Pedophile Perch Takes a Powder?

In Granada in 2005, there was a local bar nicknamed Pedophile Perch. The porch overlooked a main street, and everyone knew that this was the place where the foreign pedophiles hung out. Since then, many things have changed in Nicaragua. Pedophile Perch still exists, a little less obtrusive, and now, on a side street, but most expats know where it is located. Yet, with the arrest and deportation last month of Eric Toth, a former 3rd grade teacher in a private school in Washington D.C., my hopes are that Pedophile Perch will take a powder.
Eric Justin Toth Caught in Nicaragua

I’m proud of Nicaragua for taking a stand against foreign sex predators. Eric Toth was on the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list for two years, before a tourist recognized him in Esteli, Nicaragua. What I’m not so proud of are the comments of some expats and foreign tourists defending sex trafficking and blaming the locals for their circumstances.

In 2005, I wrote a post to a Nicaragua expat forum (big mistake!) about an incident that occurred between an underage Nicaraguan boy and an older gringo man. Instead of creating an awareness of the increasing problems in Nicaragua with foreign sex predators, the discussion ( if you can even call it a discussion) led to pointless posts with statistics thrown around like fast balls. The gist of the garbage slung on the forum was blaming the locals for their cultural silence, their need to prostitute themselves for their families, and personal attacks on me for broaching the topic of foreign sexual predators.
Here are a few jewels from this sparkling conversation:

“In the last few months one takes note of how many more “little boys” have arrived from Managua to make their business…but, generally, these “little boys” are not underage..but it happens…but christ, it happens in the White House every day…gypsy toes…wanna go work the coffee fields at 3 dollars a day..try it. You wouldn’t last one year..you wouldn’t last one week. I shan’t continue…my monthly supply of Guinness came yesterday….”

“I think that you are talking bullshit”

“Get a “frigging” life.”

 ” I’ve been in Nicaragua for 15 years and I don’t want to hear this thing here about child abuse on the “Atlantic Coast”. This thing does not happen here.”

“My wife and I feed hungry children every day. Please keep your stupid opinions to yourself; because you do not know what you are talking about when you post.”

“***** says that “Gypsy Toes” & ***** are probably Catholic and support their pediphile priests and bishops.”

Tim Rogers, of the Nicaragua Dispatch wrote an excellent three-part series on Sex Trafficking in Nicaragua.

1. New Beginnings: chronicle of a serial rapist.

2. Sex predators find easy prey in Nicaragua

3. Nicaragua’s culture of silence

Yet, reading some of the comments posted to his articles, made me wonder why some expats and foreign tourists still continue to defend this horrendous act? Is it denial?

“Adult prostitution is legal here and the women here are definitely not being trafficked although as the article says the ones that work here come here from other cities, and I suspect the girls from here go to other cities when they want to work in the sex trade. I have seen one underaged girl trying to work here and she had no takers.”

“As far as trafficking the women arrive here on buses and play on the beaches and do as they please and go home on the buses when they are want to. They have no handlers and do not even seem professional with few exceptions. They tend to be mothers with children to feed.”

“There is a double standard with the age of consent between the Nica men and us foreigners. Its also true that the Nica guys pay them very little or nothing at all. Its a national sport here and they call it “chavaliando”. Also girls from other cities do flock to SJDS, seeking the Euro/ Yankee dollar and of-course not to be judged in their home towns. Im sure there are some crimes committed involving under aged girls and trafficking but for the most part its locals committing them.”

Denial… a psychological defense mechanism that enables us to lie to ourselves. It’s a normal way of protecting our fragile egos. Yet, when denying reality facilitates the continuation of a harmful situation (i.e. pedophilia, sexual tourism, sex trafficking), it affects our choices and prohibits us from finding solutions.

The comments posted above are good red flags for denial. They send a message that condones these horrendous acts and fools us into believing that sexual predators, prostitution, and pedophilia are accepted norms in Nicaragua. Don’t be fooled into believing that these commentators have control over the situation and we are helpless to affect a change.

We have to change! We have to confront the harsh realities and make an effort to pull our heads out of the holes in which we have been blissfully surrounded. Pay attention to the statements of deniers because they contain very negative recurring themes ( i.e.” for the most part it’s the locals committing them”, “This thing does not happen here.”, or my favorite…”wanna go work in the coffee fields at 3 dollars a day…try it.”)

