\ˈgest\

This week our quiet apartment is experiencing a jolt of life with two guests -- my sister Hannah, who has been here for several weeks, and her friend Elliott, who is taking a break from the research project he is heading in southern India. Ben and I were happy recipients of a box of Darjeeling tea and several packets of spices when he came. We used the chili powder today, and it is a potent mix. One of the best parts of the week for Ben, Hannah and me is that Elliott is a vet student, and he has animal factoids for every occasion. We spent 40-minutes last night browsing cat breeds on the Internet, much to Hannah's delight, we have learned about the oldest captive manatee in the world, and we now know that an orphaned monkey cannot survive on only chocolate milk and bananas. For the past two nights we have also engaged in heated games of Settlers of Catan. Ben and I had never played this strategy-based civilization game, but we are ramping up. So far the score is: Elliott-1, Hannah-1, Ben-0, Abby-0. There has been a little less to say over the past weeks. For so long we have been moving physically that I have gotten into the habit of defining growth and excitement by the changing scenery. It is a new mindset to use relationships, conversations, language progress, photography work and best-loaf-of-bread to measure the days. Ben shot these portraits of us on our way to watch the Faroese National Women's Handball team play Iceland. The final score was 24-24 after a last-minute goal by the Faroese. It is a surprisingly rough game where you can push, grab and bear-hug your opponent. -a