Just in case you're not aware, Cote d'Ivoire is in West Africa, and my city, San Pedro is located right on the ocean. We enjoy going to the beach every Monday. It is usually deserted since it is a work day so we get the whole place to ourselves! The undertow here is very strong, and even though I knew this before I arrived, I was still surprised with force of its pull. There's usually a little tidal pool that the little kids play in, and it's comforting to me that they have their own "kiddy pool." Last Sunday Becky and I took a long walk all the way up to the port and we climbed this little hill and had a nice view of the landscape around us. It is very beautiful here (if you can ignore the nasty garbage lined streets).

The tailor has just been making his rounds here- he walks around with his sewing machine and clinks his scissors together so you know he's near. There are great conveniences here, such as having a tailor drop by your house to do some mending, and then strange inconveniences. I was at our little store here buying something last week and instead of getting change back they gave me chocolate bars. There is an apparent lack of money in this city, so most of the time you don't get change back, you either get store credit for next time (they just tell you this, you must remember to remind them next time you're in!) or they give you a "gift" that is probably not worth the value of what you were owed. But I have to say, I just laughed when they handed over the chocolate- who's going to say "no" to that?