Warming Up

The last few days have been a bit warmer and it feels like the edge has gone off winter. I’m not sure if we’re having a “January thaw” or if it we have truly turned a corner. Whatever is going on, it’s nice that it’s a bit warmer, especially since we don’t have much artificial heat.

The load-shedding schedule has changed again and we are getting 12 more hours of electricity per week. This is coming in three four-hour blocks, one of which is from midnight to 4:00 AM on Wednesdays and doesn’t really do me much good. One of the blocks, however, is from noon – 4:00 on Saturdays, which is an absolute joy: I am at home and can actually get stuff done during that time slot.

The highlight of my week was the “unofficial inaugural ball” on Tuesday. It was a lovely affair and we had a live feed from Washington on two big screens in the ballroom. I fall more in love with Obama every time I see him. The crowd at the ball reacted to him like he was a rock star - they burst into cheers every time he appeared on the screen (and booed every time Bush did). I have yet to hear anyone speak a negative word about Obama; he seems to have cast a spell over the entire world.

I continue to struggle with upsetting news from home and am frustrated that I am helpless to do anything but sit and wait for each new email. It is difficult to be so far from home at times like these.

That’s it for this week. Sorry it’s not more exciting, but life has become fairly routine for me.