Month # 2

Today is the start of month #2 of our three month term!

Of course the big topic of conversation has been weather. There was quite a snow cover on Mount Haleackala Tuesday, and in fact, the upper road to the peak was closed (I should have brought my skiis). I must apologize to our next door neighbour at home, Tom D. A little over a year ago he told me it had snowed in Maui and I didn't believe him). So I did get a picture Tom! Daily high temperatures have been 77/79 versus the normal 82/84. Our pool is down to 68/69, which seems quite cool. Thank goodness for the hottub. The HI development officer for Canada arrived from Toronto on Wednesday, and when he started talked about minus 29 in Ontario we stopped complaining about our cold weather for at least half an hour. I have been in the pool every day except one this past week, so it's not too bad.

Our first session of ladies classes for this year ended yesterday and we are saying goodbye to them today, to-morrow and Sunday. A new group of men start arriving next weekend. I was on duty tonight trying to get ten ladies on a shuttle to the airport at 7:00pm. When they are saying goodbye to 49 classmates, it is a real challenge to get them and their luggage on a shuttle. With men you put the luggage on, you count heads onto the bus and when you get your number, you tell the driver to leave. With the ladies, they get on, then they get off! Then one of their friends gets on for one last hug. The next group of seventeen ladies leave tomorrow morning at 4:30am - it should be a little more subdued at that hour then tonight. You must remember these ladies have been together for the past 25 days, and will probably never see each other again - so it is quite emotional. The picture only covers part of the class.

The other picture is the Vice-President - International Training and his wife (from India) and a participant from Sri Lanka.