Saison seche (Wednesday, 2010 November 17)
It’s officially the saison seche, dry season here in the West, and the change is stunningly simple and distinct. The week before last it rained every day or two, enough for me to gather water to bathe with and even do dishes. Last week it rained once, hard, cutting power. This week it isn’t going to rain at all. Instead me and the "boys" went down to the marigot to fill my fût. This past weekend their family, as well as Madame Dorothé (and possibly children of her family too? Not sure) were down there straightening it out and it really shows. Where before there were mud pits, now there are cailloux, stones, thet have been collected from god knows where and laid out in a relatively stable arrangement. The marigot itself has also gotten some work; the kids did the equivalent of mucking it out to make it a little more smoother flowing. It’s a lot more pleasant and the water that comes out of it is a lot cleaner — it’s still a little green, but there’s less obvious dirt floating in it.
I don’t have any pictures of the New Marigot, but here are some of the kids working on it.
Marie Chantal, who is the mother of "the boys", is behind Dorothé here. I think the girls in the background are Ma-Cha’s kids.
Muck, muck, muck.
A hundred liters, bitches.
I also tried to cook sweet-and-sour cabbage wedges yesterday. It didn’t work great, but it was edible, and it’s a little better today. Maybe next time I should follow the recipe more exactly.