Keep deniers on your speed dial, especially if you think differently than them. Confront them with reality and question their assumptions. For we must change our attitudes to protect the innocent in Nicaragua and in the world.

As a side note: I’ve been writing this piece for several months…a word at a time. I think I’ve been afraid to post it because I don’t want to sound preachy. But, I am! And, I’m angry, which always fuels my writing rants. I hope I’m not just preaching to the choir. Foreign sexual predators are becoming a huge problem in Nicaragua. Basically, I think it’s all about supply and demand.

Thanks to Third World Orphans for the information about supply and demand.

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN?

SUPPLY

* Devaluation of the girl child and discriminatory practices.
* Perceived responsibility of women and children to support families.
* Lack of educational, employment and vocational opportunities.
* Fragmentation of families: death of parent/s, husband, increases homeless women and children.
* Economic conditions, especially rural poverty, fueled by economic development policies and the erosion of agricultural sectors.
* Rural to urban migration and the growth of urban industrial centers.
* Move from subsistence to cash based economy and increased consumerism.
* Lack of laws and law enforcement.

DEMAND

* Criminal networks who organize the sex industry and recruit the children.
* Law enforcement /governmental complicity in the sex trade.
* Demands of foreign sex industries creating international trade in girls and women.
* Fear of AIDS, leading customers to demand younger girls.
* Early marriage and child marriage.
* Traditional and cultural practices, including the demand for virgins, the cultural practice of men patronizing prostitutes, inter-generational patterns of girls entering prostitution.
* Employers using the debt-bond (slavery) system, forced labor and child labor.
* Demand of sex tourists, pedophiles and the migrant labor force.
* International promotion of the sex industry through information technology.

Related articles

• Accused Pedophile Former Teacher On FBI 10 Most Wanted List Arrested In Nicaragua (kake.com)
• Women’s Rights Still Denied in Latin America (ipsnews.net)
• Enticing children into slavery (larahentz.wordpress.com)
• Travelling (slackalistravels.wordpress.com)

Weekly Photo Challenge: Storytelling Patterns

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
― Terry Tempest Williams, When Women Were Birds: Fifty-four Variations on Voice 

 

Living abroad has increased my creativity. I’ve broken out of established patterns enabling me to look at the world with eyes without borders. I have become a storyteller, seeking tales in patterns of life.

“Humans are pattern-seeking story-telling animals, and we are quite adept at telling stories about patterns, whether they exist or not.”
― Michael Shermer

Hang In There Faithful Readers

It only seems fitting because I am from the International Storytelling Center of the World, to ask you for your patience in telling my sometimes off the wall stories about living on an island in the middle of the an enormous lake, in the middle of Nicaragua, in the middle of Central America.

This week is ridiculously crazy, so stay tuned for more unusual posts from the land of the not quite right. We’re alive and well, but lately we’ve been consumed with a new adventure. I can tell you it involves the words, “Cut”, “Again”, and “That’s a wrap.”

See you soon! Hang in there. I’ll be back next week with more stories.

That’s a wrap.

My Husband: The Snake Whisperer

“When a woman teams up with a snake a moral storm threatens somewhere.”
― Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra: A Life

Marina shouted across the fence, “Ron, Ron ven aquí rápidamente! Hay una serpiente en mi cocina.” “A snake?” Ron shouted back. As usual, it was after dark on a Sunday night, and we lost our electricity.  I swear, the weekend electricity guys flip a switch every Sunday night leaving us in the dark for two hours. I picture them snickering and snoring in the Union Fenosa office.
Ron and I grabbed a couple of flashlights and squeezed through the barbed wire fence separating us from Marina’s house. Marina was standing on a plastic chair in her kitchen waving the only light she had…her cell phone. “Quick, help me trap the boa constrictor in the wall,” she ordered. “We’ll kill it tomorrow.” Stumbling around the dirt floor kitchen, we spotted some bricks and covered the top holes in the cement block wall. Trapped for the night! We lent Marina a flashlight and whispered, “Sweet dreams” (because their three grand babies were sleeping) and headed home shaking our heads wondering what the next morning would bring.
Early the next morning Marina shouted, ” Ron, Ron ven aqui.” With machete in hand, she was determined to capture and kill the giant boa sleeping in her kitchen wall. Now, we are not snake killers. If they are not poisonous, we trap them and set them free. Boas are beautiful and they eat rats, which is probably why it was in her kitchen wall. But, tell that to Marina, a protective grandmother. A moral storm was brewing.

