#allli

Translated excerpt from The Punta Peña Press:

“For Rent: Lofted studio located in central Punta Pena. Just a two minute walk to the Casa Comunal. Pluma outside of house, as well as closed bathing area. Shared latrine with rarely seen neighbors. Located on the community signal hill, with service in loft! Act fast to make this dream house your home.”

Okay, so maybe there isn’t a local newspaper in my pueblo. Hypothetically speaking though, that’s how it would advertise my new house. Yes, that’s right. MY HOUSE! I have passed the final test, and am finally finished with my home family stay. It’s been close to six months of living in a manner I have not been accustomed to since high school. Sometimes, I hated it. Overall though, it was a wonderful experience that I am grateful our post enforces.

Anyways…. I am officially on my own. Well, with Mowgli. We are all settled into our beautiful tiny house on the hill. It’s definitely small, but one of my goals for my time here was to learn to live with less. The house itself is about 6’ x 12’, with a loft and patio both of about the same size. My landlord built me a closed area to banarme, and soon I’ll even have running water in it. That is, when the aqueduct isn’t broken. I’m planning to build a rain water catchment system to ensure there is always water, so I won’t have to hike up the hill while spilling a five gallon bucket of water I’m trying to lug up there.

It’s like a new chapter of Peace Corps now. While I’ve only been here for a week, it’s already feels so refreshing. Cooking for oneself is a luxury that will never get old to me! Just a simple bowl of oatmeal is heavenly at this point. Being alone is also a crazy concept. At this point, I have had constant interaction with natives pretty much all day everyday since I landed here in June. Now, I have time to decompress after a long day of measuring ojos or visiting houses. As an introvert, I am very excited for this.