04 August, 2012
Today is what we call a DONSA in the Army. It means “Day Of No Scheduled Activity”. To normal people, that would mean sleeping
in/leisurely “start-the-day” kind of stuff … Nahw! It was “meet me downstairs
at 07:30 so we can get to the market” (we had run out of “green
groceries”). A quick bus ride to the
city center put us at a HUGE outdoor market.
One of the things you learn pretty quickly here is that if you want
good, cheap produce go to the open markets.
This particular one is what all the Farmer’s Markets in the U.S. strive
to be! Vegetables, tree fruits, vine fruits, berries, nuts, tubers, beans,
grains, herbs, spices, baked goods … whatever you wanted or needed was there
and in abundance. As always the cost of
the produce was well below that which I had expected to pay and the quality so
much higher than I expected to find.
After taking our stash back to the apartment we were told that around
lunch we would take my suit to the cleaners.
One of our drivers had done research on dry cleaners here in the city
until he located one that used “American style” cleaning processes and
guaranteed that they could have it back by Tuesday (just another example of
how most of the people here are anxious
to help and will often go well beyond what you ask or expect). The cost was about the same as you would pay
back in the U.S.. While we are talking
about funds let me make this recommendation: at the very beginning of your
process set up a separate adoption funds account at your bank. This is the account that all of your grants,
FSP, direct donations from friends, etc. monies will go to. That way you have clear separation of
accounts for expenses that are directly related to the adoption (USCIS,
fingerprints, facilitation fees, travel expenses, etc.) and other incidental
expenses (toys for the kids, gifts for friends/relatives, a special meal or
event, etc.). This way you can clearly
show to anyone who may challenge you that you did not “inappropriately” spend
any of the donated funds. As sad as it
is that people would think this way, it does happen. Using the ATMs here (known as the “bankomat”)
is no more hazardous than using the ATMs at home. They are very convenient since you
automatically get the day’s exchange rate, they are never on an extended lunch,
and you don’t have to turn over your passport for scrutiny each time you would
like to get additional funds. Do confine
your ATM use to those that are either inside a place of business, or one of the
major banks here and exercise the normal precautions that you would take in the
U.S.. Something to remember while you
are here is that a little gratitude goes a very long way. Always be polite and thank people when they
do anything for you, regardless of how small. When appropriate, a small gift
(plants and flowers are good choices since they are relatively inexpensive and
have no real monetary value of their own) that can be displayed and will act as
a reminder to the person of your gratitude can smooth many “bumps” in the
administrative road. Since this seems to be taking on the flavor
of an advice column, here’s a couple more:
Eat salads as often as you can. Not only are they good and good for you, but
they will help you remain hydrated and balance your electrolytes. It is very easy to become unbalanced (in oh
so many ways!) during international travel and water is not always conveniently
at hand.
Drink the bottled water in moderation. While it is perfectly safe, it is still
different so you need to spread it out over the day so your GI system can
adjust. Be aware that it comes in “gas”
and “no gas” so order appropriately. Your
water intake should be about two liters a day (about 64 ozs for us Americans) which
very few of us get just from drinking.
Pancakes here = Crepes at home. They come in sweet and salty/savory. Do eat them when you are here! (Onion,
mushroom and cheese is a personal favorite!)
Order your pizza with ham or salami. Pepperoni does not seem to have any
definitive definition here and you are pretty much rolling the dice on what you
are going to get if you ask for it.
DO NOT JAYWALK!!!
Pedestrians in the crosswalk have the right of way; pedestrians outside
the crosswalk are aiming points. The
penalty for jaywalking here is death and the sentence is usually carried out
immediately!
Jaywalking - part deaux; If the crosswalk does not
have electronic walk/don’t walk signs you can cross when you would like. Even though it may not seem like it, the
traffic WILL stop. If the crosswalk does
have electronic walk/don’t walk signs, OBEY THE SIGNS! (see above for penalty
of violation)
All for
today, time for dinner … Yum!!
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