With a mirror, flashlight, and a ladder, Ron spotted the boa near the top of the hole. He tried pouring warm water down the hole to flush out the boa, but it only aggravated the enormous snake and it retreated farther down. So, Ron chipped a small hole in the cement block, found his tail and started p-u-l-l-i-n-g.
Meanwhile, Adioska was screaming, Marina had her machete in her hand, and Don Jose was comforting his grand babies. This picture is priceless. You can just feel the fear!
But, Ron kept p-u-l-l-i-n-g. That was one strong boa!
Success! Isn’t it a beauty! Marina rushed forward with her machete. “No, Marina,” I explained. “We’re not going to kill it. We’ll put it in a sack and take it far, far, away from your house.”
Marina wasn’t sure. “You’ll take it far away? she whimpered. “Certainly,” we promised. Meanwhile the boa was getting restless. It tried to wrap around Ron’s arm and he lost his grip on the boa’s head. It only bit him once. Jose ran forward with a big sack, and Ron dropped it comfortably into its temporary home.
I have no fear of losing my life – if I have to save a koala or a crocodile or a kangaroo or a snake, mate, I will save it. Steve Irwin
“Stephen, do you want to see the boa?” Ron said reassuringly. But, Stephen ran for his life in the opposite direction. “Dustin, do you want to see the boa?”  Dustin took a few tentative steps toward the sack. He peeked in and soon wanted to touch it. Maybe a new snake whisperer is born.

Ron took the wiggling sack to the new airport. Just as he set the sack on the ground to release the boa, a big, fat rat ran across the path. “Perfect,” Ron told the boa. It looks like it’s lunch time.

Have you seen the movie, Snakes on a Plane? Let’s keep our fingers crossed that we never hear the quote below. LOL

From the movie, “Snakes on a Plane” : Neville Flynn: [TV edit] Enough is enough! I have had it with these monkey fighting snakes on this Monday through Friday plane!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Heads Up!

Life is a balancing act. You need to keep your head up and your feet on the ground, while allowing your heart to go wherever it pleases! ~Susan Gale

I spend entirely too much time with my nose to the ground in Nicaragua. There are hidden dangers lurking in the forms of scorpions, red ants, and biting centipedes. Yet, I need to remember that life is a balancing act. There are beautiful surprises awaiting when I choose to hold my head up high!

Coconuts, the life force of Nicaragua.

Hidden among the fronds are vampire bats.
Our Peras are ripe. A new batch of apple sauce and Pera pie is on the way.
The bananas have a couple of months left before they are ripe.
If we can only keep the Howler monkeys from nibbling on the bananas!
Our orchid is blooming, strung high in the nancite tree.
Marvin’s welding mask is strung high in the water tower. Our new water supply is almost finished.
My new Moroccan lamp shines colorfully in the darkness reminding me to keep my head up and my feet on the ground, for life is truly a balancing act.

My heart will always be free to roam, wherever it pleases. Thank you, my precious Nicaragua.

 

Battling Bugs

Chayules…swarms streaming…clusters congregating…gnats gathering…masses mobbing
My house is overflowing…jam-packed…filled to the rafters…overrun with chayules.
To complicate matters, we haven’t had any running water for two days now.

This is the price of paradise. Living lakeside creates some challenges: Chayules are my number one challenge. Two times a year, when the wind shifts and blows from the lake, millions of chayules hatch. They live for 3 days and cover every surface. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is out-of-bounds.

They are relatively harmless little gnats if you don’t mind breathing, eating, and sleeping with them. Lacking running water, the rinse water for my dishes is now a swimming pool of gnats. I had chayule flavored coffee this morning, as I picked them out of my ears and nose. Unable to cook, I ate sandwiches on the beach yesterday. Oddly, they weren’t swarming on the beach…only in our houses.

My neighbor’s kids spent the day at the beach. They helped me gather trash that had washed ashore. We played and bathed in the lake. Marina started a fire on the beach and cooked rice. It was a pleasant afternoon, as long as we stayed out of our houses.

