 2 languages, and has a cell phone.

I stopped for gas at a shell station closer to home today-I don't know what it is but when I said "fill it up" in french, the attendant said "full." This always happens to me at gas stations-is my accent that terrible? I hope not-the last thing I want to be is another ignorant american. Other than that-it was the daily battle of dodging buses and motorcycles who like to weave in and out of traffic.

Some little things:
-there is a public beach that i pass everyday in port louis called "Sable Noir" or "Black Sand." Why would anyone want to go to a beach where the sand is black??? Gross
-I am parked normally-should not be blocked in at the end of the day
-2 loaded questions I keep facing here: "Why does America try and police the world?" "Who's going to win? McCain or Obama"
-I'm starting to think that people don't understand me when I speak-every other phrase i say seems to be wrong and i get corrected-helpful but sometimes frustrating
-there is a men's nursing home of sorts down the block from where I work-I seem the same man with a peg leg and the other that is tall, skinny, and wears a neckbrace every day
-Audrey's dog Diva was on the roof today

More later...