13th of December. Today I get my apartment. it is somehow fitting that it is the 13th. It means I am in the right place. The apartment was not that big when I looked at it, and after putting all our bags in, it felt very small. I spent the afternoon rearranging the furniture and now if feels great. I love our little apartment. As a bonus we have cable tv and wireless internet! The kids watch a lot of cartoons - but all in Spanish!
Our little table and fridge and televison. I moved the fridge from the other side of the room - it was over beside the stove. but on that side it opened backwards and then the living room furniture was jammed. I can't move the tv too far because of the cable.
This is our living room, with the bed where the boys sleep.
The view from my front door looks through my living room / kitchen and into the patio. The door at the back of the patio leads to my bedroom, and beside that is our bathroom. The little window at the back of the patio is the bathroom window. So, the middle part of the apartment is outdoors. This would not work in Canada of course... You can see my little clothesline at the back of the patio. It is great - clothes dry really quickly. I love living in a desert!
Our little table and fridge and televison. I moved the fridge from the other side of the room - it was over beside the stove. but on that side it opened backwards and then the living room furniture was jammed. I can't move the tv too far because of the cable.
The boys all cozy and sleeping in their little bed. I gave Ciaran the option of sleeping in the big bed with me, but they are happier together.
The kitchen is small, but for what I have, it has lots of cupboard space. Not at all like Honduras where I had to cook on the floor! You will notice two white bottles on the shelf above the microwave. Here, the only kind of yogurt that is widely distributed is drinkable yogurt (like Yop - but other brand names - they don't have Yop). Anyway, I am saving my bottles to put rice and lentals and flour and sugar etc. I lable them in Spanish with a Sharpie marker. I should buy some of the small ones to use for spices...
The bathroom is a little small, and there isn't really room for my toiletries. But the shower has a consistent supply of hot water - and that is better than shelves! There is a little hanging rack on the shower for my shampoo and stuff, and the rest goes on my window sill in my bedroom. It all works out great!
My patio is in the middle of my apartment. I know this would be very strange in Canada, having to go outdoors to go to the bathroom or your bedroom... There is a tarp over top of the patio to keep the direct sun off. There is an overhang at one end, where I store a couple of my big suitcases. Arequipa is at the edge of the Atacama desert and it hasn't rained yet - not even a hint of it. I am told that it will be rainy season before I leave. I also store all my shoes under a smaller overhang, and my kitchen garbage is outside. We'be been having trouble with garbage this week, no garbage truck came - and that is a probem because I am going away next week.. The garbage truck plays ice cream truck music so that people know to bring their garbage out. The kids were so excited the first time they heard it - imagine their disappointment. You can't leave the garbage out, even for the morning, or a stray dog will get in to it.
A small bedroom, but a big comfortable double bed and two big dressers, one for my clothes and one for the kids. There are hooks for all my jackets and sweaters.
I use my big blue Ikea bag for laundry, and each day I wash a few things. Everything dries in just a couple of hours. There is only one outlet in the bedroom and one in the bathroom, and neither has one slot bigger than the other, so my computer can't be plugged in there. I have to charge my computer in the kitchen / living room.
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