Toward the end of our two years in CAR, the American Embassy began to rapidly downsize and we were asked to move from our house by the university (which had been rented by the Peace Corps) to a house along the Ubangui River that was owned by the Embassy. It was an amazing house with gardens and a porch that looked out over the river. This is what we used to see each morning over breakfast.

Living by the river also had other benefits, mostly visits from the 'man in the red shorts.' This guy, a fisherman, used to come up to the back fence once in a while - much to the great consternation of our dog, Alex. He would show us a fish that he had just caught, usually a capitaine, and want to discuss the price.