July 1st was our anniversary. We celebrated by buying curtains and a blanket. Having just moved into a bigger home, closer to the international school the kids would be attending, we were exhausted. The actual moving was not hard. A friend came with his trailer and within two trips everything was moved. It was getting use to the new place that has taken the most time. We thought we would fix up the new house before we moved in. There were so many repairs that were needed. However, things can cost up to 4 times what your use to, and there are no discounts or sales. Building materials and wood are all in short supply here. In the end, we painted, fixed some plumbing, and moved in. We thought that the other things we would fix as time and money permitted. Rainy season had started and it wasn't everyday, but most days we did have a nice hard rain. Which, if you haven't experienced it, it is one of the things I liked the most. The temperature would drop, rains would fall and hit the aluminum roofs making the sound of raindrops magnified by 1000. You wouldn't even be able to hear the person next to you talking. So, we would sit on the porch, Hannah playing her guitar, and watch the rain. It was such a nice break from the heat. The downside was that after the rains, streets would wash away, tons of new potholes would be added and the runoff of rain water would mix with trash and sewer making everything stink. This also caused the mosquito/malaria season to start.
The house we moved into is quaint, covered in red and pink Bougainvilleas. It has a small one room guesthouse, which many homes have here. It came complete with a dog, Elsa. This dog, a local Burkina breed, looks like she always seems to be saying, "I'm sorry," as her head cowers and her ears point down and she kind of growl barks. She has been the source of much frustration and many laughs as well. She does warn us of strangers, so in that regard, she's a good dog. Our new home is located on a busy street, in front of a vocational Lysee (highschool). We have so many little stands that line the street. Vendors selling paper, small snacks etc. We even have a sandwich guy with a little stand right in front of our house. On most days there are 20 or so motos parked on either side of our gate. Beside the motos, a trash heap that once in a while gets burned, although, I've never seen them actually set it on fire. Originally, we thought we would paint our gate, but after living here awhile, we know better. Home robbery is a big problem, and if we had the nicest gate on the street, it would just put a bulls eye on our home. That's our logic anyway. So we just have to get use to the rusty gate. It fits in.
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| Porch, the entrance to our home. |
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| Carport covered with Bougainvilleas. |
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| Janaya waiting at our gate. |
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| Our dining room. |
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| Janaya in front of the street that faces our house. |
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| Our guesthouse. |
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| Our gate, this is what you see from the street. |
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| Janaya's tricolored cat. |
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| Our front door inside view. |
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| Our family room |
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Fragipane tree in courtyard.
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This kitchen is a dream kitchen in Africa. If I didn't have the stove I'd be cooking on a fire like my neighbors.
Every morning we wake up to the smell of burning wood as my neighbors cook their food for the day. Smoke fills our courtyard, sometimes it looks like a thick fog. Between the smoke, the dirt that gets blown around and the pollution, its a wonder that everyone doesn't have lung problems here. |
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| Elsa, the dog with the bark-growl. |
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| Sandwich stand in front of our house. Pain (bread) Bro (short for brochettes) |
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Surprise, a lime tree in the courtyard.
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So that is a little look at our house, our animals and our street. I still haven't gotten use to the floor, the roof, or the windows but in time, I guess bats in my roof, won't be so strange to me.
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