Several friends came over for dinner tonight.  We still have enough left over wine from the wine tasting to last for weeks unless I keep inviting people over who drink wine.  I served salmon teriyaki with crystallized ginger, jasmine rice, roasted vegetables, and salad–see previous posts for recipes.  We also feasted on Ethiopian bread given to me at an Ethiopian party last night.  Three of us in the group are headed to Ethiopia in ten days.  Two of the group are doctors, ones wife is his office manager, which leads to the first topic.

Both of these doctors are from Southern Hemisphere countries.  Both trained originally there and practiced there.  One practiced medicine in several African countries before coming here.  Basically, they had to start over here and go through most of medical school, residency, examinations, everything all over again.  The more I think about this, the more I wonder if going to a doctor who did all this twice is not a better choice when you  pick a doctor.  I liked school; in general, I liked studying.  Would I want to go through all that twice.  Hell, no!  Really.  Their good humor, dedication, and persistence amaze me.

The morning after the wine tasting, I looked over the edge of my balcony, down the cliff, and to my horror saw all these full bottles of water.  Since Thursday, when I discovered them, I have been trying to think how to get them out of there before the next rain storm comes and they wash even further down the steep slope.  Friends to the rescue.  I could not believe how Hernan descended  the gravely slope.  He confidently walked down it and around, picking up bottles, putting them in a plastic bag.  He made it look easy, like he was walking on flat land.  I finally had to ask how–I was down by the edge but not really climbing up and down.  He informed me that he grew up in the mountains, the Andes.  We all watched in mild astonishment at how easy he made it appear.

A good day to begin a good week I think:  this morning people who bought my book telling me they love it, one telling me her mom grabbed it and she has not been able to even take a look, friends over for dinner, the bottles cleaned up, and the possibility of showers.