Man-sounds

On this election day I'd like to provide some meaningless distraction for all of my American friends. We had our daylight savings switch on Sunday, except down here we moved the clocks the opposite direction.  Having moved them up one hour I now find myself falling asleep at around 7:30 and waking up at 4:00.  I'll adjust again eventually. This morning I decided since I was up I'd go for a walk and try to catch the sunrise.  I took this pic just up the hill from the guest house on campus.  The mountain on the left is my favorite thing to see each day.  I'm pretty sure it's called table top - no one here can give me a clear answer and they always look at me like I'm crazy for asking. Don't they name mountains here? I'm not clear about this, but I want to hike it so much!  I have to find one other person willing to go with me to book a tour and I can't find anyone so far.  I'm not giving up though!  

The guest house has been a busy place lately.  The Chinese man, hearing that lots of people were going to be coming and going soon, decided last week to move to this tiny old servant's quarters on the other side because it has its own bathroom and shower. I didn't know this place even existed and I did feel a bit like he threw me under the bus. He still uses the kitchen and dining room, though, so we still have a daily awkward conversation.  Actually, I like him.  He's nice and quiet and I even once watched the Chinese version of American Idol/The Voice with him.  Now I know all of the features of the show including the requirement that contestants use ancient Chinese instruments and that the judges are mean (shocking). He also likes to watch Korean TV dramas. They help him with his ethics lectures.  My horizons are broadening. Embarrassing fact: I don't know his name and I'm a good 2 weeks past it being okay for me to ask.  I often find myself in this predicament.

The thing about the constant coming and going of other guests for a night or two here and there is that although we each have separate rooms with locking doors, they are less than sound proof.  There are two main problems with this.  First, I have frequent conversations with Leonard and Junior, and Loretta when she comes for a visit.  So when someone sneaks in to a room next door without me knowing it I inevitably find this out just after having a lengthy conversation with Leonard about his attitude and general noise-level, his commitment to killing bugs, and my issues with him pooping on my desk.  The second challenge this poses is that I am surrounded by man-sounds.  As a single woman this is unfamiliar territory.  When I visit friends and family I have a taste of this, but nothing quite like what I'm experiencing here. Sorry guys, but it's best for us to just be honest.  Men make a lot of sounds - at a higher decibel than women and usually on the gross end of the spectrum. But today... having woken up and gone for a walk by 5:30, as I was reading in my room I noticed something.  I heard quiet walking noises... quiet closing the door noises... quiet turning the key noises... quiet breathing noises... and the absence of other disturbing noises altogether, and I knew! A woman had finally come to stay at the guest house.  

I didn't see her before I left, but Ganesh, the guest house guy I have mentioned before, told me this morning that there WAS a women staying at the guest house last night (and that he told her she and I could be friends).  Before the weekend is out there are supposed to be 10 or more men coming and going!  My current sleep schedule proves useful in these circumstances because I am usually in bed before they all come in at night, and I beat everyone to the shower in the morning.

Here are some pics of the early childhood center on campus.  It's right across from the guest house actually.  It's a lovely place!

Here's a random house  on campus that I just love.  The old abandoned bus out front is my favorite. True Fijistyle!

This is Annie, the one and only dog that hasn't been afraid of me on campus.  She let me get close enough to feed her french fries.  Look at those sweet eyes!  No petting though.  Every dog has fleas and who knows what else.  

I woke up this morning feeling grateful to be a citizen of the U.S.  Regardless of what happens today things will all be okay.  I'm currently in a place where military coupes d'etat have happened so frequently in the past that people stopped counting.  We're a hot-mess in the U.S. in lots of ways, but we've go so much to be thankful for!