The Vinyl Cafe

I am still struggling with the fact that it is completely dark by about 6:45pm, and that I don't have electricity. Depsite the fact that the stupid rooster wakes me up at 4:43 am, I still find the days here incredibly long. After dinner Sam and I usually chat for a little bit, and then I retire to my room for some make shift BodyPump and BodyFlow. Sam thinks that I exercise too much (I think the opposite), and he usually heads off to his workshop. When I've had enough, I lie on my make shift yoga mat (a tarp), listening to a few more songs. Then, I brush my teeth for the evening. This is my favorite part of the day. My teeth are the one part of me I can get absolutely, perfectly clean. (Note: Be sure to let the hand sanitizer completely evaporate off your hands before flossing!) I then crawl into by mosquito-proof cave and listen to the Vinyl Cafe. There is something extremely comforting about the voice of Stewart Maclean. Perhaps it is because the stories in the Story Exchange are so uniquely Canadian, that I can pretend I am there. Or maybe it is because listening to the Vinyl Cafe is something I share with my family and many friends, and helps me feel connected in an odd sort of CBC way. Or perhaps it is only because it is nice to have a genuine laugh at the end of a long day. When listening to "Sam Turns Green", Sam (not the one in the story, but my host brother) came to see why I was laughing so much. Unfortunately, CBC podcasts are only weekly, so I am going to quickly run out of new episodes to listen to (I stopped listening in May so I could have a backlog to work through while here). However, I am sure that even on repeat, The Vinyl Cafe will continue to be a part of my evening routine, at least a few nights a week.