My house....My Nicaraguan life!!

¡Hola a todos y todas!

Wow, how the time has flown by so quickly! So much has happened in the last three months that I don´t even know where to begin....

For starters, I have been living in my own house for the last two months with my pup. It has been great having my own space and a place to call home! I live about a 10-15 minute walk above the main part of town in a barrio (neighborhood) that is full of houses built during a restoration project. I have a kitchen, a living room area and a bedroom. It is located on a corner so I have a huge backyard! We just built the letrina and bathing area before I moved in.

Check out the pics!....

Moving Day: My host dad helped me move all my belongings to my new house, along with a few other random med from town who had a truck. I thought it was hilarious to see him holding Caramela in the back!

Outside: This is my house from the outside. It is made of concrete, has metal bars on all the windows and a tin roof...pretty solid. Other types of houses in Nicaragua are made of wood, plastic, tin, dirt or whatever they can find.

Kitchen: I have a gas stove which is not very typical. The majority of Nicaraguans cook using a wood fire. The blue jug is full of purified water that I buy to drink.

Living Room: This is my desk/work area where I plan for all of my classes I teach and eat. My host dad made me this gorgeous table! If you look closely, you can see I have on the table pictures of friends and family from the states. All my visitors love looking at you all and asking a million questions!

Living Room: Yup, all I have/need is my hammock! Behind you can see the back door and a barrel which is where I store my water. I have water pipes to my house but we do not have running water all the time. The month of May has been particularily difficult with a water shortage in my town. My neighborhood went 15 days this month without receiving water at our houses. That barrel is all I have to store water to bath, wash my clothes and dishes and clean.

Bedroom: I had to wait 2 weeks to save up enough money to afford a bed. In the meantime I slept in my hammock...yea not so comfortable! The green net is to keep mosquitos and other critters out of my bed...works for my dog too as I really don´t need her muddy paws jumping all over! I made my own ¨closet¨by hanging a wooden bar from the ceiling...hey it works for now!

Backyard: This is my patio with the newly built letrina.

Washing clothes: I still have yet been able to buy a lavandero (a concrete wash basin for washing clothes) so I have been washing my clothes on a rock...

...and here is how I dry them!

Bathing: My shower is, well, as you can see a concrete room where I bring in a bucket of water and a pan to pour the water over my head. Usually pretty cold water but it´s like an outdoor shower and feels pretty good when the sun is shining above!

So there´s a peak into my living conditions in Nicaragua! I think overall living on my own has been good but dealing with the extreme lack of water has been the most difficult. Thank goodness the rainy season is beginning!!!

¡Hasta luego!