Living like the locals

Last Saturday, I moved into my new place, which is a house in a compound containing two other houses, about a 10-minute walk from the Kingdom Hall. Whereas my former place was in a furnished apartment in a complex with many other foreigners, this new neighborhood feels like I'm really in Africa now! I haven't yet seen any other non-Africans, so I tend to stand out.

The compound is owned by a brother who is a commuter Bethelite. He had the walls painted and baseboards sealed just before I moved in, so there is a strong paint smell, but with windows open most of the time it will eventually dissipate.

OK, so I have a living (sitting) room, a bedroom, and a bathroom--at the moment with unfinished concrete floor, so I need to get some mats, and a mirror in the bathroom (very important). A brother will be coming to fix the broken sink, soon, as well as the towel rack, which just fell off the wall. There is a gaping hole in the bathroom ceiling. The shower and the toilet work maybe half of the time, which is why I need to have a jerry can on hand for those occasions when the water is cut.

The congregation let me use a table and 4 chairs previously donated to them, but unfortunately the table was too large to fit through the doorway. So now I have just the 4 chairs with everything stacked on them.

Hey, it feels like camping...

Front gate (very secure)

The compound

Entrance to house

Just moved in, with all my material possessions!

At least I have a bed! (just made by a carpentry school)

OK, much better, with mosquito protection

Bathroom, where everything almost works

The toilet outside, if (and it's a very big IF) I ever need to use it

Two advantages of this new place: One, it's very quiet, except for some occasional music and kids crying next door. Second, because there's no competition for the Internet, my signal is very strong! (200-300Kbps) So now there's rarely any buffering during the playing of videos. That settles the burning global question I have asked myself for some time: Which is more critical to life, Internet or water?

Also, across the courtyard is where a brother named Bernard, and his wife, Claudine, live. (Bernard is in one of the photos above.) He commutes to Bethel 5 days a week as a translator, and she works 3 days a week at Bethel as a housekeeper. They have been very helpful to me in setting up house. They are willing to teach me Kinyarwanda, in exchange for some English and guitar lessons.

So, all in all, the place is livable, though I will need to adjust to some things. I'll try to get a picture of the interior once I get it fixed up!