Dependence Day

Hello blog followers. I have been keeping track of my blog audience, and there have been 16 views from Serbia. WHO ARE YOU? REVEAL YOURSELVES. o_O

Today I did some chores which included washing my laundry by hand; something I find kind of therapeutic. Veltza's daughter put up an extra clothes line for us to hang our clothes. I hate feeling dependent on people for anything, but it is inevitable initially when I don't know this city at all and how to get around and where is safe to go. I am looking forward to when I have a better sense of the lay of the land here. So now I have a piece of paper with instructions on it on how to navigate the big open marketplace tomorrow. We were told to bring nothing but a little bit of money in our pockets.

Today was also trash day. For trash collection, recycling is uncommon and you have to be physically present to leave your trash with the trash men, or they will not pick it up. That means that you yourself have to throw it into the trash truck when it goes by. I was surprised to hear this, since it is very different from Canada or the United States, where your trash is picked up for you.

At work every Monday, Wednesday and Friday they have a get-together around 6:30 to drink tea, chat and have some empanadas, in an attempt to get to know each other more. I look forward to these tea times.

I wanted to go downtown tonight to one of the events for the Jazz Festival, but I did not want to go alone. So I walked around the block first to confirm that it might not be the best idea. I like to be reassured. For a Friday night, there was NO one on the streets! Just some dogs barking at me, which was not nice at all. I went to TWO convenience stores with lights on, knocked and said "hola?.. HOLA?!" through the iron gate wall that separates customers from the store owners and items; kind of like a prison cell that you WANT to be in. No one was there. WEIRD. Where did everyone go? Then, I went to the other convenience store down the road- "Tienda de Katy" ("Katy's Store"). I met Katy and her husband and chatted with them for a bit which was nice. We all decided it was a better idea for me to go during the day downtown and not alone, at least until I know my way around. Katy's husband was funny - one of those guys who tries to practice his English and acts like he knows exactly what he's saying and says it with a smile on his face, but makes no sense at all :)

Here are some night-time pictures I took:

Our laundry at night.

Dog attending the convenience store.

The MOON (outside my window).

I will try to be patient, although it is hard for me because I just want to see and do and go without restrictions. But I have to remember that these things take time. I have gone to so many new cities in the past few years and gotten to know my way around eventually, so I can do it here, too.