all my stuff is just sitting on the floor and i'm cowering on my bed, too afraid to do anything about it. the state of my room usually reflects the state of my mind, and right now, both of them are freakishly out of sorts.
why?
well, let's take a moment to explain.
when i first arrived during site visit, i was crashing in the room upstairs, but was told that my room would ultimately be downstairs. taking a glace at my soon to be room, i noticed that it was a bit smaller and had the same feel of a prison. before i left to return to lima, i asked them if it would be at all possible for me to stay in the room i was then currently occupying. the response was, yes! of course! there are plenty of rooms for you to choose, so take your pick.
fast forward a week later and here i am, trying to understand why my rent is being raised and why they want me in that prison room so badly. let's just say i'm not happy with a few things that occurred during the week, and a lot (read: all) of it is due to things on the agency's end, which i'm not going to go into.
long story short, this was the first thing i had to sit down and discuss after the bus ride over, my spanish is not what i want it to be, and my throbbing head ache was getting worse and worse as that weird white light in my prison room and the crazy intense echo started jabbing at my senses... like needles into my eyes and ears. so yea, i just said... f it. put me in the prison room, i'll figure something out.
now i've slept here for a night and have discovered quite a few pleasant things about this room and have convinced myself that i actually do like it here. i call it being optimistic. you might call it stockholm syndrome. for some reason, i think they're kind of synonymous.
1. i can't hear the roosters. thank the almighty baby jesus.
2. that echo disappeared once a bed was in there to absorb the sounds. nonetheless, the acoustics were kind of epic when i had my music blasting to calm my nerves a bit.
3. there's another room next to me that's going to be rented out to my soon to be host aunt, but i'm wondering if i can rent the room for myself and turn it into an office of sorts... how awesome would that be? kind of really epic awesome, i think. but how do i convince this family member that she should not rent that room and let me have it...? suggestions would be welcome.
4. i have a window that overlooks a door. this house used to be a school, so some of the structures are just odd and one is that my prison window (hazy, obscured, bars) looks out into... a door. so i don't actually get any light into my room, but i do get air! so at least there's that.
5. i can hear every conversation that occurs downstairs. if someone is at the door, i know before everyone else. if a meal is ready, i am well aware of it before i am called. it makes me feel really prepared. and if it's getting loud... well, i'll just get used to it like i planned to do with the roosters anyway.
6. actually, the noise is good. i'm going to try to get back to running in the mornings (5am, what what!) and i'm dragging my lil sis with me! so the noise will be incentive to get up before the house does. i love mornings anyway
7. i have my own bathroom. once host aunt gets in, we'll share it, but until then, that bathroom is mine. they also just installed a new toilet (with a toilet seat!!! yeeeesss!!!!) and a sink, plus the shower has more pressure to it than the one i was using on the second floor. still all cold water, but i need a bit of water pressure so that's super nice. plus since the kitchen is down here, if i ever want hot water then the process of boiling the water and taking it to the shower will be so much easier!
making a list of pros is awesome.
just a quick note: i just had lunche (not quite cena aka dinner because i don't really eat at night) and had some fresh baked bread, olives from the market, and a slice of the most amazing cheese from cajamarca. wtf, cajamarca volunteers all better be fat and happy when i see them in 3 months because that cheese is definitely something i'd eat every day. like legit buy a block, eat all of it, go back for some more the next day. sharp, creamy, and heavenly cheese....
see me be jealous.
but you just wait until the day i get to try some lizard ceviche. i will definitely be posting about that experience.
peace and love.
I've found that a really good strategy to dealing with cold showers, especially when it's early morning, is exhaling when you first come in contact with the water. For some reason, it doesn't feel as cold.
ReplyDeleteAlso, roosters suck. You may start to hate donkeys too.