Day and Night - Hannah

People here are early rises, and I understand why. The morning is the time to get anything done--it gets dark around 6:00 p.m. all year round, and lately anyway, it tends to rain every afternoon.

If I want to get laundry done, I need to wash a load in the morning so it can be up on the line to dry before the rain comes. If it rains before the clothes are dry, I have to grab the clothes and lay them out on our couches. Consequently we often have clothes lying around the house or hanging on anything that will hold them.

School starts at 7:00 a.m., which means we wake up before 6:00. If you know me, that is very unusual. Michael jokes with me that I'm not a morning person or a night person. I just like my sleep. But we're all adjusting. Basically we've just viewed it like we're in a different time zone. We get kids into bed around 8:00 if we can, and try to go to bed shortly after that. (Though the last couple nights Michael's been up late with work.)

Because it's dark in the evening and we don't know where to go anyway, we tend to stay in. But last Sunday night I braved the road from here to San Jose, the capital. I went with Julia and a few other Young Women and their leaders to hear a broadcast from the General Relief Society President. The way down wasn't too bad, since I was following another leader and it was still light. But the way back was dark and absolutely insane. The road is similar to a winding canyon road but with no shoulder and people walking alongside it. Occasionally the road isn't wide enough for lanes going both ways, and you have to know where those spots are. Add to that some fog to decrease the visibility to squat and you have The Highway of Death. Michael compared it to a horror movie where it's dark and foggy and people suddenly appear along the road. That about describes it. I was amazed that we got home in one piece. It will be a cold day in you-know-where before I attempt that road at night again.