The full moon this week was gorgeous. Although you can’t see it much in this photo, it was a reddish hue and just huge. The photo above shows the big field that is the center of our small neighborhood – it’s my walking track each morning. The house in the photo has four small kittens – I had seen two of them before on my walks, but on Friday, the mother paraded all four over to a neighbor’s house so I got to see them all.
I had a fun catch-up call with Lea last Sunday but otherwise it was a quiet week. Our new housekeeper started work so that freed me up to do a lot of administrative things I haven’t had time or energy to do. I also finished reading Hampton Side’s “The Wild, Wild Sea” about Captain Cook’s last voyage – it was fascinating. It really made me want to go back to the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii!
The big news this week was the national elections here in Guyana. Everyone was happy that, at least so far, there have not been any protests, riots, etc. The incumbent won again, and the inauguration was held today.
For me, it was a quiet week. Due to the elections, no one planned anything in case things went south. In addition, Monday was a holiday (for voting) and also Friday (Mohammed’s birthday). Despite the holidays, John was busy with work while I was happy to stay home and watch more tennis. Last Sunday I had a fun video chat with Lea and Rachel S., and Friday I had a nice long conversation with Mellisa, a consular officer, when she came to use the pool.
John and I watched “Thursday Murder Club,” “Anatomy of a Scandal,” and “Highest 2 Lowest,” the remake of the old Japanese “High and Low.” We really enjoyed Spike Lee’s version! I finished reading the amazing “The Lion Women of Tehran” by Marjan Kamali and started “The Wide, Wide Sea” about Captain Cook’s last voyage.
John and I have been enjoying the pool! It’s lovely!
I have been thoroughly enjoying the luxury of watching the opening rounds of this year’s US Open tennis tournament on TV! There have been some really good matches and I’ve enjoyed finally having the time to sit and watch as long as I like!
Yesterday John and I hired a driver to take us to get his haircut. I waited in the car while John ducked into the barbershop constructed out of a conex with four chairs/barbers. He actually got a really good haircut! Then we treated ourselves to lunch out at a nice Indian restaurant – it was great to eat something that someone else had cooked. I also had the driver take me grocery shopping on Friday – even though I can see the store from here, it’s not safe to walk there, nor do I want to lug home bags of groceries in the heat.
Other than watching tennis, I’ve been passing my days with a morning walk around the neighborhood and yoga from YouTube. This week I also did the inventory of the house over the course of a few days (lots of furniture inside and outside) – we do inventory upon arrival at every post as required, so we know what furniture we’re responsible for. John and I have also been taking advantage of the pool when the sun goes down. I continue to marvel at the birds! This week I saw the saffron finch, which is beautiful, and this morning we saw parrotlets – so cute. We’ve been seeing some kind of long-tailed flycatcher flying overhead but haven’t gotten a good look at one yet. And we still are in awe of the beautiful scarlet ibis as they fly above – I can’t wait to see one up close!
This week we watched “Code of Silence” and started “Thursday Murder Club” last night. I am hooked on “The Lion Women of Tehran” by Marjan Kamali (thanks for the recommendation, Joan!). I finished “Medicare for Dummies” this week, and I’m also listening to Cecilia Blomdahl’s “Life on Svalbard.”
Our UAB (small air shipment) arrived this week – we found these two ducks inside one of the boxes, and they have made themselves at home! We giggle every time we see them.
Tuesday I hired a driver to run some errands around town – an eye doctor appointment, get a SIM card for Guyana, and buy some groceries. Grocery shopping here is much better than it was in Monrovia, although like Monrovia, pretty much everything is imported. Yesterday the Ambassador took me on a grocery tour – she showed me some local vegetables at the store closest to our houses, then we went to a butcher’s where I found frozen tuna steaks, and a small grocery store that sells frozen salmon of good quality. I hope to get to one of the open vegetable markets with a local to guide me at some point.
Wednesday I went to the embassy with John so I could have the security briefing, then we met the Ambassador for lunch at a local restaurant where I had a delicious curry. Friday night we went to trivia/karaoke night at a co-worker’s house – it was fun to meet some new folks and see people having fun together.
We continue to marvel at the birds and are happy our binoculars were in our UAB shipment! This roadside hawk posed for me in a nearby tree during a morning walk:
John’s arrival was posted on the embassy’s Facebook page – looking good, Mr. Crippen!
I finished reading Casey Johnston’s “A Physical Education” about lifting weights. John and I finished watching a fun British thriller, “Hostage.”
We had a long but uneventful travel day last Monday, leaving the hotel at 8:30 AM and arriving at our new home around 1:00 AM via Miami. The new place is lovely – very large with pretty grounds with lots of flowers, some fruit trees, and a pool. I found my favorite spot to sit outside that catches the ocean breeze from a couple of blocks away. Our favorite thing so far are the birds! Parrots, limpkins, kiskadees, tanagers, grassquits, hawks – the list goes on and on! The most amazing are the Scarlett Ibis that we’ve seen flying overhead; closer to home, I love the little piculets – they are in the woodpecker family and look like tiny downy woodpeckers, complete with a red crest. We can’t wait for our binoculars to arrive! Whether sitting in the garden or walking around our small neighborhood (really a big circle with a tree-lined field in the middle), there are just birds everywhere!
Despite not going to bed until 2:30 in the morning the night we arrived, John was at work bright and early the next morning. He was Chargé most of the week – in addition to settling in, he was involved in the visit of some Congressional staffers and had several official meeting, events, and lunches. Friday afternoon, I met him at the embassy for a welcome party for new arrivals. It was fun to meet folks, plus I saw several consular local staff who I remembered from my RCO days of traveling here!
From the embassy’s Facebook page
Sunday before we left Washington, John had morning coffee with Matt A., our favorite defense attaché from Monrovia. And we were very happy to see Lea and Jose one last time when they treated us for dinner at a lovely French restaurant in DuPont.
Flavia made the trip fine. Despite all of my worry about making sure her paperwork was in order, the agent at American Airlines didn’t even look at it (and, in fact, said she didn’t need any paperwork at all!!!). She has settled in to the house just fine and is doing well!
