Kinda long, but I've had a few interesting days!

Day 6 – April 17
I found out that I got the apartment I really wanted! YEAH! The only downside is that it is not available until May 1, so I have to move out of the hotel and into temporary housing for a couple weeks which means another move with ALL of my luggage! I went to an Italian restaurant near my hotel before I packed all my bags again and the waiter was a chatty Irishman. He sat at the table with me for a bit and he gave me a complimentary glass of campaign to start and a shot glass of some lemon liqueur with my check. It was an interesting dinner!

Day 7 – April 18
After squeezing all of my stuff into my luggage I managed to get 2 suitcases into the hallway before I locked my self out of the hotel room. Then I had to get a maid to let me in to get the rest of my luggage. It’s really hard to move about with 3 rolling suitcases and about 3 other bags including a computer bag and a backpack! I finally managed to get myself and all of my belongings into an elevator and into the lobby. Gerry, the apartment agent, agreed to come get me and my belongings and transport me to the temporary apt. We arrived, met the letting agent and dropped off my stuff. It is actually a ground level, so we just opened the bedroom window and wheeled in my suitcases. I was so occupied with figuring out where I was and how I would get back to the apartment that night after work, that I failed to ask how to get in the big gate to the property. A phone call later revealed that I have to enter a 6 digit password 3 times (3 different gates/doors) and then use a key to get into the apartment…I guess that kind of security should make me feel safe! I also discovered something else…there is no hairdryer, so after work I got the name of a store that should sell them and went there. At 6:15pm when I arrived the store was closed. It turns out that the stores are only open past 5 or 6 on Thursdays. There is only one day of the week and they may stay open til 7 as their “late” night. One more item for the day…I have never had carpet in an apartment that hurt my feet. This is a first! It is the texture of the outdoor mats that are made of thick rope like material. It is in the bedroom and the living room. I have to wear shoes all the time, even with my pj’s! Also, no internet at the temporary apartment, so my postings may be more sporadic. And another thing…I could figure out how to turn on the tv for the life of me…I actually had to call the landlady and she had to come over and help me. First, it was not plugged in properly and I hadn’t touched than and then to top it off there are 4 remotes and the power button isn’t really a power button, it only turns the tv off. In order to turn the tv on, you must press 1…I never would have guessed that!

Day 8 – April 19
Ok, so my hair is a bit out of control today…with the humidity and no hairdryer it’s crazy! I ran out over lunch to buy a hairdryer and a basic one with no features cost nearly $40 US dollars. It’s the same kind that you would find at target for $10-15. It’s crazy! There are lots of little tiny local shops and nothing equivalent to a Target or Walmart and certainly nothing like a Super-Walmart! I also went to the grocery store to pick up a few items for basic food and discovered that they actually charge you for plastic bags to carry your groceries in. Can you believe that?! So you must either buy one of their carrying sacks (kinda like Whole Foods cotton sacks) or pay nearly a $.25 per bag. It is so expensive over here!!!

On my train ride home, I experienced the lack of modesty over here. There was a women directly across from me with a child about 12 months and she started to breastfeed him. No covering and no attempt to cover anything and I am sitting knee to knee with her. Then to top it off she was holding the child with one hand and she started text messaging with her other hand. Text messaging is the big thing over here, they rarely actually call people.
I bought some groceries at a great store called Marks & Spencer. I think I will be living off of their prepared food! I got some food, paid for my bag again because I forgot to bring a bag with me. When I got them to my temporary apartment I went in search of a baking pan to put in the oven, only to discover there was nothing but skillets in the kitchen…Hmmm…I had no idea what to put my food on in the oven, so I read the bottom of the plate and it said oven safe. I have no idea what people usually use for the oven, but it was a first for me to stick a table plate in the oven! It worked and I had a lovely dinner of prawns.