The apartment

So yesterday evening, after a long day of running around and picking up bags from various places, we moved into our new apartment. We are on the third floor of a something like 8 story building on one of the main avenues of the city. That means things are pretty close and we can walk most places.

The apartment has three bedrooms. The biggest one was claimed by the boys (how did that happen?) and the girls are in the smaller second bedroom for now. The previous owners were in a bit of a rush to leave, and didn’t finish removing everything, so they stashed a bunch of stuff in the third bedroom and will come back for it later. Once we get it back, it will either be another bedroom for me or Lilian, or we will make it the office. The office was our original plan, but Lilian and I are a little squished in the second room so we will see.

The apartment came furnished, but we will have to change a few things. Some things are a little old and we have done some rearranging. There are screens on all the windows and doors so we don’t have to worry too much about bugs. Our room (the girls room) has a big closet but no shelves. There is a big double bed right now, but ideally we will change it for two singles. There are also two end tables, a chair and a chest (full already). The boy’s room is basically the same except a little bigger and they have a balcony. There are two bathrooms, but one is much nicer than the other. We have hot water and good pressure.

The living room and dining room are together. The dining room was really crowded when we arrived because they had a big table with a long chest and a long display is a long skinny room. The boys took the long chest into their room, so now we can move the table out a little and have more space. The living room has a stone coffee table, a couch and three chairs, all bright orange! There is another balcony as well. Off of the living room is the third room. The kitchen is a little small. It has a stone counter, single sink, an oversized fridge/freezer, a table and chairs and a shelf-type thing. The light is broken right now, so it’s a little dark. Behind the kitchen is the area for washing clothes and hanging them to dry.

The lady who works at the house is named Vera and we have yet to decide exactly how we will work with her. Today she was here in the afternoon with us. We went to the office in the morning for a meeting at ISCTEM and then stopped to buy some things on the way home. We have a lot of things we need! Plates, cups, cutlery etc. The furniture is included but we have to get the rest. So we loaded up with stuff and spent the afternoon cleaning and doing some unpacking and organizing. There is still a lot to be done though before it really feels like home. Especially when we know the other people are going to come back to get their stuff still. This weekend we are having our team days and then next week it’s back to the office for lots more AISEC work.

Cultural tidbit for today: The cars here are parked everywhere. On the side of the street, on the sidewalk and even on the median in the centre of the road. It’s pretty strange to see.