diff'rent strokes

it's not that i didn't expect this, but i am slowly adjusting to things down here. for example, today i wanted to make spaghetti for lunch. but the lighter for the stove didn't work and i couldn't find matches. i couldn't even figure out which knob was turning on the gas for which spot on the stove. um, could have been a little dangerous. (like the time i tried to pull a burning piece of toast out of the toaster with a metal knife at the hostel. whoops!)

in the grocery store, when you buy produce, you bag it and then take it to a special man by the scale - he weighs it and slaps a price sticker on the bag for you (and mumbles something strange in spanish - i always smile and say gracias really fast, in case i'm not supposed to say thanks). i got all the way to the front of the line at the grocery store today and realized i had forgotten to do that for my lone onion. ugh...

and the laundry. i have two loads - light and dark. all washed with cold water, all dries on a rack. it's great - it goes pretty fast, but it's so different than home. no clothes dryer, no dishwashers, no air conditioning... i don't know how i'm making it!! *cue the melodramatic music*

and by far the weirdest thing is the terrible american 80s music they play in the grocery stores. lately, it's been a mix of that and christmas music - some in spanish, some in english. but the rest is terrible - mostly because i end up singing along and it's a little embarrassing that i know so many of the lyrics.

a couple of other things going on... i have had the weirdest issue with my sinuses/ears lately. it's like my ears have popped and i hear everything the same, even my own breathing. it's strange because it started on sunday, right before church and was the worst when i was in church. then i had it the past couple of mornings when i was at work - and it usually goes away in the afternoon. it's especially significant for me, because listening to people is so critical right now. especially at church :)

and, at the baby house, we just got a new baby this week (well, she had been in the hospital for a week or so, so it's the first time she's at the house permanently) and her mom had been an alcoholic. she has a lot of catching up to do, so please be thinking of her over the next couple of months!