Rest and Relaxation by the pool-ahhhh

Hello All,

After a rough day yesterday and an even rougher night, I decided that Karim and I would just take today off. It was wonderful. Just what we both needed, I think. K slept till 9am and he looked like a teenager sprawled out with his feet hanging off the bed. When he finally opened his sleepy little eyes, I dragged him down to breakfast in the garden, where we drank hot coco, ate french bread and jam. We also had coconut yogurt (a new and different taste) and best of all, fresh papaya and mango. After breakfast we hailed a cab for the French Cultural Center- which, I hate to say it, is FAR superior to the American one. There we lounged on pillows and read book after book before Karim picked out two to check out. From there, we went with Hassan, a great driver who works for MC to look at a house, but it was a no-go, so we picked up some chawarmas (a lebanese sandwich with lamb, mint, tahini, tomatoes & pickles all rolled into a pita bread) and took them back to the hotel to eat poolside. Chawarmas have a pretty strong flavor, but Karim loves them and so do I. We ate by the pool then swam for an hour before returning to our room for "nap" which turned into playing with cars and watching a movie for him while I read for a bit.

When it cooled off enough (around 4:30) we paused to eat a perfect mango before we left for the American School and their video/book lending club. There we played on the playground, checked out a new movie for Karim and ran through the sprinkler on the softball field. Of course we were careful not to step on the enormous tortoise that was also enjoying the sprinkler. By the time Cheikh and Hassan showed up to get us, K was soaked, but we were both having a great time.

Dinner at Zanzibar with Brochettes de Capitaine (a brief salute to Dakar) for me and Mouton with Couscous for Cheikh and K. Then showers, prayers, and bed- or computer. Depending on who's talking. 

Tomorrow, we have appointments to look at more houses and we will likely choose something tomorrow, either from what we've already seen or what we'll see tomorrow morning. It's time to put down some roots.

Thank you for your words of encouragement during this tough time of instability. They mean the world. Know that you are all in my thoughts.