Our House

Dana's been describing our activities every day, but I wanted to tell you all about the  little house we are staying in.  It is one of the nicer houses in this town...most are rickety wooden structures on stilts. Ours is a four room concrete house - kitchen/living room, bathroom and two bedrooms. All the floors are tiled. Only some of the windows have glass, most have metal louvers to keep out the rain and direct sun but let in the cool breezes (which is very nice). The kitchen is very basic with a couple of cupboards, open shelves, a sink and a fridge. In one corner is a wooden bench/table with the propane two burner stove (kinda like a camp stove). The sister we are renting from was very generous providing us with some pots, pans, cutlery, utensils, dishes, microwave and an electric kettle (very important as there is no hot water). So we don't have much - we each have our own glass, bowl and plate - but makes me realize we don't really need very much. And it certainly is great motivation to get the dishes done after every meal because if I don't then we have nothing to eat off next mealtime!

There is a small dining table that also serves as a desk for studying and as an entertainment unit for the laptop when we have movie night. Also a nice comfy couch and three plastic chairs to sit on.

Mackay's room just has a single bed, but he also has the only working ceiling fan in the house (we are so jealous!) In our room there is a double bed and a dresser. There isn't a place to hang our clothes so we have them hanging from the curtain rods, on the back of doors or anything that'll support a hanger. It makes for some interesting decorating choices when my bras are hanging in the windows to dry!

The bathroom has some open shelving where we keep our towels, toilet paper, toothbrushes, deodorant...basically everything because the cabinet under the sink is where we found the tarantula the first night and now I'm kinda afraid to open it let alone keep anything in there! The toilet and sink placement is cozy to put it politely. I've got short legs and even I have to wedge myself in there to sit! Next to the toilet is a large tiled shower - remember only cold water! We are actually getting used to the temperature and actually it helps cool you down from all the heat.

There is also a little covered front porch and a small yard that is fenced and gated. This mostly to keep out the wandering neighbourhood dogs. We leave the gate open between our house and Claudette's (sister landlady) so her dog, Candy, can wander back and forth. Claudette's house is up on stilts. We use her washing machine - which is outside but under her house. All her laundry is hung on lines under the house! We also walk under her house to get out to the main road.

So there! You had the grand tour - hope you enjoyed it!
(We're still working on getting pictures posted - don't worry we've been taking lots)