Dad is here

Dad arrived here safely early Saturday morning, and he got a little bit of sleep before I showed up at his doorstep. His place is very, very nice: two twin beds, a TV, an air conditioner(!), a little refridgerator, and a private bathroom with an indoor toilet and shower. It's all in very good repair and is clean, clean. The price is outstanding, and although we'd prefer that it were a little closer, it's still a very good location. It's about a 40-minute walk from the guest house, where I stay, and about 35-minute walk from where I work. It's probably quite a bit less than that (20 minutes?) to church though we don't know how to walk there yet. The especially nice thing is that dad and I live right next to the same major road through the city, so walking to each other is a cinch.

The first day he was here, we walked our legs off all day, and he was such a good sport. It was so much fun! I walked to his place in the morning, then we walked to Tsoom (a big department store) and looked at the national handicrafts on the top floor, then we walked to change money, then to a delicious Turkish place for a big lunch, then to my guest house, then to the market for some fresh veggies and yogurt, then to his place, and I walked back to the guest house. Whew. Many of these places are 20-40 minutes apart if you're walking, so our little errands took all day. I was totally impressed that he was going and doing all day on his first day in the country. I knew he was smart, but I was impressed w/ dad all over again as he quickly picked up on the layout and locations in the city. Today (his third day here) he walked from his place to my work by himself with no problem. I feel such jealously of people with that great sense of direction....

Sunday we went to church with Nargiz. I walked to dad's place in the morning, and then she picked us up near his place, which is much closer to the church than the guest house. Church was incredible, and though we couldn't understand the sermon (and Nargiz was teaching the children so she couldn't whisper translations), I could figure out the passage based on the overhead screen, so we read the passage in English in our own Bibles and enjoyed the singing. Everyone greeted us and shook our hands, and it was a great experience. After church we went back to the guest house and made lunch and ate with John, the other intern. I sauteed veggies with garlic and pepper and boiled some rotini to go with it. Dad made a salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, cilantro, carrots, bell pepper, vinegar, oil, and spices. And John pitched in washing and chopping and boiling fresh corn on the cob. It was a really good meal. Then we just took it easy, and dad and I chatted in the living room til I walked him home and then came up to the office to Skype w/ Heidi. It was a great weekend. I'm off work now and gonna head to the market w/ dad and pick up something to make for dinner... if we don't wuss out and go to a restaurant. Love you guys!