A Stroll down the Street

It's been a bit more than three weeks now that we traded our Kansas car for taxis and walking and our country roads for busy streets filled with interesting things to see.  Within days of arriving I took my first walk down our street to see what was new on what we affectionately call "Mulberry Street".

First, just a word about the weather.  We also traded in winter for summer  but for our friends here, it is indeed winter and jackets and hats and even parkas are worn during this season where the early morning hours bring the temperatures down to the 60's and then it warms up to the 90's.  Moussa, our favorite taxi man, was feeling the cold the other morning and had on his nice warm coat with fur-lined hood.
The opening question in most conversations is  "and the cold weather?"  We haven't been felt cold yet.  Still waiting...

The ugly reality of the beautiful new boulevard that runs in front of our house is the drainage trenches that line the sidewalks on both sides of the road.  They are 3-4 feet deep and a couple of feet across. They were originally created for rain water drainage but they quickly became the sewage drain and trash collector for all and everyone.  ( the smells don't communicate over the blog) 

Across from our house is/was an open sand field and before our stateside time, it was a great soccer field.  Now it has turned into the neighborhood dump.  Most days, mid-afternoon, a fire is started to burn the plastic bags and whatever else is burnable or 'smoke-able'.  Our house is in direct line of the smoke.

The smoke or heat didn't seem to bother the garbage grazing cows in the least.

There are some young men that push carts around to collect garbage from homes to take to the dump.

Garbage is a huge problem here as in any large city.  Just yesterday, trucks and bulldozers were working to clean up this pile.

And now, on a more pleasant note, a couple of random photos that bring a smile while I walk.

Fresh carrots!  I buy several bunches every couple of days.  I think the vibrant orange and green colors are worth the price and more.  They are so sweet and tasty too.  This young man parks his wheelbarrow with his perfectly arranged carrots on the side of the road to sell to passersby.

And the many, many kiddos.  

 And "Grandma" was outside to greet me as I arrived home.