Day 14 (friday)

The entrance to the market just to the left.  It doesn't look like much but once you enter, it becomes a whole new world.

The presidential campaign march through the market.

Me with some vendors.  The lady with the hat had to make sure it was perfect and had to tuck her hair back.

Did the usual then back to sleep until shortly after 7.   I had a sandwich and then Maureen also made some corn based porridge for me to try (not my favorite but pretty decent).  I started getting ready for the day (I have a routine: pill after breakfast, shower, bug repellant and sunscreen, clothes and shoes then brush my teeth) and we decided to go to ted junction so I could exchange money (no problems there and in fact, the exchange rate rose slightly meaning the dollar is worth a bit more than when I first arrived) and then I decided that i'd like a trim (not all barber shops will cut “white people's” hair nor are all of them equipped to do so) so we went to a place on campus and I told the man i'd like a trim, something a little shorter, and explained that to Maureen...to make a long story short he just shaved my head!  I had a pretty good laugh at it (I haven't had to pay for a hair cut since middle school) and didn't mind the dollar and some change I paid for it.  It was kind of neat though, they use fresh razor style blades to make the edges perfect so that was quite an experience.  From there we went to a bank near campus so Maureen could get some money and then prepared to go to another market that I hadn't been to yet.  As we were walking, we approached ted junction again...I hadn't realized that we walked so far.  We got to the market and it was really busy and everything was packed really tightly and there was a little presidential campaign parade marching through the market.  It was from the candidate who will apparently win the election.   We marched through the market and got quite a bit of vegetables and things to make dinners in the coming days.  People commented on my tattoos and a couple of vendors were excited when I asked to take their pictures with me.  We lugged everything back through the market and caught a tro tro to ted junction then back to the house.  Just as we were passing through ted junction, I noticed some toffee type stuff and Maureen bought some and it was really good...finally we got back home and I warmed up some rice and prepared to lay down for a bit, man am I exhausted and it's only noonish.  Maureen and some of the other girls here were making cakes (because I said I was allergic, she wouldn't let me taste any, aside from it not being vegan, which they don't understand) and it smelled so amazingly good but I had to lay down for a bit because I have had quite a massive headache for most of the day.  When I got up, Maureen was still in the kitchen and I informed her that I was going to the gates so I could get some bread and jam and asked if she needed anything and she was out of oil so I left for just those few items.  This time I knew to give the tro tro cashier 20 pesoas exactly to get to the gates. When I got to the supermarket, the guy who usually greets me as obruni (white person) and the one who says that i'm a great designer, said hello to me and I finally got his name (takafo).  So I have this whole tro tro thing down, EXCEPT I didn't remember the name of where I needed them to drop me off...I just figured that they would drive by and I could ask them to stop, well, the tro tro ended up turning about half way down my street so I had to get off and ended up walking the rest of the way home.   It was really hot today so I was drenched when I got back.  Dinner was just about ready and I showed Maureen what I got from the store (I also heard her say that she liked candy a couple days ago and so I bought a jar of candy for her and I thought she was going to cry, she was so grateful).  We ate some more good food and then rested for a bit. I was in my room and Maureen came in and said she was sad (she doesn't usually seek out to tell how she is feeling so I knew that it was sincere) and explained that it was a matter of relationships (and explained further).  Seeing her sad was heart breaking but I sat with her in silence and offered her a strong shoulder and soft ear.