A little about what I have done here other than in my office. For the first two weeks I was here the MacDonalds were also here. Mac came to be the area auditor. Sandi was to help him, but she has a degree in nursing and ended up running the health clinic in the basement of the area office building. Another couple the Dahlstrom's are here to work with the area Perpetual Education fund. At the end of the first week I was here, the two couples invited me to go out on Friday night to eat at a hamburger and ribs restaurant. We walked for about a half hour to get there. Good exercise. We were joined at the restaurant by the Workmans, a couple who work in the temple. The restaurant was in a very nice building and was clean and nicely decorated. The ribs I had were very good. The price was a bit more than it would have been at home.

The MacDonald's left to go home a week ago. The couple who replaced them are the Mason's. He will be the auditor. She will be his assistant. This is their second mission. The first was to Russia. A week ago Saturday the Dahlstroms invited the Mason's and I to go with them to the fedia (vegetable and fruit market). I am not sure how that market got started. It is a regular street in a residential area that becomes a market each Saturday morning only. There are all kinds of fruits and vegetables plus nuts, beans, grain and even a few folks selling clothes--some new, some used. After we came home and put our purchases away, we met again (both couples live four or five blocks away from where I live) and the Dahlstroms took us to another part of the city which is called El Centro. It is a shopping area above the central station for the Metro, the subway. There are easily a thousand shops in that area. Some are in mall type buildings, others are in stalls along narrow walk ways. You can buy about anything at discount prices. It was interesting to see, but nothing much I would have wanted to buy. We ate lunch in one of the malls. By the time we got home, we had spent from 10 AM to 4 PM walking most of the time. I was more than ready to just sit down.

Oh, a quick note about the buses and subway. You can't use money to pay. You have to buy a Bip card. Meters on the public transportation read the card each time you get on. There are places you can go, such as banks and Bip stations, to scan your card and find out how much credit you have left on the card.

This week end I opted not to go to the fedia. I needed to stay home and work on the power point for my presentations. I did my grocery shopping in the super market just a few blocks from the apartment. There is also a building full of little shops next to the grocery store. I am going to get Renae Mason to go with me someday soon to explore those shops. I understand that there are places to get your hair cut. I am told Sister Heaton is the one to ask about that. A thousand new things to learn. I paid my rent and water bill for the first time last week. You pay them at the bank. The teller had a question about a receipt for my water bill, but I didn't now for sure what she was asking and didn't know for certain how it was supposed to be handled. The teller at the next window told her to just stamp my bill and give it back to me which was all good,because my instructions have been whenever you pay any bill make certain you get a copy of the deposit slip or bill back with a stamp on it as proof you paid.

It is time for bed. I am somewhat up to date with blogging except to post some pictures of the apartment, area office building, ect. That will be my next big technology challenge. However, it is raining hard and acts like it isn't going to stop soon so picture taking may not happen for a few days.

Good night family and friends,

Jeanne