But, when darkness blanketed our beach community and we turned on the lights in our homes, the chayules were unforgiving. Fans swirled the gnats like little tornadoes. A whispering buzz filled our homes, warning us of an impending attack. Babies cried. My cats swatted the gnats relentlessly. There was no escape until the lights went out.

At seven o’clock in the evening, La Paloma was dark. We all sought refuge under our mosquito nets ( those of us who have mosquito nets). When I awoke this morning, all was eerily quiet. Mountains of dead chayules dotted the floors. Carcasses clung to the walls and spiderwebs like curtains.

It’s time for the leaf blower. Living on the beach is challenging at times. Yet, I’m determined to make the best of it. We’re going to invest in a water tank and a pump. It’s easier for me to deal with the chayule attack than to live without running water.

You are probably wondering why we continue to live here. Honestly, the challenges of third world living have made me a better person. I’m more flexible and less stressed… more giving and less greedy…more tolerant and less unforgiving. The intangible qualities of life attract me. Soothing…speculative…mythical qualities. Sometimes it’s like living in a fairy tale.

Well, back to reality. It’s leaf blower time! Maybe today we’ll have a dribble of water. The price of paradise. Is it worth it? You betcha!

swarms of chayules

a chayule swimming pool

dusting every surface

Three Little Kittens

Last July, we had a rat problem in the garden. We didn’t want to use poison because we have ten free-range chickens, plus all the neighbors chickens and other critters come to our gringo house to graze.  Instead, we contacted a friend who lives in Granada to see about getting a cat.

We consider ourselves to be dog people, and we weren’t too familiar with the ways of cats. We only wanted one cat, but things didn’t work out that way. “Will you take two kittens?” Carol asked. “They are brother and sister. Poor babies were thrown in the Granada dump,” she pleaded. I relented. What’s one more kitten?

A few days later, the foster mom of our two kittens called. “I just got another kitten about the same age as the brother and sister,” she said. “They love one another. This little kitten was thrown over a wall in Granada and left to die,” she pleaded. I relented again. What’s one more kitten?

When the kittens were old enough to be spayed and neutered, our foster-mother took them to a free clinic in Granada operated by Donna Tabor. See her blog here with heartwarming stories.

Last September, we became full-fledged cat people. Our cats have adjusted to life on Ometepe Island. There is never a dull moment with Black Jack, Queenie, and Ocho.

Queenie is the queen of the finca

Ocho curls up in my pottery shards

Chickens? Oh boy!

Ocho loves to fish

Time to relax

Sleeping between our laptops

Always sucking on one another

Their first ferry ride

Bringing the kittens home

Naptime

Curious kittens inspect the construction site

 

Three Eggs in a Box

A popular TV show in the states asked Ron and I ( actually, the producer found my blog) to make a casting video. No, It isn’t “Honey Boo Boo”, but I think it would make a fine “Green Acres” episode.   I’m not sure if anything will ever come of it, but it was fun to make.  The requirements were to smile, show lots of energy and enthusiasm, and start the video in a beautiful location. Well, I definitely exuded play acting enthusiasm when I screeched, “Three eggs in a box!” However, we did get the beautiful location at the beginning. And, I learned how to embed a Vimeo video using a shortcode.  I hope you enjoy our production, which I call “Three Eggs in a Box.”

Weekly Photo Challenge: When a Kiss is More Than Just a Kiss

A kiss is almost always more than just a kiss. It is a language with its own grammar…a recipe of love with unique ingredients. People actually have careers studying kissing; they are called philematologists. Kisses are classified into three categories: the “basium,” for the standard romantic kiss; the “osculum,” for the friendship kiss; and the “savium,” the most passionate kind, sometimes referred to as a French kiss.

But, in Nicaragua I’ve encountered another kind of kiss, which I’ll call “desolo” or the Latin word for abandoned. Eight years ago, I lent my camera to my 10-year-old neighbor, Luvy. Her mother was visiting from Costa Rica where she was working as a maid to support her family on Ometepe Island. When Luvy’s mother returned for a short visit, I told Luvy to record her most precious moments on my camera and I would print the pictures for her.

For most of Luvy’s young life, her mother lived in Costa Rica. Luvy’s elderly father cared for her and her household of siblings and extended family members.  At the age of seven, Luvy bent over the cooking fire preparing meals for her family, as well as tending to the daily needs of her younger nieces and nephews who lived with them.

