I accidentally used my host sister's skin-whitening soap. We'll see what happens.
We had a problem at my house for the past few weeks. The neighbor's chickens kept coming over to dig for termites in our yard. I observed they always entered through decorative holes in the gate. The rest of the yard is enclosed by cement. I explained my observation to papa. He put up a slat of bamboo, and the chickens are gone. I hope the termites don't eat the bamboo, or we’ll have to find another poultry blockade.
What else? Oh, besides the chicken neighbors, a new family just moved in across the narrow mud road. Their favorite activity is definitely trash-burning. When the wind blows north, my bedroom gets a good dose of burning plastic odor and smoke. I cleaned under my bamboo bed the other day. The amount of ash was ridiculous.
Burning trash is not a good thing. Call me selfish, but I especially don't like when it has a direct effect on my lungs and me. I like to take a nap sometimes, but if I close the window, it's too hot. What’s a man to do? I expressed my dissatisfaction to Mama. I discovered she’s not happy with our neighbors' pastime either. But, she says "If you don’t like something the neighbor will do, and you will confront them, they will call you 'mean' or 'strict.'" There must be a way.
Moonlight kayaking was amazing. The night was somewhat cloudy, but the nearly-full moon made a spectacular entry over the bay. It was orange and looked something like a sunset. We sat in our boats and waited for the tide to rise. When we were sufficiently lifted we began paddling. I lasted about 20 minutes before I capsized. Not bad for a rookie.
Twenty of us slept on the beach (three or five kilometers from our starting point.) Then we woke before dawn to head back. The kayak I paddled in the morning had a hole. I capsized many times. I was the last person back. I forgot my sunglasses, water, and sunscreen. I can't wait until next time. But I gotta teach my paddle-mad friends a thing or two about Leave No Trace camping.
I was on the phone with my family the other day and someone mentioned Reagan died. I guess my first political memory is being carpooled to school and learning that Walter Mondale lost the election. It was a definitely a bad Wednesday at Washington University Nursery School. I probably wet my pants. Here in the Philippines, Imelda Marcos laid a wreath at the U.S. Embassy last Sunday. She and Ferdinand were good friends of the Reagans. (I must give props to Nancy for her dedication to Ronnie during the past decade, and express my sympathy to her. I also realize how much a boost Alzheimer's research has been given due to Ronnie’s illness.)
Posted by dbs at June 9, 2004 09:10 PM