Meanwhile, I've been on the hunt for a house of my own. For some volunteers, the hunt is long and painful because there are a lot of options but it's hard to find the right fit. Goldilocks style. Too big too small, no bathroom, no water, too expense etc. And then once you find one, peace corps has to come inspect it to make sure it fits the bill.
I, on the other hand really only had one option. You see, in bateys and small communities there are usually very few options or you have a house built for you. Mimi was gracious enough to track down this house for me. It's perfect. 2 bedrooms, one bath, kitchen and living room. And front porch obviously because that's not optional in the DR. Porch siting is the #1 way to matar el tiempo (kill time). In plastic chairs. Anyway, this casa has 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen an living room. It's not quite done yet, and my landlord needs a year advance (I know, wtf right?) as a deposit to finish the inside. He's still gotta put in countertops, build me a closet, hook up the electricity and paint the inside.
There it is. It's in the new part of my community so there's lots of construction around it. Also just behind it they are building an office for the women of my project!
The only downside is I'm paying way too much to live in a batey. We started negotiations at $2000 pesos a month (approximate $50) and although I only wanted to pay $1000, ended at $1500 (about $38 a month). I know it seems like nothing but hey, I'm a volunteer.
Paying too much? Probably. But here's how I look at it: rent going up in a community is a sign of development, right? The new neighborhood is posh, I'm tellin ya.
AND I'm going to have running water for the first time since I moved to the Dominican Republic!!!!!! This is even more exciting for me right now because the water hasn't come to my community in over 2 weeks...which is not easy for anyone. Definitely not a first world problem.
Yesterday my phone rang and I was invited to Creole training in the capital for the week! I'm leaving Sunday to spend the week in Santo Domingo and hopefully learn some Creole and stay with my doña from training. I'm super excited to see her and even more excited for her cooking.
This means I need to get my diagnostic done ASAP. The last two days I've been working furiously to get as much done as possible. Here are a few pics from around my community that I'll be including in the diagnostic:
Hope you all are well! Besos, Kaley
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