I have spent the past two days getting this place spic and span. It's been hard work. Yesterday I walked the kilometer or so to Woody's Grocery Store to get some cleaning supplies. I walked home with one of the biggest buckets I've ever seen, a broom, a mop and a ton of cleaning products. It was a long walk home and I even briefly considered packing it on my head for Justin's sake back home. He's convinced all Africans can balance things on their head. I was, however, already amusing many of the locals so I didn't want to completely humiliate myself...anway, I picked out the cleaning stuff based on what little Spanish I know and tried to follow the directions. I'm still not sure what's what. I washed all the curtains, sheets, pillowcases and our laundry. I then disinfected the countertops, side tables and floors. I wished my mom was here to help. She can clean anything twice as well as I can in half the time. It would have been nice to team up against the job! I can't believe it's only 10:46 am...I've been working since 7 am this morning and the floors and sheets are finally done. Here sleeping in doesn't happen. Between the roosters, the dogs and the sun, everyone is up at 7 am. It's actually quite nice.
Last night I had tea for the first time since my arrival. Although we only seem to have dehydrated milk close at hand, it actually tasted quite nice in my tea. I managed to find Lipton teabags and that first sip was delicious. It made me a bit homesick though...my last real cup of tea was with Jenny and her belly :( I dedicated my cup to her. This morning I broke out the coconut bread I bought yesterday and slathered it with margarine and jam. Truth be told, it tasted quite a lot like regular bread...not so much coconut but whatever. It was still awesome! I've been craving toast, jam and tea forever! It's nice to be grateful for such small graces. The little comforts really count here. I'm starting to like Roatan more and more.
I've made a couple of friends although the dive shop is mostly full of guys. Shona is a DMT from England who is here for (hopefully) two more weeks. She is softspoken and funny with a great tan! I quite like her. She has given me a ton of useful tips on surviving Roatan and our male-dominated dive shop! She's awesome. Last night we went for supper and, come to think of it, the night before I think we went for supper too. We were the only two people in the restaurant with soft lighting and Barry White playing in the background! HAHAHA...we joked it was a date! She cracks me up! We gossip and share stories of our lives back home. It's nice to have her here and I'm really going to miss her when she goes :( It just won't be the same. Another nice girl I've recently met is Tati. I haven't had too much of a chance to chat with her but she has a sweet disposition and a quick smile. She's originally from El Salvador and has been diving since she was very, very young. Her skills are impressive and I look forward to getting to know her better.
Kevin's ear infection seems to be breaking. Will, the course director at the dive shop, had a new bottle of antibiotic ear drops and that seems to be helping. I wish it worked yesterday so that I could have had some help hauling my gear from Woody's and the rest of our stuff from the apartment. Anyway, last night Kevin decided he wanted to go and lie in our hammock after dark. Our balcony is just beautiful...anyway, off he goes only to discover a HUGE flying cochroach had already laid claim to his beloved hammock. The creature started attacking him and I, being the faithful wife I am, did the only thing I could do. I threw him a can of raid and locked him outside to battle it out head to head. Kevin won, but he wasn't impressed. He's since decided not to venture onto the balcony after dark. Wise choice, I'd say.
Speaking of yesterday, it was my brother Arno's 19th birthday!!! I did phone him but since I couldn't write on the blog, I'll write it now!! I hope this is your best year yet. You are a fantastic brother and I am so lucky to have you in my life. I know your talent, humour, smarts and compassion will take you very far in life. I can't wait to see you meet your full potential. Love you SO much!! Happy birthday monkey!
I've tried to post photos but the Internet connection doesn't like it so far. It went down completely yesterday but I do want to post pics of the new apartment (especially while it's clean). I'll keep working on it. Lots of love to everyone...back to my Roatan adventure....
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