Shabbat Shalomq

Trip Start Aug 01, 2008

Trip End Jun 30, 2010

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Flag of Congo Pointe Noire, Congo
Saturday, September 13, 2008

Two weeks of school gone by, and it's been relatively smooth sailing. Everything's relative of course. Only one day with barely any electricity, but luckily Ann-Mary was prepared with hand sanitizer bottles ("cleanitizer" as our boys call it) and we rolled right on. We ended this week with an afternoon field trip to the beach for some group bonding with foam frisbees, sand castles, and splashing in the water. Meanwhile, our generator did go kaput on us -- two fires in less than a day, the guards (and generator maintainers) told us) -- so they brought us a replacement which did okay for two days and then was doing the wavering lights thing, shut down, come back on, wavering lights, and repeat...for about a day and a half. Now it seems to be back on better footing, and they're working to fix our original one.

Meanwhile, Ann-Mary and Oscar sashayed into the Gran Marche (the big market) with our nanny, Adele, and came back victorious

Frizbee

. Good produce at good prices and a bolt of fabric for Ann-Mary to have made into an outfit. Oscar, apparently, was overwhelmed by the crush of people and sights and smells and didn't utter a word. Imagine that! Henry had crashed in the car and I caught a few z's while waiting with him.

Monday we might find out if the school will grow by two more, twins who would be in what I now call the Early Years class: preK-K-1. Then there's two more that we know are coming, we're just not sure when. I'll get one and AM gets one.

Our rhythm lately has been to get the boys to the playground at La Pyramid restaurant by four, which is when the crowd of other kids generally arrives. We bring the dog, too, since you can go through the fence to the beach. We amaze the locals by throwing the tennis ball into the crashing waves and having the dog jump right in for it (when he doesn't lose it in the pounding surf). Sometimes we have a drink or two on the terrace, sometimes we don't.

Today I went with the boys and the dog to the closer end of the beach. No restaurant, no playground, just sand and surf and toys to play with. Lyle lost his first tennis ball to the ocean

1-Frizbee

. Usually they come spinning out and I throw sand in the general direction to orient him because if he doesn't get it on the first go-round he usually can;t find it even when it rolls right between his legs with the incoming tide.

This morning we tried a new fish market on Magali's recommendation (she of the other Pointe-Noire blog, working on the Pointe-Noire survival guide website, and our substitute teacher-new best friend) and picked up some fish for making ceviche for Phil's birthday party tonight. We've tried making plantains a couple of different ways to go with it, with mixed results. But anyway, it will be a good western hemisphere culinary experience for our new friends. We also visited a bookstore and got a few books for the boys in French. They are more motivated these days, which is good since we're going to be sending them to a French Congolese preSchool in another week. They've the outside of it, and they like the playground!