This...

 

This is "a pinch of balance for all your cooking".

 

 

This is a cool-looking fire some guys had going in the field I can see from my window.  (Happily not right next to my building.  I can't stand the smoke and soot coming in.)

 

 

This made me so happy.  Brown rice.  I don't know that I've eaten it since I've been here.  I have seen it, but only rarely, and of course the white stuff is much cheaper.

 

 

This is because they're building right next to my building.  And when I say "right next to",  I mean literally against.  The picture was taken from my balcony, looking towards the left.

 

 

This is because safety considerations aren't as high a priority here.  (I don't know if you can tell, but back of the truck was pushing against those wires.  Gulp.)

 

 

 

This is in case you doubted my "safety standards aren't a priority" statement.

 

 

 

This was the latest (and possibly last?) package from home.  Ranch seasoning!  Dried apricots!  Peppermint mocha coffee!  Fun earrings!  I was a happy girl. :)

 

 

This is the mouse that has been hanging out in J&A's living room.  I'm going to say this at the risk of losing some very dear friends, but...I think she's kind of cute.  Not that I would want mice running around in my house, but they don't freak me out, and I do honestly think they're sort of cute.

 

 

 

 

 

This is what my kitchen table looks like before I start my morning language session.

 

 

This is an Obama Smoothline pen.  Tell me I'm not the only one scratching my head.

 

 

This was a scene from a Saturday morning excursion the other week.

 

 

This was when the camera decided to focus on the dusty window while we were on said excursion.  It was so. dusty. that week.  Awful, just awful. 

 

 

This is the citron man and his little wheelbarrow of local lemons.  (Tidbit: as in Spanish, French doesn't distinguish between lemons and limes - it's the same word for both.) 

 

 

This is dust...

 

 

...and more dust.  I kid you not, I swept the hall one morning around 9:00 or so, and by the time I was ready to head out for class (around 11:00), it looked like this.

 

 

This is in case any of you don't know where my oft-repeated "_____ is my one weakness" line comes from.

Larkrise is my one weakness.
Popcorn with ranch is my one weakness.
Scarves are my one weakness.
Nature walks are my one weakness.
Brownies are my one weakness.
Sunsets are my one weakness.
Mexican food is my one weakness.
Good books are my one weakness.
Pizza is my one weakness.

...Shall I stop there?