LIFE

Some of you said you were looking forward to another update because you were interested, and some of you said it only to be polite. Either way, a fresh glimpse of events here was requested, for which reason I've decided to do that which I hate most; taking a moment to think of a blog/FB post. Nothing of any terrible importance has transpired since my last note, just the steady construction of the church building, slowly defying gravity as the walls rise, block by block; shaking a concrete fist in the face of that ever present and oft despised law of nature.
I've discovered a new principle of governance which I've considered discussing with the president when I return: that of rule by chiefs. You see, a chief here is like a demi-king, ruling his domain with a sort of limited monarchy very similar to that traditional and historically predominant form of government, varied only in that he is ultimately answerable to the government of the country if he commits an act that could be considered outrageous. Oh, but our governmental system was developed as an improvement on that idea, introducing a form of accountability through checks and balances that tie the hands of the ruling personage, retarding the advance of the corruption that naturally comes with the rule of man over his fellow beings: yes, this is, of course, true, but the positive side would be that the solving of legal difficulties can be significantly expedited by the lack of appeals to higher levels of judgment and the formal processes that drag out court action. In less words, the chief makes a decision when he deems it necessary, and no one argues. That's it. End of discussion.
So pretty much, we could do a Dr. Schulz cleanse on the legal system if this idea were adopted for a short period of time. All the clogged, long drawn out cases that in our comparison would be called toxins and whatever other terrible and disgusting contents you never knew about until you read the ad. for the cleanse, would growl and boil for awhile, and then come spewing out, bringing great relief to the tired system that has for so long endured their presence.
Ok, so I'm kidding a little (I've got to clarify that, because some of you consider my political ideas weird enough that you would believe I was serious) and whether or not you wanted to hear about that, you now know a little about the 'legal' system here.
Moving on, the next thing I'd like to say, is that I've walked more in the last (almost) 2 months, than I've walked in my entire life, ever since I gave up rolling for the more socially acceptable means of transporting one's self. I'd like to go on a little rant about that subject, but taking into consideration the fact that you fat, lazy Americans that hop in the car whenever you want to go to the mailbox probably don't want to hear it, I'll give up that idea, and just sit in a corner and think happy thoughts about the time when going to the store, or any place else i needed or wanted to go involved jumping in my truck, and exercising the hands and feet only to perform the basic functions of driving.
Speaking (or typing) of walking brings to mind another thing i wanted you to know about. The people here walk V E R Y S L O W L Y , picking their way along as if they were walking towards certain doom and wanted to delay arriving at that point of terror for as long as humanly possible. Seriously, I thought there was a limit to how slow a person could walk, but I quickly discovered how ignorantly mistaken my thinking was when I came here. Let me quote Thor Ramsey as best as I can from memory here: Look lady, you stand where he was, and then I'll stand where you were, and then he'll stand where I was... that's how a line works!! Come on! I want at least the illusion of progress..." Ok, I probably slaughtered that, but you get the point. And then, after being so obstinately slow for ever, they have the gall to growl at you when you squeeze by as you pass dozens of them in a single stride, trying to get to the next bus so that you can pick a seat in which you will not have someone sitting on your lap; or attempting to be somewhere even remotely close to 'on time'; or just to stretch out a little after shuffling along with the crowd for what seems like days, packed into the relatively short span of what's probably closer to minutes.
ok, there's another little peek into life here; I sincerely hope you enjoy reading this, because I'm not sure when, or even if, I will create another one of these.