But she said there'd be photos!

Yes indeedy blog-watchers, I promised photos. What I didn't know was that Internet service here makes Ted Rogers look like Buck Rogers - it freezes as often as Stephen Harper's heart and crashes with the same frequency as Courtney Love. So let's stick to words for now and hope that one day I'll get a secure enough connection to let me send pics.
Meanwhile, picture this - Copacabana is playing on the tinny sound system in Mac's Cafe as I write this to you and traffic putters along narrow 2-lane road that circles the island. The bus runs hourly - clockwise and "anti-clockwise." So I've rented a banged up old bike - and yes, a helmet, mom - and I'm using it to get into town and to and from work. Always with a flower tucked into the side, a red hibiscus or creamy white gardenia.
I've been asked to work with a small local school, Takitumiu primary, to help create a profile of the place and its students in words and photos to be used as a teaching tool for a few U.S. classrooms and also as a method of approaching classes to sponsor the class.
The kids wear uniforms and go barefoot in class, brushing their teeth at an outdoor tap after lunch, which is at 10 a.m. Why do early? Most get up at dawn to do chores like clearing brush around the house with a machete, raking, or or cleaning. "It's not just emptying the dishwasher," one woman observed drily. Others just show up at school at 6 a.m., too excited to stay home, the prinicipal, Anna tells me.
Tonight we're taking a dance class - coconut bras anyone? And after dinner, it's into town for 2 for 1 movie night ($5 NZ) for Die Hard 4.
Will write more as I'm able. Hope you are all well.
Linda

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