It is 3 am

It is 3 am.  I have been awake for an hour.  I'm typing this under my mosquito net.  I can hear the sound of a constant drip of a leak in our bathroom, the low roar of our ac, and the occasional loud crash of waves outside. Today is the day.  My alarm will go off in 4 hours and we will plan to go meet Abiella.  My mind is racing with what to bring, what to ask, where to go to get more formula, how long we will be able to visit, and a million more questions.

Tonight we fell asleep at sundown (by accident) and then rallied again to go have dinner.  I'm so glad we did. Dinner was amazing.  We went to the restaurant here on the hotel grounds again. Yesterday, we went when we arrived.  It was late afternoon.  Tonight it was a little after 8:00 pm.  It was so different going later.

As we approached I heard the voices of Americans.  An accent I haven't heard since we said farewell to our flight attendant.  It was strangely comforting.  As we entered the outdoor restaurant, there was beautiful music, the crashing of the waves, and a candle at each occupied table.  The waiter seated us, positioned a fan to blow on us and brought us a candle.  It was a very nice dinner.  I had beans and fish and fried plantains.  Absolutely delicious.  I also had a coca cola, served to me in a glass bottle.  It was awesome.

There were 5 occupied tables.  An older couple sat beside us drinking water, eating nothing, reading the Bible by candle light... interesting.  Another couple looked like they could be on some sort of romantic getaway, another group looked like they were seasoned travelers and here for fun, two other men sat by themselves... one on his laptop.  For a second, I thought I spotted Anthony Bourdain walk in and when I mentioned this to Sean he about spit his drink out he was so excited.  But alas, no Anthony... just an impressive look alike. 

Our waiter heard our accents and asked us if we were American.  The language barrier is a bit more difficult than I had anticipated, but nevertheless I think we all understood each other.  He told us that America was his "dream" country and that he had friends in Florida and he hoped to visit one day.  He said he had studied so much about America he felt he knew more about the country than some Americans.  He asked us about Florida, New York, and New Jersey.  Seeing his eyes light up at the word "America" was amazing.  It reminded me that YES, we are from a great country with unbelievable opportunities. How much I've taken for granted... access to education, clean water, food, shelter, the list goes on.
 
Something just howled outside....hmmm....

On that note, I better try to get some rest :)
It's now 3:30.  Will I ever fall asleep again?? So excited!!
Please pray for us :)  This journey is unique and unlike anything I've ever, EVER experienced.

Mary Susan