TIA

This is Africa, at least that is what they say. So I wanted to answer a few questions that have been asked of me as well as share a few stories.

Someone asked how does Isaac sleep with the bump on his back. It actually depends, sometimes he sleeps right on it, which is kind of funny to watch because his back is arched and he doesn't look comfortable at all, but he doesn't seem to mind. Other times it is almost like he sleeps on one side of the bump, kind of on his side but not completely. Either way he sleeps like a log but moves around a lot. I never know where I am going to find him in the morning!

So yesterday when I went to the bush, I left Isaac with Stephanie Martin. She was going to watch him until she and her daughter had to leave for the airport, and then he would be watched by another parent that is in country. Well I was told that when the Martins and the Shanes were leaving, Isaac sat down by himself and began to cry. He thought that I had left him too, and that he wasn't going to America. I had told him that I was going to the bush with Grandma Patty, but he must not have believed me, because he broke down. When I got back, I put down my bag and yelled "Isaac Alan Scott Greene Tarquini" and from the main house I heard this squeal. He came running out of the house and jumped into my arms. Patty and Donna were cracking up, because he held on to me for dear life. He was so happy I was there and hadn't left him.

I was also told that Isaac ate so much candy while I was gone that he was puking all day. When I got home I checked the "candy drawer" and it was empty. I love it. I am already failing as a parent! Failure #1!

So I have been trying to think of a nicknames for Isaac. I want to call him "Poochy" because of his lips. So I said, "Isaac I'm gonna call you Poochy!" He turned and looked at me with a very serious look on his face and he said, "If you call me Poochy, I will call you Jocelyn!" I almost died. It was so funny. He was dead serious too. So Poochy is out. Any suggestions???

So today was a down day. I hand washed some clothes "Liberian Style" then Sydnee came over and we took a taxi to a restaurant to get some fries and ice cream. Failure #2 I fed my son fries and ice cream for dinner, and he liked it! So HA!

Taking the Taxi was so cool, but kind of scary. It costs about 5 Liberian Dollars to go to the restaurant. That's like a $.07 cent taxi ride. It costs 200x that just to get in a taxi in the U.S. So you can imagine what you are getting for that price.

I met a man yesterday and was talking to him. I asked him how many siblings he had and he said "72!" I said, "72, are you kidding?" and he said, "my father was a busy man!" and laughed. I came to find out that polygamy is BIG in Liberia. A man can have many many wives but he must be able to support them ALL. This man's father was a very wealthy farmer and had 17 wives. His mother was one of the 2 head wives. I had no idea that polygamy was so alive and well here.

I have found it very interesting the way Liberian view sex and relationships. Sorry if this offends you for me to talk about it, but it's a very Liberia thing and I find it fascinating. Sex is nothing here! It is just something you do. A man will sleep with a woman and she will hold nothing to it. Liberians look at sex and marriage very, very differently than we do in the states. It is perfectly fine for a Liberian man to be married but to go out and sleep with another woman then go home to his wife! That really surprised me since so much of Liberia is based on the "American" way of life (from the freed slaves that came back here). But when it comes to Woman, Sex, and Marriage they have maintained a very tribal way of doing things. So if you are looking for a place where you can have many wives, Utah is no longer the only option! (Just kidding ;)

I took these photos of Isaac playing his drum. I threw a towel over it so it wasn't so loud. I had the camera on the wrong setting and it made his movement transparent. I thought it was cool. When I showed them to Isaac he went, "Mommy look I'm a ghost!" He is really funny, and the stuff that comes out of his mouth kills me!