Brave New World

Free at last, free at last, gracias a dios I’m free at last!  I’ve finally made the move into my own house!  I could have moved out of my host family’s house 3 months after arriving in site (around June 18^th), but a mix of finding the place and dealing with the landlord (and the ease of not cooking or doing laundry) made me stay an extra 3 months.  It took a while to get out, but I’m now that I’m gone I’m ecstatic to be living on my own for the next 18 months!

Not to say that my host family was bad – they were actually pretty awesome – but after 6 months it got a bit irksome.  My room was outside of the house and I had some privacy, but that didn’t stop the kids (one 1^st grader, two 7^th graders, and two 9^th graders) from barging in and pestering me.  They’d constantly ask “Que es eso?” (“What’s this?””) whenever they saw something new; they expected me to bring them something after coming back from Penonome every time I went; and they ALWAYS asked to use my computer, iPod, or camera (“Prestame tu computadora?”  “Tu iPod?”  “Tu camera?”).  The 1^st grader Magaly took so many pictures of absolutely NOTHING that my memory card was full the next time I needed to use the camera.  Also I really had no say when I wanted to eat – I’d be chlling in my room and one of the kids would come and ask “Va a comer?” (“Are you going to eat?”), and I had no choice but to come and eat because it was already sitting on the table.  Waking up late on the weekends wasn’t an option because the kids would blast music in the common room or they would get their hair cut with electric clippers right outside my room.  When I was able to sleep late my family ALWAYS commented on it, just cause it’s not common for people to sleep past like 10 here.  Add to these inconveniences the tumultuous snoring of Alberto (an adult son of my host parents) the room next door and the frequent barking and howling of a dog (named Doggie) at random hours of the night right outside my room and you can see why the move was necessary.  Ugh!

But all that’s in the past!  Let me tell you a bit about my new pad.  It’s about a 5 minute walk past my host family’s house, making it a 20 minute walk (downhill) to school every day, and a 25 minute walk (uphill) back home (I’ll probably end up taking the chiva to school at 7 for 25₵ so I’m not all sweaty for class).  It’s nearly at the end of the chiva line, less than a minute walk away from the tienda and a small river.  The house itself is about twice the size as my room back at the host family’s house, with a large living room (and makeshift kitchen in one corner) right when you enter and two smaller rooms off to the right-hand side (my bedroom and a storage room/spare bedroom for guests).  The house was furnished very modestly with a desk, a bed, 2 stools, and 2 chairs:  all I’m borrowing from my host family is a stacking-rack of shelves and hangers for my clothes.  Electricity and running water are plentiful, with the landlord paying for water and me paying for electricity depending on how much I use per month.  I gave the landlord a down-payment and he built me a new shower, installed a faucet for laundry and dishes, and constructed a new latrine.  Yes, the only downgrade from my host family’s house is transitioning from a toilet to a latrine about 20 feet from the back of my house.  Considering I thought I’d have a latrine during my whole service, just getting one now isn’t too bad.  I’ve got a bucket for laundry, a small selection of various plates, cups, and utensils to eat with, and a double-burner top-stove.  Food will not be luxurious by any means:  for breakfast it’s a bowl of oatmeal and for lunch and dinner it’ll be a bowl of lentils, unless for one of those meals I want to substitute a tuna or peanut butter sandwich.  Of course I’m always welcome at my host family’s house whenever I want to visit, and I’ll probably have dinner with them once a week (a heaping bowl of white rice with some morsels of chicken or fried hot dog).  The spare room lets me have other Peace Corps volunteers over whenever I want, and it’ll be nice to have an extra room for my parents to stay in when they visit in March.

I took about a month to finalize everything with the landlord, Jose de la Cruz, and it was a bumpy road to get where I am now.  For one, my host family said it was a dangerous place to live because there are a lot of borachos (super drunk men) that like to party and get wasted during the weekend and various days of the week.  But I can handle my own here.  I’ve got a barbed wire fence with a padlocked gate – plus my boss who inspected the house told the landlord that he had to install 3 deadbolts on the back door and 3 on the front door, which he did.  It came with padlocks for the front door and my room, but I bought my own so the landlord can’t come in or let anyone else in without my permission.  I talked with the landlord concerning rent a while back and he initially wanted $100 a month, which is outrageous here in Panama.  He thought I was some wealthy gringo (white person) and wanted to take advantage of me.  I told him I was a volunteer and don’t receive much money per month, and after a bit of bartering I got him down to $50 a month with a $100 move-in fee for the construction of the new shower and latrine.  Then my host family told me something else that caused some worry, namely that Jose de la Cruz is not the actual landlord.  They told me the actual landlord lived in Panama City with his wife, but that the man died so now his wife is in charge of the house and property.  The only thing is no one that I talked to knows the landlady’s name or has her cell phone number.  I talked to Jose de la Cruz and he said he was the owner of the property, so I just went with his word and if that landlady comes sauntering into town during the next 18 months then I’ll figure things out from there.

So after 6 months of waiting I made it!  I moved in yesterday, and the start of a new month is a great time to start a new experience.  My first night wasn’t bad at all, got everything organized and experienced my first taste of freedom.  I only had to kill one cockroach!  At my host family the frequency was about one cockroach every other night, so we’ll have to see what it’s like at this new house.  There was also a big dragonfly looking thing that kept buzzing around the light, and periodically during the night I would hear rustling under my bed and above my head:  it seems a bat had first claim to the underside of my bed and likes to exercise at night, so I’ll just have to share until he tires of my tossing and turning.

Yes it’ll be a very simple living, but I finally have the privacy and solitude I want.  I can play music as loud and often as I want, waking up as late as I want on the weekends won’t be a problem, and I’ll be in charge of my own food and my own laundry:  in essence I’m now in charge of my own life.   I’ve never lived alone and I know t’ll be a lot of work, but this first solo venture in Panama will teach me a thing or two about responsibility – and it’ll be an experience I’ll never forget!

-Nate