So I've officially lived a week in my new house!! (Well actually tomorrow will really be my two week anniversary haha, but most of this past week was spent in In Service Training in the mountains of Matagalpa, a department located in the center of Nicaragua, which was unbelievably gorgeous and green and required us to wear LONG SLEEVES almost the whole time! I got to sleep under a blanket at night and slept better than I have in weeks! See album labeled In Service Training in Matagalpa.)
Where was I...oh yes...living on my own here in Nicaragua! Well obviously, the shock of going from a house where everything is cooked and cleaned for you, to living alone is substantial – especially when one is moving from a house that's basically built to suburban America's housing standards to a house made of bricks, adobe, and cement floors, with an outdoor latrine. So what's the verdict then? Well...I absolutely love it!!
Regardless of all the work that goes along with it, nothing compares to the freedom that comes from living alone. I can come and go as I please without being worried about being locked out when I get back, I can cook or not cook, I can have visitors, I can be a hermit on Sundays if I want to, and perhaps the most exciting thing of all, I was able to accept my student's gift of a kitten last weekend!!!!
So what are the responsibilities that come with living in a house such as mine on a block such as mine?
1. Collect water! I'm lucky enough to have a house with a water spigot out back, but that means that I don't have a well to rely on for the days when we don't have running water. Therefore, I have to wake up bright and early to start collecting! Three 5 gallon buckets are more than enough for two showers, dishes for the day, and floor watering – it even gives me a little left over for small laundry jobs. I also keep two 2L soda bottles full of water to drink. The problem comes in when I use all of the collected water assuming that the following day we'll have better luck – eh, I'm learning as I go. (Interesting Aside: I can tell if it's a water day or not from laying in bed in the morning. If there is water, I can hear my neighbors filling their buckets sometimes as early as 4:30am because lately, we never have it past 8am and they have way more clothes and dishes to wash than I do.)
2. Sweep cement floor at least two times daily to prevent the accumulation of inches of the dust that hangs in the “dry season” air.
3. Water cement floor because it's new and needs to be watered daily, also to keep the house cool. (This of course is easy to do on the days when we have water – which is about 50% of the time – the other days, if I fail to accomplish responsibility number 1, my floor's out of luck.)
4. Sweep the front porch, front steps, and street out front because living on the same street as the school means that EVERYONE passes by in the morning and afternoon, and I can't be known as the sloppy gringa that doesn't keep the house presentable.
5. Sweep and water the “patio” (aka back yard) because it touches the back yards of 3 other families, and therefore must also be kept presentable at all times. (I've learned to use the bucket that collects the water from my sink drain [aka the hole in my sink bottom] to water the patio – yay for being green!)
6. Handwash laundry at least 3 times a week because no one here just lets their laundry sit all week. Therefore, I must find time during my insanely busy week to at least hang out a few shirts for good measure.
7. Always have coffee to offer to the many visitors that bless me with home cooked meals, ice cold frescos, furniture, and company. =)
8. Learn to cook Nica so as to not seem incompetent if someone stops by around lunch time.
Did I mention that I work 43 hour weeks on top of all that and I still have to co-plan with 6 teachers and be available for social events at the drop of a dime?? Yeah...Peace Corps is NOT a vacation.
Weekly challenge for those of you bold enough to try: Get through a day with just 15 gallons of water.
No comments:
Post a Comment