From the homefront

Things around the house have been a bit stressful recently. My sister's been getting on my nerves and therefore the entire household has been stressed. Sharing a room with her has been a challenge as she likes things to be a certain way, and I do as well, but of course these things never match up. Luckily, now with my library volunteering, I'm out of the house enough to keep the sanity level at a reasonable range.

At the library I found a good of medium-difficulty mathematical exercises, so I checked it out and Zeke has been working on them. It keeps his problem-solving ability fresh and that's what my parents wish for him to do (as Zeke was at the top of his class before we left Duchovnyville). My dad and Ezra spend time with him reviewing his work and teaching him concepts he doesn't know yet, and he don't seem to mind the arrangement. Zoe started reading Life of Pi, but has been frustrated with it. Yet, everybody seems to love the book so I'm hoping that she'll change her opinion soon.

I talked with Mr. Fitzgerald some more today about his personal life, mainly his childhood. He grew up in a large family that lived in Duchovnyville and as a child he played around the port, watching the ships sail in, deliver cargo, pick up shipments, and leave again. He spent so much time there that he soon learned the patterns of ship schedules and would make friends with the crew. Years went by and he continued to rummage around the area. Then at the age of 13, upset with his parents, he stowed away on the newest, most beautiful ship, the Zimbargo, which would come into port every Wednesday morning and leave again that night. No one found him until Saturday, hiding in a kitchen cabinet, snacking on beef jerky, just before they docked at Port Royal overnight. Since he had developed a friendship with the captain and some of the officers months before this event, they made him call his parents, explain what he had done, but then they gave him a free trip back to Zaharia. His parents were upset with him, but he didn't mind. He had taken his first trip at sea, and that was when he decided that he wanted to be in the shipping business.

I enjoy talking with Mr. Fitzgerald because I believe that it's important to learn from your elders. His stories and good sense of humour help me forget that I'm in a foreign place, far from my home. I think he tells these stories for the same reason, and I'm sure his enjoys the nostalgia. He reminds me of my grandfather whom I only had the chance of knowing as a young child. I just hope that soon I'll find out the real reason why he left Zaharia for this area years ago!

New developments

So I asked the library beside this internet cafe if I could volunteer there a few days a week. The librarian was very happy that I asked and she said that it would be nice to have somebody to chat with. We've arranged that I go there on Mondays and Thursdays, and possibly more in the future, but we decided to start easy. So, that will give me something to do!

My dad finally got a job, and now he's a cobbler, thanks to my Uncle's help. It's not the most exciting job, but it's a trade. He's hoping that he might be able to enter the camp a day a week, which I think would be a big success. Since the camp's conditions are so terrible at this point, being able to fix people's shoes would also be a service to the camp's well being.