Day 5

Happy Easter in the States!

Thanks Everyone for your comments.

I will try to share some about the culture and life on this site at times.

Here are some random things:

WEEKEND

The weekends here are on Friday / Saturday.

Today is Sunday and everyone is going back to school and work.

Weird feeling!

DOGS

Dogs are not allowed here since Islam doesn't allow them. Who knew?!

They must be shocked by American movies where most Americans just love their dogs so much - have them in our homes, treat them like family, and such.

There are some cats. I saw 2 play wrestling under some palm trees during a morning walk. Another at the dumpster enjoying leftovers. None of them look fat or lazy. More like alley cats.

NATURE

Tried to catch the sunrise this morning, but it must be around 6. I was out at 6:30 walking around the neighborhood but will have to be earlier tomorrow to catch it one block from me and to beat more of the heat. By 7:30 it was kind of muggy.

You can hear the waves if you stop to listen or even open your windows at night even though I am a block away.

I finally saw birds! Well, black crows checking out the beach garbage.

Stars are bright here. Hope to go away from my neighborhood one night to enjoy them more.

TRANSPORTATION

Bicycles are rare. They say only the lower class workers have them but I don't see many at all. My director has one and I hope to borrow it one evening to take a ride around the island so I can check things out more.

Motorcycles are the "in" thing. The guys ride them all over usually 2 guys at a time. When the mosque service was done Friday, so many passed by my school.

Cars are not so common since they are a status symbol of wealth. Also, I haven't seen any parking areas! I have no idea where they would stop.

Buses come by like every 20 minutes (maybe) for the airport and ferry. The price seems to be .15 cents to go to the ferry. I haven't riden it yet. I guess if it is really hot or rainy I will. Otherwise, it doesn't sound too far away though I haven't walked there yet.

ROOMMATE

I think her name is Matina. She is Jean's mother (another teacher) and is very pretty and nice. He treats her with utmost respect - lends his arm to her as we walk, holds doors, etc. He is such a gentleman. His sister will arrive tomorrow and he seems excited to make her as comfortable as possible too. They are from Johannesburg, South Africa. Their 1st language is Afrikaans. Their English is like British English. There are 11 official languages in Johannesburg!

PEOPLE

I met the Swedish couple that lives here. Apparently the husband works at the international school I believe. They went snorkeling Friday and saw sharks. The wife said the sharks were scared of them and would stay away. Hmmm...??

I met the Austrian music teacher. He is a good friend of Jean's and has only been here since January. He is tall, young and genki it seems.

Piper's upstairs neighbors are Maldivian and the young landlords of the building. He writes movie reviews in Male. He watched about 3,000 movies last year. Can you imagine?! His English is very good and he is great friends with Jean...like his family now it seems.

FOOD

What will I do about food since I am on my own and everyone is off to work at resorts today? I can eat alone at a cafe (or have the one next door deliver something I order to the classroom then they pick up my plate later). I can buy cereal. I can nibble on the lettuce I still have from Male. Or a combination...

Breakfast was just watermelon...I am not crazy about the bananas here or other fruit. I am hungry a lot! Jean bought tons of bread like things for his mom. I should read the labels and see what they are. They must be good if he is stocking her shelf with them.

At 5ish I guess I can get the "Short Eats". Those were like the appetizer things that you can buy for .15 cents each at cafes or in usually empty buildings where a housewife may set up shop...

Sigh...wish there were supermarkets with pre-made meals here! Or just a sushi bar! Nothing of the such!

WORK

I have my first classes tomorrow at 2 resorts, so I need to work on my lesson plans now.

Tonight I will come by the school though since I want to meet 3 of their students - a Japanese hairstylist and makeup artist in Male, a Chinese man, and a Maldivian woman I met the other day at dinner at Piper's home.

COMMENTS

Jean feels that everyday is completely different here. He says just when you think you see a pattern, things will change. I can't imagine that since it is such a small community. Let's see...!