In which Tim checks in...

Yes, I live. I am reporting to you literally from the top of a mountain where I have discovered a wireless connection at training center for coffee growers. For you history buffs out there, this training center is located in a large country house that used to belong to the dictator Trujillo.

I am living with a family in the town that is quite different from the family I stayed with in the city. They make a living off of farming, so economically they are not quite as well off. There are ten kids in the family, most of whom have grown up and moved on. A few of the brothers still live at home, owing to the fact that they are deaf. So my Spanish is not getting much work, but I am becoming not-that-bad at sign language!

The biggest change in moving from country to city has been the interconnectedness of the community. Everyone knows EVERYONE here, and everyone always knows exactly what everyone else is up to. And I am sure you can imagine the kind of attention that a group of Americans moving into the middle of a small town is getting...we're pretty much rock stars.

There are about eight of us who live within a mile of each other, and it's a little unnerving but often hilarious to see how gossip travels. For example, my friend Claire who lives up the road from me is often told by her host mother what Tim had for breakfast and what time he got up that day. Last week Claire entered the kitchen and found her host mother laughing very hard at something. She asked what was funny, and was told "Tim got up early to do his homework, but the power is out so he has to use a flash light! HA HA HA HA HA!" Apparently it was very funny. I will let you draw your own conclusions.

On that note, a normal part of life here is that the lights go out often, with no warning. So I will stop writing here, and post the blog lest it be lost to a power outage.

Please keep sending the emails. I enjoy reading them, and I will probably be able to keep checking a couple times a week.