As I mentioned in my last post, our work has been alternately frustrating and encouraging. We have tried to dive in and because our team is so busy, we have had several incredible opportunities already. We have also discovered that this work is sometimes an uphill battle. About the second week in, we had a [...]
A group of us decided take a trip to a small beach town that’s about 4 hours away. It’s a former French colony that retains a significant French influence. At the time that we discussed the trip, we decided that we would rent a car and all share the cost of driving down. The night [...]
There are many wonderful and frustrating things to share about our work right now, but I have to share a “South Asia (insert country)” moment that we had this morning. As all of America knows, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament got underway on Thursday. Obviously the time difference is challenging, but given the fact that [...]
Today marks one month since we left San Diego. It certainly doesn’t feel like that many days have passed, but the homesickness is definitely ramping up. Here is a list of things that I didn’t expect to miss, but whose absence I am particularly aware: 1. Lettuce – can’t really find it here and when [...]
I am here with my wife. You already knew this, and I’ve been in the occasional picture, but it’s time for a written appearance. Erica has covered the first three weeks, so I’ll pick up after that. The last couple days I left the state we live in to attend a court hearing and attempt [...]
I decided to cook dal fry, my first South Asian dish the other day. Dal are little lentil-type things that are one of the good, vegetarian sources of protein that I’ve found. When we find ourselves in an “all veg” restaurant that’s one of my go-to orders. So, I found a packet of spices at [...]
Today we went to a little beach spot about an hour away from where we live called “Ideal Beach.” The name, while not creative, is apt. Contrary to the beach that we went to a couple weeks ago, this beach is lovely AND you can swim there without contracting some sort of disease. It’s a [...]
On Tuesday, I made my first trip to court. This particular court is like an amalgam of a U.S. Court of Appeals and a state Supreme Court. The outside of the campus of buildings is lovely. They are exotic and elegant. The inside is not quite as nice, although it did have air conditioning. I [...]
Although I was mentally prepared for a new culture, there was no way to prepare myself for this degree of difference. Little is familiar – not the dress, the transport, or the grocery stores (only one out of three stores I’ve been to sells meat and no one refrigerates their milk). Some of the differences [...]
Here are a couple more pics of the apartment that we’re staying in. The bathroom is . . . different. Seriously, though, we are so grateful to have a clean, quiet respite from the busy city.