A day of rest at the house

I spent a day just resting in Martina's house while she was out with the kids. I wasn't alone however since the guard, Jerome was there and a bunch of men came to fix the water purifier. Its odd to get used to the relations between the classes in a developing/third world country. I always explain it as "either you are a maid or you have a maid". At first I feel really awkward and almost ashamed when seeing the house help cooking and cleaning, but then you realize that it is a great job for them to have and without it they might not have work. I read a good example about the issue in a book set in India. The main character finds out that men have to carry huge buckets of water up to the roof of a 5 story hotel so that people can shower. He starts taking super short showers to reduce their workload. But then a local man explains that it is an honor for them to get to use their strength to provide for their families. If he always took short showers there would be less work for them to do and less money earned. Its tricky not to sound condescending but its helped me come to terms with it.
It is a beautiful house, theres something so liberating about a house with no real windows. All the windows have screen in them and some slide closed but most are just open. The garden and trees around the home are brilliant green and so luscious it feels like an oasis within a jungle. The humid tropical air circulates through the house and when that deeper breeze comes through you can feel the storm coming.

I ate a nice lunch of yams (one of the main foods here) this stew made of a dark leaf similar to spinach, and a spicy sauce based in tomatoes (which have to be soaked in sanitizing salt before using). Its quite tasty especially warmed up and the yams cut into pieces so they soak up the flavor. Its a deceptively filling dish because once you drink water it feels as if the yams expand in your stomach and suddenly you are stuffed. At home I usually eat several small meals throughout the day but here it is 2 large meals (breakfast is usually just tea maybe toast) so I'll have to adjust. I almost never eat too much on my own schedule but I'll have to get used to feeling "So Full" or risk being hungry all the time.

It was a relaxing day of napping and enjoying the high speed internet. Im' not sure what level of internet access I'll have once I reach the north. I was supposed to use a small usb device known as a Dongle which is supposed to provide internet service anywhere, but it took 30 minutes to find gmail and i couldn't open any folders. I have patience for slow internet but that is excessive. Its amazing how lonely it is to be cut off from any connection to others. In this day and age when I am used to checking my Iphone multiple times an hour it will be a shock to be technologically stranded. I did find a book I have been meaning to re-read so I have enjoyed getting back to the experience of a real book and no screens.
I quite enjoyed this sign on a cabinet in the house, it inspires activism.