And the rains came!!

This past week we have experienced lots of rain. On Sunday night we had a huge storm and it knocked out our power. Thankfully we have a generator, but sadly the water pump that runs water up to our tank on the roof is not connected to our generator. Needless to say we quickly ran out of water and had to bring a few buckets in from the street. This morning we woke up to more rain. Because it's so hot, the rain is a wonderful refresher... but there is a huge mess and lots of people's homes have problems from a heavy rain like this... so it's a mixed blessing. The sandbox doesn't have any sort of draining system so the roads just become lakes. People have to wade through the water and cars send water everywhere... it's a mess! The water in the house is also muddy for a few days so we have to think twice before bathing! :-) But, the good thing is when you live somewhere as hot as we do... the heat drys out the streets in a few days (we hope!)

Wading in the water

Water, water... everywhere!

Our landlord's garden... under water!

This is Stephen scooping up water from the street so we could at least flush the toilet!

No... our faucets do not produce chocolate milk.

Day at the Museum

A few weeks ago we had a "cultural day" (well, I guess that's every day!!) and went to the National Museum in town. We saw the country's Muslim and Christian history along with the influences of long ago. It was amazing to see artifacts and pharaonic statues. We had a fun family day enjoying the past of the sandbox.


Did you say something?

AAahhh... it's chasing me!

A Recent Visit

This week we went to visit a friend who is not from the sandbox, but from a neighboring country. She is so sweet and lives with her sister and nephew. In their homeland, they have a tradition called the "Coffee Ceremony. " During the ceremony, you enjoy 3-4 cups of coffee that are shot size. They roast the beans in front of you you and burn incense and enjoy a good time chatting. Except when asked if we wanted milk or not (and of course we do!!), it made even more coffee so we actually had 6 (!!!) shot-sized cups of coffee. Each time, she would re-heat the coffee and the milk and it added about a tablespoon size of sugar... just like we like it: coffee like a candy bar!! We had a wonderful time and Sadie Mac made a new friend. When we first arrived he was sleeping in the room with us and slept through all her babbling and noises. When he woke up, we know he was a little overwhelmed by the little foreign girl running around. You can see the shock (or annoyance) on his face in the picture below. :-)

Another Fun Find!

We went back to our new favorite grocery store and found something else super fun... a ride-along shopping cart!!! It is hilarious when we find things like this cause they are so rare! But, we consider it a fun little treasure! Sadie Mac wasn't sure what to do, but she'll get plenty of practice as long as they keep Mt. Dew in stock!!

Made My Day!

Small things around here mean a lot! Like the other day when Stephen brought me home a watering tin and gardening tools for my flowers! It was just a random day, but something he knew I would like. I had been using a bucket and cup... but had wanted one of these for a while. It made my day! Now I no longer have to use my kitchen spoons, but I have actual garden tools!

Also, we have a new grocery store near us!! Stephen was laughing at me when I was going through and would say, "LOOK at THIS!!" over something as simple as Pringles or peanut butter and jelly in a jar together! Now that my friend... is a rare find!! Stephen was most excited and his day was made when we saw Mt. Dew in both a can AND a glass bottle! Don't laugh, but it's the small things like watering tins and Mt. Dew that keep us excited around here! :-)

3 Things...

Restaurants we miss:
1. Pizza Inn (Rockingham)
2. Back Yard Burgers (Boone)
3. Chick-fil-A (anywhere!!)

Restaurants we enjoy here:
1. Panda Chinese
2. Ozone (sandwhich place)
3. "the nice" Lebanese place (can't ever remember it's name!)

Places we miss shopping:
1. Target
2. Old Navy
3. Lowe's Hardware

Places we enjoy shopping here:
1. Used Furniture Market....... well, there just aren't that many places to shop.

Things we'd import:
1. A boat
2. TONS and TONS of grass
3. Grandparents

Things we'd export:
1. Plastic bags
2. Dust
3. Flies (we would also export these from Ellerbe!)

Things that make us laugh about life here:
1. Traffic cops in the middle of a jammed intersection
2. Sadie and her love for playing in the dust/dirt
3. The locals faces when we are using our "new arabic words".