Yesterday was a fairly lazy day. I spent most of it reading. I’m a little upset because the WiFi at the house stopped working this weekend and the landlord wasn’t too urgent about fixing it. It’s not too big of a problem because I can just walk the 10 minutes to the office and settle down there on a weekend if I need to get something done, but I just want things to be reliable at my new home for the next 2 months.
Yesterday morning gave me a little scare when I went into my kitchen/dining room to find all my things were turned inside out. A bag of potatoes I had bought was torn open on the floor, a few utensils and containers were scattered on the ground. My trash was completely missing. I was so confused because nothing was really gone other than a fresh mango I was excited to eat with breakfast (and the trash). I really couldn’t figure it out until about an hour later I saw this monkey hanging out in a tree outside my window. It was then that I realized a window to my kitchen was always open and a little critter—like a monkey—could definitely go have some fun at my expense. It also made a lot of sense seeing my trash was filled mainly with banana peels and the only other missing thing was my mango.
This is the house I have a room in. I’m still getting comfortable here because there’s really only one person who speaks substantial English, and without her it’s a lost cause. I think all of the people here are family members, but it’s just the mom from what I have seen.
In the afternoon I went for a walk around the neighborhood where I live and work. As is my daily routine, I went to the market to buy some fruits for the week and meat for dinner. My diet right now is reminding me of my bro, Cader, when all he was eating was protein—yogurt, chicken, beef, eggs, and nothing else. At least I have a bit of fruit and veggies sprinkled in with my eggs and beef.
This week I think I’ll get to go visit some of the project sites for work which is exciting. And today should be fun because my manager from the US is coming to Hawassa for the week—it’ll be nice to meet her in person rather than spend the next 5 months just over zoom call.