Culture Shock...

I not sure what that is really. Seeing that I have never been in another culture before. The closest thing that I can relate to is people that don't know J.sus, and how they live their lives..... that always shocks me.

We spent our first day in our new home city yesterday. It was a long, bumpy drive to get here. I'm not sure how to describe it... other than just that...... LOOOOOOOONG and BuMpY. We left the Capital at 6:30 am hoping to miss traffic. it worked for the most part. We did come across a bus wreck (apparently they happen often), there was one fatality. Kinda strange. Over all it took us 5 hours to get here, maybe it will be better when we are driving ourselves and there is more conversation, and less sitting and staring. Oh and more leg room.... it was a tight squeeze with all of our luggage and stuff.

When you stop in the small towns, on the way north, people run up to you waving their wares.... a woman with peanuts, the man with the cold water, the young boy with meat on a stick, not to mention the bananas and fruit. It is really hard to say no. Good thing that Kent is stronger than I am.

One of the problems that we are facing is money exchange. Here they only accept Hundreds that are 2003 our newer. In our haste, even though we knew better, we didn't check the cash that we were taking, and we ended up with lots of "dead" money. We will make the time to check next time.

Here in our Home City it is hot and very dusty... which may mean that it will be warm and muddy come rainy season. There is no grocery store... we asked to see the supermarket and were taken to a convenience store that had electronics, peanut butter, TONS of cookies and a few canned goods. Oh and lots of dollar store plastic. I will have to revert back to my batch cooking days (which was only one month) and try to plan WAY ahead for other items, and get them when we are in the capital.

There are little stores everywhere. They are only about the size of a large walk in closet, but they are packed out with stuff. Lots and lots of dollar store stuff. Plastic lawn chairs, plastic baskets, plastic tubs, plastic cups and plates, plastic buckets, PLASTIC PLASTIC PLASTIC.

I have only seen one store that has actual woven baskets. Another oddity is that each store will have several shirts or bags or what ever they are selling but NONE of them will look alike. EVERY shirt hanging, or every skirt they have is different. That is one way to help people be individuals. I am curious to know were they get their goods from. Are they Dollar Store stuff that wouldn't sell, or maybe they are all from good will.... who knows.!

People stare at us every where we go, I think they are afraid of us. English is hard to understand here. The was that was here for so long hindered people's education. Kent definitely wants us to have language training, at least for a little while.

I want to put up pictures.... but I haven't taken very many. Once I have a better feel of the culture, (and it has quit shocking me) I will try to take some. Plus I need to install my picture program on my PC so that I can edit them and make them smaller.

We are doing well here in the guest house... They fix us meals, and do the laundry.... a girl could get use to that kind of living, even in a dry and weary land. :) Some of the dishes they serve have been interesting and the girls have a hard time eating them, but so far we haven't had to eat anything that would beat the guinea pigs (?) what we had in Peru.

Write more later......