Tuesday October 28

Today I start to work. If anyone has any ideas about what kinds of words or phrases would be particularly helpful to know for someone working the service industry, I would appreciate input. We were talking this morning about how a cab driver would not understand if he was asked to "Pull up", something we say to each other all of the time.



I read the South China English newspaper this morning is the Vasco de Gama Park near my apartment. WhatI know right now is that the Phillies are leading 3 - 1 and the pitcher hit a homerun. Remember when Rick Sutcliff hit a home run against the Padres in 1984? And I read that the largest newspaper in Alaska endorsed Barack Obama. That was interesting.



My apartment is in the old part of Macau. The streets are very narrow, and the side streets are full of fresh markets. I have been spending a couple hours in the mornings taking in the atmosphere and walking around the neighborhood. Today I ventured farther than yesterday, and found a medicine shop. In Macau one can buy any medicine over the counter, including antibiotics, blood pressure, ect. The medicine shops also sell a huge variety of herbs and roots and so forth. In these shops the vendors donot speak any English, and I have only learned how to say Thank You and Pardon me (an important phrase for me). So until I find someone who speaks and reads Chinese, I won't be putting any strange roots in my suitcase.



To get to my apartment, I have to climb 7 flights of stairs. It's sort of like going down to the river at home: I try not to forget anything. However, I really like where I am staying. The neighborhood has so much atmosphere. It always smells like garlic and sesame oil. There is a restaurant on mystreet that has live seafood, including turtles, in the window that one can chose for dinner. I am trying everyday to eat soemthing I couldn't get at home. Yesterday I had dragon fruit, which is white and has tiny black seeds. It was mostly just sweet, without much flavor, but would give great contrast to a fruit salad.

I must get to work.

Thank you for your prayers.