Getting Settled

8/1/09
I spent the day with all the volunteers walking the streets. We went to the Internet Cafe and Chinese lunch (I didn't eat). It poured down raining. I was the only one with an umbrella. I find myself talking all the time. I need to be more aware. I passed out at 9pm.
8/2/09
I woke up at 5am. No water. I wanted to go to mass but Rocio didn't get to shower last night so I guess we will find another service later.
The black birds (they are called Kaks) because the yell "kak" "Kak" are everywhere and they are as dirty as the people. The horns honking is brutal on my ears. I won't be wearing my hearing aid much outside. (The horn honking is actually a traffic law if you can believe it)



Crossing the road is very dangerous. I almost collided with a man on a bike hauling at least 50 chicken that were half dead.





Today I want to go out with my camera only so I can take lots of pictures of different scenes. Each block is the same - little cubby holes 4x4 max with people cooking on the sidewalk, others begging , different smells which I can't capture. I think I'll video 15 seconds in a cab towards the end of my trip so others can see the feel of things.
5:30am and I am already sweating just lying on my bed. I've gone 1.5 days with my water purifyer and I'm not sick so that is good. I taught yoga yesterday with the other residence, it was fun. We will get together a few times a week to work out.
Back to the Kaks - they are loud and dirtier than pigeons in NYC. Their feathers are missing and they look oily. They perch on our windows and sit there looking at Rocio (my roommate) and me.
7:30am "It's a Wonderful World" song is in my head today. Breakfast is served at 8am. I hope today I get over the jet lag. We went tot he YWCA mass and it was interesting. We had a latte next door in the A/C - what a treat!. The water isn't making me sick but the smell and taste of the water is gross so I bought 3 liters of water today at under $1 so I think I'll just go that route.
I painted today. My feet are really swollen for some reason. We went for a late lunch around 3pm and took a walk for about an hour. The walks are not long but the sights, smells and filth are so overwhelming that I feel exhausted. I'm ready to sleep at 8pm. Tomorrow we start training so it's time to get focused. I'm excited. IT was good to have the weekend to get acclimated but too much time on my hands is making the days longer than they should be.