A walk at dusk

One thing I've learned since Kendra came was that our pictures did not show size in context. Our house was smaller, the liquid yogurts were smaller, everything was smaller than what she imagined through the pictures. So she helped me in learning to take pictures showing things that Americans can visualize so that they can grasp the size. So can you see how small the entry way is? The two kids can fit in to put on their shoes, then must exit to make way for the next ones. The door is regular height, but more narrow than many doors in the States.


Flowers & corn in our "backyard." More corn...Joy is also holding corn on the cob.


Houses are generally owned by the older generation, we've been told. The younger generation are living in large groupings of high-rise apartment buildings. Apartments are everywhere. They prefer to save their money to travel rather than own a house.


Spider season!!! Since we were unable to "compare" it with anything, we hope you can imagine how big it was just to show up on camera at dusk at least 10 feet away. This huge spider web hung from the electric lines down to the vegetation below! The alley we walked along was covered with these huge spiders & webs...sometimes they stretched across the road and we got a face/body full of it. The picture on the right is of a garden patch planted along the road.


Pot holes. Night lights. A dangerous intersection. We turned left here and headed down, down, down a steep hill. Reminds me of Mollala Avenue in Oregon City! Can you see me way down the hill(picture below)? We were trying to show the steep grade.

This is also where we met a new friend. Her English name is Sky. We had a very nice chat together and ended up doing several things together while Kendra was here. Since we've been so busy, we've not been able to get together since Kendra left...until tonight. She is coming over at 10pm so we can Skype Kendra together. I'm looking forward to that!

An alley we walked down to cut through to the underground market...however, as we were headed down the steep enbankment and taking a picture, a guy came up, motioned that that was not a good place to take a picture and insisted that we take a picture in front of (something) just off to the right. We have no idea what it is...but he was happy that we took a picture there.


Kendra took this picture...I'm not quite sure what she was wanting to show... The next picture is of how very close two cars were parked together. Can you see it??? We seriously wonder if they have a camera sensor on the license plate or something! There was not even a half inch between.


This is to show the parking on the streets and traffic congestion and the hazy night atmosphere. But I guess nothing will pass along the humid, "flavorful!" scent that goes along with it. Kendra kept trying to figure out how to describe it, but I don't know that she ever did. It's unique. I guess we've gotten used to it. Needless to say, we've realized why it's not so necessary to wear deodorant here. Sometimes you wouldn't be able to smell yourself if you tried! But sometimes, that's also very, very nice! Especially when you're trucking home from the store laden down with bags and sweating profusely. No one can smell me "from a mile away." But it's definitely something you can't do in the US without being noticed! Now this is not all to say that it is stinky here! Not by a long shot. Just a different scent that happens to cloak one's own smell, I think you could say. :)


Well, I think this wraps up our walk. I will blog more later. The kids and I have "no-bake" cookies to make, watermelon to eat, laundry to fold, showers to take, and "skip-bo" to play before John gets home at 7 tonight and it's 3:00 already. (At least, that's our list!) The kids and I must be ready to leave at 6am for a field trip with the church English camp tomorrow. It's a 3 hour trip with 40 kids, to a children's English fun-museum of sorts, and then back again by 6pm. It should prove interesting. I'm in charge of "my" seven 2nd & 3rd graders the whole time.