Mosquito Coast

Well, from the looks of the pics I have been posting, you are probably thinking all I do here is eat. And while that's not far from the truth, I am doing other things as well. Like right now, I am getting ravaged my a mosquito....(make that WAS, just smashed him/her)...in an internet cafe a few paces from my house. When I say internet cafe, I mean a very basic room with linoleum floors, four computers and four phone stalls.

I have seen a handful of foreigners come here to make long distance calls, though no westerners. I don't have a firm grasp on the situation yet, but it seems that there are a lot of people who come here from South Asia to work, and presumably send money back to their countries....met a guy selling roses from Bangladesh who mentioned that he had a political science degree in his country....('nother mosquito...really could use some 100% Deet right about now...)...in any case, where was I? Rambling.......

Just so you don't worry that I am not eating any veggies, below are a few pics on today's pranzo (lunch)....pheasant cacciatore accompanied by rice, haricot verts, zucchini with olive oil and spinach. Lotsa greens!

Tonight, I am going to a cafe/bar for a graduation party of some Sicilians I met here last week...they have been really nice and several of them speak Italian and English...in addition to Spanish and Portuguese. It really is amazing how many languages a lot of the people over here can speak.

Other than going to class in the morning, today I went to the mechanic to fix my bike seat, and did some shopping for the house...found a really cool place to buy fresh made pasta and purchased some tortelloni (i.e., big tortellini) and garganelli (like penne, but with more texture). I also bought a three euro bottle of Barbera, which I am anxious to try and will keep you posted.

Okay, for the last photo, can you look at this doorpost and find which one of these residents no longer lives here? I'll give you a hint, her last name (now) rhymes with Schmiegelman.