Sound the trumpets, folks, because we finally have a home. Temporary, of course, but it's not a hotel room. So here's what happened last week: The country and regional safety and security coordinators were going to be visiting Boa Vista anyway, to check out the island, add to the notes that they already have. So PC basically enlisted their aid in helping us get a place to live. So Mike and Hilario showed up on Thursday and saw some places. Then we spent nearly all day Friday looking at potential houses and apartments. Nothing was really to perfect satisfaction, unfortunately. Everything was either too expensive, too old and crusty, too not-entirely-built-yet, or too one-bedroom-ish. As for that last one, you wouldn't think that this would be an issue. But on no less than half a dozen occasions, we have showed up to see an apartment that we have been ASSURED has two bedrooms, only to find that it has only one. It defies all sense and reality. If I were a scholar, I would make this my life's research: How does the number one, in passing through a single human beings eyes and brain, suddenly turn into two? It's spectacular. But that is neither here nor there. We did revisit an apartment we had seen before and were pleased to see that it only has a few weeks more work to be done on it. Obviously that is no good for now, but it is absolutel ideal for a permanent residence in size, price, location, everything. So in the mean time, we are shacked up in the only other two bedroom place we could find: an Italian tourist apartment just outside the main cluster of town. It kinda sucks that we are not as inside the community as we would like. It also kinda sucks to be associated with the tourism industry. It definitely sucks that it is costing way more than it should. But oh wow is it a nice place. It's nice enough that I feel guilty having it. As much as I like it, I definitely prefer the more humble place in town. Nonetheless, it is never bad to eat dinner on a balcony overlooking the ocean, or spend Sunday reading with a nice beach breeze blowing. It was also fully furnished, which was pretty necessary given our situation. It just wouldn't make sense to have to buy all our furniture and then move again a month later after barely settling in. So yeah, that's where I am now. I can finally relax and enjoy myself a bit.

I also am halfway through teaching my first computer class. It's going pretty well as of now. I have to teach in Creole, which was a frightening though at first, but that has actually not been the hard part at all. The most difficult thing is forcing myself to go at a pace suitable for someone who has literally never touched a computer before. In the US, even people who don't have computers or despise them know how to move a mouse, know the difference between right and left clicks, know where the start button is, etc. Not so much here. And concepts that seem easy to me aren't. In giving instructions, I might say quickly "Ok, go to the Start menu, click on the Control Panel, find the user accounts icon." But it's not that easy. I usually have to specify which mouse button, and say exactly where to click on each screen. It was frustrating at first, but now I don't mind so much. The good part is that my class is interested, attentive, and nearly always on time. Because they are older, they are mature and don't give me shit ever. I like it. I have another class, in Microsoft Word, coming up at the end of the month. Also, my counterpart is pressuring me to start teaching an English class soon. I certainly don't have a problem with teaching it, and I would actually love to get it started, but I'm a little lost on it, to be perfectly honest. It's not exactly my element and I don't even know where to start. Nadia has been giving me ideas, and I think that the first class is going to be a very basic conversational class, with the material dictated by the needs and levels of the students. I can see that either going really well, or really badly. We'll see... For people who already know, I think I'm also going to try to organize an informal discussion hour with friends that we've made around town. They always want to speak English with us, so I figure why not get them all together at once and have a chat?

Also, North Korea just tested a nuclear weapon. Yikes.