I had a great flight down here, almost got stuck in Trinidad with the immigration people, but made it through alright. There is not any food in this country! I've only been eating Bacova, which is bananas. They are only a dollar for 6! Exchange rates here are in my favor, $1US=$2.8 SA. Back to the Bacova, it's one SA $ for 6 bananas, and they are completely delicious. I bought a $10 pineapple too, which was simply incredible. Besides the fruit though, I have no clue what to eat, and we've only been fed once, which I hope to change, because that seems to be the way to get good food.
So far I've seen lots of animals.
Street dogs: Dogs that are just strays running around. They aren't very interested in chasing people for the most part, only three have chased me. The dogs here are small, about the size of our dog, but skinny. I've seen a few rottweilers, but those are only at the rich houses.
Lizards: A few big green ones, like 16 inches long. They run fast and aren't very catch able
Frogs: plenty of frogs. I haven't caught any yet, except the one that was playing in our drying dishes earlier this morning. It was tiny though, most of the other ones are great biggies.
Geckos: Geckos are all over the walls and stuff of people's houses. They run funny because their legs don't seem to separate very well. The ones I've seen are yellow, hopefully I can find some other cooler ones.
Parrots: The main parrots you will think of are the Macaw ones, they are big and red, or big and blue. Most of the parrots however are green, and as big as a rock dove. They are the more tamable ones though.
Sounds: when the sun goes down there is an entire chorus of various different animals singing, it's enjoyable I think.
Bugs: there aren't really very many bugs here. No big mosquito issues like in Alabama. There are lots of ants, but they are super tiny. Not really an issue when you put your table in bowls of water so they can't climb up. I've used dish soap to drown a number of them.
It's pretty hot, even going into the rainy season. Not nearly as hot as some of the days in Alabama, but always humid. We have an "airco" unit in our bedrooms, but the rest of the house is wind cooled, or just toasty. We have a whole house! My Companion is named elder Bell. He's from somewheres in Utah. He's a bowler, he's bowled a 300. He's lost 40 lbs as a missionary so far. He leaves the airco on all night so when I wake up, it's always freezing. The shower water is tough, because the ground is still cool showering at 6:30am. Everyone here is super super super tanned, I'm catching up quickly. Even when wearing sunscreen.
Elder Hulme with strange smile, and Elder Bell looking very relaxed
I'm pretty culture shocked but doing well. I'm glad to hear that Grandpa's funeral service went well. I miss Alabama. Quite a lot actually. But it's going to be a brand new adventure and I'll make it work.
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