Life as Usual... improved!
Since coming back from a wonderful 20 days vacation in the States and Paraguay, I was less than enthusiastic when I arrived back to my house in San José and looked drearily at the moldy fridge, the mysterious water stains on the floor, the smelly bathroom and the various insects that decided this was now their place and not mine. In fact, I was pretty depressed in general, as well as fed up with the house, which has been riddled with problems since I moved in six months ago. My patience and sense of humor had worn thin. I was actually considering moving to the only other available place in town: a warehouse-like open room located right across from the evangelical church that has their loud and raucous church service (called culto… interesting term) just about every day. I was at my wits end when, miraculously, my landlady/former host mom finally walked down the hill from her house to mine and assured me that everything, EVERYTHING would be fixed.
So far, the majority of problems fixed have been largely cosmetic. They swept and mopped. They washed the curtains. They arranged the stuffed animals on my bed in a cute fashion. These are all things I could have feasibly done myself but was too sad/lazy to do so. BUT they also painted the inside and outside of the entire house in a variety of Eastery colors, they placed nylon under the tiled roof to catch the rain and dirt that falls down, and they put up my mosquito net (something I officially should have done the minute I moved in… my bad, Peace Corps). All my neighbors—even people I’ve never seen before—have no qualms about walking into my house unsolicited and raving about the “nuevo look” of the house (they actually say nuevo look, which I think is fantastic). Not to mention the bolos that remark “that gringa painted her house!” while staggering from the cantina.
PLUS, my landlady felt an urge to stock my fridge, and proceeded to make me pots of spaghetti, rice and beans, all of which are big caloric bombs (the secret ingredients being lots of butter, salt and lard) but are the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted IN my life. I can now happily use my computer or eat my beans in the living room while it rains, without worrying about a small rainshower occurring in my house. I can now sleep without the horrible buzzings of mosquitoes and flies around my head. I no longer wake up with huge bite marks all over my legs. I feel this has contributed to a huge mood booster for me. Sure, the roaches in the shower still give me a little jolt in the mornings, and I’ve noticed now there’s a little rat scurrying around the kitchen. Sure, the cement pila has not been fixed, and they say the upcoming sewer project will cut off the water supply for (plural) months. Sure, there are still no screens on my windows and wasps casually fly around the house during the day. But I tell you all, this is a major improvement to the living situation, and I couldn’t be happier. Three cheers for my landlady!!!
So far, the majority of problems fixed have been largely cosmetic. They swept and mopped. They washed the curtains. They arranged the stuffed animals on my bed in a cute fashion. These are all things I could have feasibly done myself but was too sad/lazy to do so. BUT they also painted the inside and outside of the entire house in a variety of Eastery colors, they placed nylon under the tiled roof to catch the rain and dirt that falls down, and they put up my mosquito net (something I officially should have done the minute I moved in… my bad, Peace Corps). All my neighbors—even people I’ve never seen before—have no qualms about walking into my house unsolicited and raving about the “nuevo look” of the house (they actually say nuevo look, which I think is fantastic). Not to mention the bolos that remark “that gringa painted her house!” while staggering from the cantina.
PLUS, my landlady felt an urge to stock my fridge, and proceeded to make me pots of spaghetti, rice and beans, all of which are big caloric bombs (the secret ingredients being lots of butter, salt and lard) but are the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted IN my life. I can now happily use my computer or eat my beans in the living room while it rains, without worrying about a small rainshower occurring in my house. I can now sleep without the horrible buzzings of mosquitoes and flies around my head. I no longer wake up with huge bite marks all over my legs. I feel this has contributed to a huge mood booster for me. Sure, the roaches in the shower still give me a little jolt in the mornings, and I’ve noticed now there’s a little rat scurrying around the kitchen. Sure, the cement pila has not been fixed, and they say the upcoming sewer project will cut off the water supply for (plural) months. Sure, there are still no screens on my windows and wasps casually fly around the house during the day. But I tell you all, this is a major improvement to the living situation, and I couldn’t be happier. Three cheers for my landlady!!!
posted by Maureen at 3:10 PM
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