I’ve been blogging on Notepad for quite a while and can’t wait to get to an internet connection to make sure the world as I know it in the USA is still turning. Yesterday not only was there no internet, but Cesar left to go to the farm to pick up the chickens he’s selling and, soon after he left (and after my National Geographic post), the electricity went out. It’s been going on and off constantly, but this time it went off probably somewhere around 2pm and probably didn’t come on again until probably close to 4 or 5. This meant conserving water (if the hose from the well can’t pump because there’s no electricity, the only water we have is the water in the reserve tank. This also meant no light to cook dinner, so Audrey and I had Ramen noodles (which I’d say are just as common here as they are in the States). This also meant no fan when we went to sleep at night. The others all slept outside, but I knew the bugs would eat Audrey and I alive, so I went back to our little room and tried to make do with an open door and window, and bug repellent. Unfortunately, Audrey now looks like she’s allergic to chicken pox (I’m just describing the number of bug bites and the fact that they’re more like welts because of her allergies), and I am itching all over. At one point during the night, Audrey was rolling around trying to get comfortable. I saw it coming and tried to stop it but before I could reach her, she’d rolled off the bed onto the tile floor. Good thing she landed like a cat– all fours. I kept one hand on her the rest of the night. When the fan finally turned back on (signifying the electricity turning back on), it came on fairly weak so that I actually thought that it was raining and that we would get a nice breeze. And now that I’m writing about it, the electricity just went off again…. I think I’m going to agree with Cesar getting the mobile internet connection. It’s weak and not great, but at least it won’t be in flux based on electricity availability, and my computer seems to hold a battery for long enough if I do well to conserve it. I’m so tired– exhausted really. I remember what it was like in college in Williams dorm when they didn’t have air conditioning. But at least we could leave there and go somewhere. Calling this a prison seems rather harsh. It’s no that bad. But what do you call a place that’s gated where you can’t really go out and conditions are questionable within? Even Cesar’s mom is recognizing that this house isn’t what she’d thought it was, and it doesn’t help that I can’t just drive somewhere… anywhere. I thought I could also keep a good attitude with the whole sharing the bathroom thing, and this morning I set to it, scrubbing the bathroom grout with a toothbrush and making things impressionably clean and smelling good. Before putting Audrey down for her nap just 30 minutes ago, I opened the door to the bathroom and the smell of cigarette smoke smothered me. Is this effort just a waste of time???