How to work a phone (warning, I don't think I've mastered it)

So as much as I've enjoyed not having a phone, I realized it's slightly impractical.  Between trying to book trips (we want to go rafting this weekend and hoped we could get a group price) and now having the Jewish community with whom I'd like to be able to talk, it's a bit tough.  On the other hand, I've learned the complications of a phone.

First off, I don't really want to buy a phone since it's expensive and I only need it here (Expensive I think is 20 bucks but in shillings trust me, it's a lot).  So then I bought just a SIM card and put it in someone else's phone.  Then you have to buy airtime, which you don't buy by minutes, you just buy a certain amount, and you don't know how many calls it'll get you.  I had no clue how it worked and ended up using all I had to try to talk to the rafting company (which thankfully I finished the conversation before I ran out of all the money I had).

Anyway I finally asked Susan at work how the phone works.  Turns out, there are lots of different networks, and if you talk to someone within your own network, it's much cheaper, but you have no way to know which network they're in until you run out of money (actually that last bit may not be true, but I can't figure out how to know).  So basically it's only sort of working... but at least the important call worked.  Also incoming calls are thankfully free.  The bad part is I was supposed to call someone I met this past weekend and when I tried it totally failed, despite me having just refilled the money... so I don't get what's going on.

In other news, I think I'm getting the hang of taking so many picture essays in a week.... or at least trying.  I also finally got feedback so now I think I have a bit of a better idea what I need to be doing for captions and all.

Oh, and this morning I did laundry again, only this time the woman who does laundry at the casa was up on the roof and helped me and Avery, and she's much more efficient than us... I'll have to keep trying.

Sorry this isn't the most interesting post but that's what new with me!