When Luvy was a teenager, her mother returned to live with them. Sadly, Luvy still lives with a feeling of abandonment, as do most of the younger Nicaraguan children whose parents leave them to find work in Costa Rica. Luvy turns 19 next week. She is following in her mother’s footsteps by moving to Costa Rica to find work. I desperately wish we could stop this perpetual cycle of abandonment.

The photo above has a happier ending. This is Bobby’s dog, Luna. Bobby died a little over a year ago abandoning Luna. She was placed in a loving foster home for a short time, until the woman could no longer care for her. Finding loving homes for pets in Nicaragua is not easy. First, most Nicaraguans don’t understand the concept of pets. Second, Bobby pampered Luna, again something unheard of in Nicaragua.

My friend, Carol, came to the rescue. She lovingly opened her home to Luna. Last week, when we were visiting Granada, we stopped in to say hello to Luna. Very grateful and sloppy Luna kisses smothered Carol with love.

Next time you happen upon kissing, remember that a kiss may look deceptively simple, but a kiss is almost never just a kiss.

 

 

We’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

We spent the past week painting three rooms in our house. It’s not an easy task remodeling or building anything in Nicaragua. The environment is harsh, termites ravage wood, everything is done by hand, and supplies are limited. But, we’ve come a long way in the two and a half years since we’ve lived here permanently.

Our couch is still in Marvin’s workshop. When it arrives, I’ll hone my upholstery skills. Then, I’ve designed a glass and iron coffee table for Marvin to make. The kitchen is slowly coming together. I’m designing kitchen cabinet doors that are punched tin, allowing air to circulate. Ron made me a sewing table. My library books are waiting to be delivered to several schools next week. Looks like I’m going to be very busy, but that’s the way I like it.

Most of our living is done outside, so we have a large wrap around porch for our hammocks and rocking chairs.

Before Construction

Our pink living room.

My pink den and workroom.  The pink kitchen. YUCK!

Our House Through the Years

2003-2004 when we rented our little beach shack for a year.  2009 when we bought the beach shack. Renters had painted it Barbie doll pink, inside and out. Our house today. Whew! It tires me just looking at all the work we’ve done. I think it’s time for a mini-vacation. So, we’re off to the beach for a few days. See you soon.

100,000 Ways to Say Thank You!

Today when I opened my administrator page on my blog, I noticed a new milestone…100,000 hits. Thank you 100,000 times. You are the best!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Love as a Dove

“We must combine the toughness of a serpent with the softness of a dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

High in the rafters of our porch, pairs of doves return during their mating season to display their affection and faithfulness, their love for each other..for doves mate for life. These emblems of love represent our lives on Ometepe Island for several reasons.

First, the dove is a traditional symbol for love and peace. I like to think of myself as a messenger for peace, spreading the word that tolerance and fairness is possible in this troubled world of ours.

Second, we live in the tiny community of La Paloma, which in Spanish means ‘the dove’. La Paloma is a model of peace and understanding. We blend our cultures successfully in our community; I feel that we represent a microcosm of how humankind should respond to one another in our troubled world.

Finally, Ron and I are committed to sharing our lives together. We have been married 37 years…a commitment of love, faithfulness, and trust that is sadly lacking in our troubled world today. Spread your wings..love as a dove..and go with peace and understanding…for that’s what love is all about.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: The Lightness of Being

Illumination by definition means a source of light or spiritual and intellectual enlightenment. Nicaragua has blessed me with both. I walk the path of lightness of being, appreciating every illuminating moment, for chances are I will never experience these awakening moments again.

The Pre-Columbian pottery radiates duality with present and past shimmering within the ancient vessel.

I am flushed with rays of light behind a waterfall on Ometepe Island.

The late afternoon sun casts a surreal brilliance on the trees in the lake.

The sun slips through the crevice in Somoto Canyon, Nicaragua  illuminating my precious son’s feet.

I light a candle in loving remembrance of friends who once walked with me in a lightness of being. For I believe that I only have one life to live, and that which occurs in life occurs only once and never again…thus, the lightness of being. Spread the light!

 

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Resolved

“It’s not that I mind getting old,” my mother confided, “so much as my mind’s getting old.”

