July 15, 2009
So I am finally on my own!!! I moved out a week past the day I was allowed to move out. I enlisted the help of some friends around town to find a place, and the 8th day of looking did the trick. I love the house, and I’m slowly getting things settled. There are a few major purchases left to make before I feel the house will be really comfortable. I must say the paint job is horrendous, but I don’t really judge a house on it’s color. My bachelor-pad has 3 rooms, a kitchen, a large main room with a skylight (covered in thin plastic to keep rain and bugs out), a water closet, and a giant roof that was the selling point for me. I am happy to report that I have electricity and water 24/7, something I didn’t have at my host family’s house (the town is currently in the third year of a three year project to get consistent water to every household, and my host family’s house is in one of the last two neighborhoods to get the improved water service). I have posted some preliminary pictures of the interior of the house, and of the view from the roof. I think the picture of my main sitting room should be an advertisement for 3M tape products. Duct tape is wonderful! My house is right behind the main government building, and a family of storks has made a home on top of the old main government building. My favorite activity this last week has been to sit on the roof and watch the behavior of the storks while listening to music. One other activity that I have found relaxing is laundry. It takes quite a while to do it by hand, but it’s kind of therapeutic. Note, hand washing snotty handkerchiefs is not fun. The stuff just re-hydrates into a slimy mess. That’s where the plastic bristled brush comes in handy. Still disgusting, but my mucus to hand contact is lessened to a degree. On that note, I’ll leave you. I’ll update you later on my first attempts at cooking.
