The Great Move

So, I have an apartment!!! Not only that, but I have a fridge and everything in it is mine, put there by me, and is there when I open the fridge again; and the fridge remains clean. You cannot imagine the wave of warm gratitude, to the gods that govern this sort of thing, that came over me when I opened the fridge this morning.

The move was easy. The woman who drove the taxi is called Alfie! "Call me anytime, darlin'"

The electricty is on a pay-as-you-go basis, and of course includes heating the hot water (shoud you want hot water!). Makes perfect sense to me. You are assigned a number, go to any convenience store and buy a block of power. It is up to you how you spend it.

And I have a mango tree in my front yard. I sat under it last night. There I was on a bench, under a mango tree, in my own back yard, chickens pecking all around, reggae music in the background. I laughed out loud at the very thought.

It is fairly quiet although there are buidlings all around and a lot of people. Mostly Ross University students. I was told that they are all serious and hard working. Yeah, right, I said to myself. But indeed, they are not undergrads but medical students and they DO work hard and long, so quiet does prevail.

Quiet prevails...except for the rooster concert which starts up around 2 AM after an hour's warm up! I have identified at least 5 different roosters who call back and forth to each other. Often they even try harmony. This is something to get used to.

I have to adjust and elaborate the cast of characters because I will be writing about them as they are part of my life. Lynthia is a near 14 year old, tall, langy, pretty girl. Her long femurs, shin bones and arm bones facinate me. I'm sure she has more vertebrae than she supposed to have. she is in high school. She is nagging me to get my sewing machine out. I'm sure she has something in mind. Her brother is Guyva, whom I have been calling Kiver, he is 16 and is transfering all the reggae and hip hop music I have on my computer to one of my flash drives, which I gave him) They come over every evening to watch TV. They live just around the corner. Their father, called Sono, is a boat builder and has one in progress in his yard. He is also tall and lanky and has a head of dreadlocks! He raised these two children entirely on his own from babyhood. They move around the universe as a unit, a constellation. Phillip is no longer an active member of this cast of characters. I don't trust him.

Jo Etienne and Isodora are women who run small take-out meal places called snackettes (isn't that great!) Jo's is in the middle of Portsmouth and Isodora is at Indian River. They are not exactly 'friends' but they are happy to sit with me when I go for a coffee in the late afternoon and chat.

Sister Clare is not responding, and I think I was being only politely tolerated in church on Sunday. I will not go back there. Again someone suggested "racism" and a disapporval of the company I keep. To this I say - I like the company I keep. I am disappointed that these people don't realize that my private life and my professional life are separate.

I have not yet contacted Olivia Douglas at CALLS. That is on the agenda for this week. I am curious to see if the reception there has changed as well.