Suriname

We're here! Sorry for my absence but it's going to continue for a while. We have no phones, internet, car, or even tv. Being stranded at home without any contact with the outside world has been taking it's toll on the kids and me. Needless to say we were pretty happy when Adam got off work early today and brought us to the embassy so I could use the internet. Hooray!

Our new house is big and beautiful. It's so nice to have room both inside and outside. It has been raining a lot. So much that the street in front of our house has been flooded. Our jeep will definitely come in handy when it gets here. We've met a few people here and they've all been really nice.

Some random thoughts:
I've been on one shopping trip with Summer (our sponsor) and it was an adventure. You can't get meat at the grocery store so you have to go to a butcher. The store with imported goods is quite pricey and some of the foods don't taste the same. I especially miss American milk although Charlie doesn't seem to notice the difference. The fresh milk here comes in a bag that you have to cut open and pour into a pitcher. There is no cheddar cheese either. At the department store employees follow you around and when you decide you want to buy something they take it and give you a sales slip. When you have everything you want you go to the cash register and show them your sales slip and they give you your purchases. The only credit card accepted here is Mastercard. The roads here are very confusing. None of them are straight or wide. They also frequently change names so you never know exactly where you are. We did manage to make it out to the store and back last night even though we got lost both ways. The pace of life is much slower here which is frustrating when you're waiting on things like a telephone and the internet.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but I have no way to upload them right now. Hopefully soon...