Keep looking up.....

Several really good things have happened recently.  We have found new food items in the market.  First was wonderful big red tomatoes.....these were crazy expensive but wonderful and such a surprise that we invited our neighbor for BCT sandwiches....bacon, cucumber and tomato...and they were great.                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                                                              

I believe I have shared about the great bread here.  The bakery we like the best is not far from our home and is a earthen oven.
We go there several times a week and buy the small bread rolls....warm and fresh from the oven. It is quite a process from making to baking and then all along the road you will see people selling bread from this bakery and others.  It is interesting to see how different the bread is shaped based on the bakery.  It is all delicious and I have never been much of a bread eater until I came here.

The baker puts the individual rolls onto the large wooden stick and places the unbaked bread deep into the oven.  Then the stick with the curved end is used to bring the baked bread back out of the oven and it is rolled into a basket and then onto a plastic sheet too cool and be sold.  The cost of the bread is about 10 rolls for one dollar.  This bakery works daily and has a steady group of people that come and buy their bread.


Yesterday one of the ladies had been to the market and she found the best surprise in the 72 days we have been here.......I know it is 72 because that is how long it has been since we had salad.....and she found greenhouse grown lettuce!!!  I must say that I don't know when a salad has tasted so good.  We brought salad dressing......and finally were able to use it!  I don't have the bill yet on the cost, but will be happy to pay it......what a treat.....

Thursday will be the beginning of the First Aid training so I am spending many hours preparing for this to make sure it goes well.  There are 86 trainees that need to successfully complete this training that includes CPR, Heimlich maneuver, and what to do for heat stroke, broken bones and bleeding.  It is general information and except for CPR and Heimlich which require practice, it is informational.  Hopefully it will be beneficial.  I'm sure enjoying getting the program ready.  I have had a lot of help from the trainers at the office.   The students will complete the training  on the 27th and leave to go for time off on the 28th.

Oh, Warren the wildlife guy here has found a new species of snake....one that has never been found here before.  Here is what he sent to us for information:  "I captured a new species of highly venomous snake in Soyo, namely the Black Tree Snake (Thrasops jacksoni).  This is not a new species to science but a new species for the project. Since 2006 we have found 15 species of snake in Soyo, 7 of which are highly venomous! The Black Tree snake will bring the current species count up to 16 species in total!  This large snake was captured in a cashew tree." 

"The Black Tree Snake (Thrasops jacksoni) is a very similar species to the more common African Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) which is widely regarded as the most venomous snake in Africa and requires a specific monovalent antivenom to treat the bite. The hemotoxic venom which both these two species possess works on the blood stream and destroys the bloods clotting factor causing internal bleeding and hemorrhaging in victims leading to kidney failure. Fortunately these snakes are responsible for very few bites in Africa due to their shy nature and the fact that they live in trees and seldom encounter people. The Black tree snake can be identified by its very large eye and shiny black clouration. When this species feels threatened it will inflate the neck and body making itself look bigger and more intimidating."


Doesn't this make you feel so secure?  I have been looking on the path for danger....and now I need to be looking up in the cashew trees.....but who knows what a cashew tree looks like?  I've only seen cashews in the market twice....and didn't know they grew here.  More education is needed for me......and remember, all wildlife is relocated to a safe area of the jungle and not killed.

So for today.....and it is always one day at a time......I'm finding contentment in doing things for others.....finding surprises in the day to day routine here.  Keeping focused outside of myself, not just  watching where I'm walking but also now looking up too, and therefore not being unhappy but actually content and so thankful for the opportunity for us to be here.   Each little thing is such a joy and that wasn't how I lived my life in the USA.  I'm looking forward to tomorrow and what it will bring.