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November 13, 1942

This morning while eating breakfast (at 6:30 a.m.) I could hear the booming of a cannon. At first we thought it was a ship shelling some parts of the coast until we were told otherwise by a passing soldier. He said there was fighting outside Jaro.

It is now 4:00 p.m. and all is quiet – I do not hear anymore firing.

For breakfast this morning John, the cook, made pancakes from “balinghoy” flour. It is a tuber and resembles the potato. It can be boiled and eaten like a potato. One can also make flour and starch from it. The pancakes were delicious; in fact, better than with wheat flour, as it is lighter in texture. It is surprising how one can get along on so little when they have to. We are also using “kasla” leaves (from a bush) to take the place of soap when washing dishes. The leaves are crushed and they produce a soapy and lathery substance.