Back on Solid Ground

After about 36 hours of traveling, we're finally settled in at my father-in-law's home. I spent much of it miserable for one reason or another, mostly a lack of sleep.

Weirdly, once I got here, I couldn't sleep because of the heat and so got up to go socialize with my in-laws in my pathetic French. It's really fun though because I can tell that my Nintendo DS program has really helped my language skills and I'm actually confident that I can say things and it doesn't take as long for me to articulate them. Of course, I'm still horribly mangling the language, but I feel like I can communicate now.

That or they're just humoring me and smiling and nodding because it's our first day.

I had the brilliant idea of wearing flip flops while traveling. Easy off, easy on for security, comfort on the plane, etc. Great idea except that I never wear them otherwise so I blistered. I was worried they would hurt me on my walk that I planned for the evening just after dinner.

As a sample of how fatigued and unable to think I was at that point (I'd ended up being awake for nearly 60 hours, with only brief catnaps on the plane), let's look at some of the problems with my logic for planning a walk after dinner.

1) It is Ramadan, the Holy month for Muslims, where they fast from sunup to sundown, daily.

2) Iftar, which is the feast that breaks the fast, begins promptly at sunset.

3) Iftar, thus, is dinnertime.

4) Thus, dinnertime begins at sunset, so by time you are done eating, it is dark.

5) There is little or no lighting on the streets around here.

Which means that I could not go on a walk after dinner as I would be stumbling around in the dark either in an unlit forest I am unfamiliar with (where I'd planned to walk) or stumbling around in the near-dark on streets with potholes and drivers who aren't expecting to see someone walking down the street.

Hopefully some sleep will improve my critical thinking and planning skills and I will be more mentally functional tomorrow.