I am paddling in uncharted waters. My eighty year old mother sits idly in the boat gripping her small suitcase containing her precious jewelry. “Where are we going, Debbie?” she asks. “I’m not sure yet, Mom,” I answer as honestly as I can. ” I’m trying to find a safe, comfortable place where you will be happy and content.” Five minutes later she’s forgotten and we repeat the conversation again..and then again..and then again, until she tires and falls asleep.

Living abroad has challenged us, especially since Ron and I both have elderly mothers. We make frequent trips to the states and count our blessings each time we return simply because we can share our love, our stories, and our histories. But, there will soon come a time when we will no longer be able to share those bonding memories. Those tender moments are scarcer, which saddens me.

There is no one-size-fits all manual for new parents, because every child is different, and the same applies to caring for an aging parent. In one year’s time, my mother has moved from a three-story house, to a condo in Florida, to an apartment in a retirement center. No wonder she asks me constantly, “Where are we going, Debbie?”

This year I am resolved to help her get comfortably settled and surrounded by family..those who know the stories and can jog her memory with humorous tales of long ago. “Remember when Dad got a new shop vac and you were styling your hair in the beauty shop, Mom?” “Yes, I remember that,” she says. “Well, do you remember that you were wearing a silk scarf around your head when Dad showed you the power of the shop vac?”  She starts to laugh recalling the incident, “Yes! He sucked the silk scarf right off my head and into the shop vac.” Those endearing moments, tales of years’ past..those are the moments I want Mom to experience again. They can only happen when surrounded by family.

Most Nicaraguan family units are large, with eight or more people living together under one hot tin roof. The Nicaraguan household is typically augmented by the presence of grandparents, aunts, uncles, an orphaned relative, a daughter with children of her own, and always accompanied by dogs, chickens, and a few pigs. Extended family members take care of their own. They even lack a word in their vocabulary for retirement home. The concept of a place where the elderly are removed from the family unit is alien and strange to most Nicaraguans.

Family members celebrate a birthday.

Although Nicaragua is out of the question for Mom ( Her needs are greater than our island can support), we do have plans in the making where she will be surrounded by loving family. She’ll soon be living with my brother and his wife and their chocolate lab, Lena.

So, as I paddle my boat in uncharted waters, the next time Mom asks, “Where are we going, Debbie?” I’ll soon be able to answer, “Home, Mom. We’re going home.” I am resolved!

Confessions of an Expat Shopaholic

Thank God we’re living in a country where the sky’s the limit, the stores are open late and you can shop in bed thanks to television.  ~Joan Rivers

What if we don’t live in a country where the sky’s the limit, where the convenience of consumerism, e-commerce, marketing tactics, and the psychology of shopping are distant dreams of a past life? I’ve returned to the states for two weeks with a list of items to buy that are impossible to find in Nicaragua. My brother has graciously, and a little begrudgingly, offered to take me shopping today…January 2nd, a day renowned for its sales after Christmas.

Psychologists have defined six universal mental rules of thumb that are evident in shoppers. The Psychology of Shopping  The one my brother doesn’t understand is Scarcity, which is understandable because unless one lives abroad in a third world country, scarcity is an alien concept. 

Living in Nicaragua, I believe that less is more. We consume less with the added bonus of more creativity. Live and Learn Abroad to Boost Creativity  Yet, there are certain products no matter how creative we are, we cannot reproduce. For example: Bayer Aspirin, Motrin, acrylic paints in small craft bottles, a Norelco hair clipper, and an Otterbox cover for my iPhone.

The psychological reasoning behind scarcity makes sense to me. I do place more value on those things which are scarce or non-existent in Nicaragua. When I was living in the states, I was never a shopaholic. Everything was readily available through internet clicks, and  short trips to the mall or department stores less than 5 miles from my house. I’ve never been a compulsive or impulsive buyer, but returning to the states and seeing the abundance of ‘things’ we have here, overwhelms me with an irresistible urge to shop.

I’ve mapped my itinerary, eaten a hearty breakfast, and promised my brother that if he takes me shopping, I’ll buy him lunch. My list has 22 specific items, yet I have a tendency to get side-tracked in the world of accessible consumerism. Wish me luck because I’m going to need it!

P.S. I love my brother and sister-in-law, especially for indulging my expat shopaholic tendencies! Thank you from the bottom of my expat shopaholic heart.