Notre Maison!
It's time for me to show you where we live!
I find it helpful to picture someone else's life when I can picture their environment, so here we go.
This is our street.
The first night we pulled in, Cindy, who was driving us, was giving us "the tour" and she said, "and here's your street!"
I thought, "I don't see a street. I see a path." In Mango, this is a street.
And this is our house from outside our gate. The local kids bang on the metal door so it isn't hard to know when they are there. You can also see the tree (on the left side) that they sit in and look over our fence at us. It's funny to see four or five kids in that little tree.
And here's our house from inside the wall:
Sorry about all the laundry blocking the view, but it's almost always there. The laundry is continual here just like it was at home! The green grass you see is unheard of here. The missionary couple who lived here before us picked the grass in bunches as they went about the town and transplanted it here. Then it grew in. They were good gardeners for sure! We have a banana tree (with bananas on it!), papaya trees and a few others that I don't know. The only small problem I have with the trees is that snakes like trees. Green mambas really like trees.
This is our living room...
All the floors are concrete or tile in the house -- in anyone's house. I cannot imagine what carpet would be like here -- yuck!
Here's the kitchen, sort of. And again, this kitchen is unbelievably huge compared to the other missionary kitchens. The couple who lived here before did a big reno. And guess who is in my kitchen making Chicken Pot Pie?? Odile!!
Next are the bedrooms - one for me and Nate, one with blue quilts for Nolan and Red Ted (he's a tad sunburnt today), and one with three beds for Kylie, Ethan and Jack:
This is our dining area and will be where we do school. I didn't bother to take pics of our bathrooms because, well, they look pretty normal. Toilet, stand up shower (no tub) and a sink. Even towel racks.
The chairs that we are using are quite nice, made by the students from the Blind School at south hospital in Tsiko (pronounced Cheeko). Solid wood and woven very nicely -- all for about 9000 francs each which translates to about $19 a chair!
I do have one pic of Teddy in his tub in the shower (I'll share that one because it's so cute):
Bath time in a rubbermaid!! These things are so handy.
So that's us -- quite comfy in Mango. Believe me, this is a BEAUTIFUL house here -- we are so thankful for it. For it's Africa-proof-screens on the windows and doors that keep bugs and critters out, for ceiling fans, for electricity, for running water, for appliances that work, for so much that in Canada, we would have never even considered NOT having. Here, in Mango, these are BIG deal things and we are very very grateful.
Wait til I show you photos of our neighbours homes....then you'll get what I mean.
I find it helpful to picture someone else's life when I can picture their environment, so here we go.
This is our street.
The first night we pulled in, Cindy, who was driving us, was giving us "the tour" and she said, "and here's your street!"
I thought, "I don't see a street. I see a path." In Mango, this is a street.
And this is our house from outside our gate. The local kids bang on the metal door so it isn't hard to know when they are there. You can also see the tree (on the left side) that they sit in and look over our fence at us. It's funny to see four or five kids in that little tree.
And here's our house from inside the wall:
Sorry about all the laundry blocking the view, but it's almost always there. The laundry is continual here just like it was at home! The green grass you see is unheard of here. The missionary couple who lived here before us picked the grass in bunches as they went about the town and transplanted it here. Then it grew in. They were good gardeners for sure! We have a banana tree (with bananas on it!), papaya trees and a few others that I don't know. The only small problem I have with the trees is that snakes like trees. Green mambas really like trees.
This is our living room...
Here's the kitchen, sort of. And again, this kitchen is unbelievably huge compared to the other missionary kitchens. The couple who lived here before did a big reno. And guess who is in my kitchen making Chicken Pot Pie?? Odile!!
Next are the bedrooms - one for me and Nate, one with blue quilts for Nolan and Red Ted (he's a tad sunburnt today), and one with three beds for Kylie, Ethan and Jack:
This is our dining area and will be where we do school. I didn't bother to take pics of our bathrooms because, well, they look pretty normal. Toilet, stand up shower (no tub) and a sink. Even towel racks.
The chairs that we are using are quite nice, made by the students from the Blind School at south hospital in Tsiko (pronounced Cheeko). Solid wood and woven very nicely -- all for about 9000 francs each which translates to about $19 a chair!
I do have one pic of Teddy in his tub in the shower (I'll share that one because it's so cute):
Bath time in a rubbermaid!! These things are so handy.
So that's us -- quite comfy in Mango. Believe me, this is a BEAUTIFUL house here -- we are so thankful for it. For it's Africa-proof-screens on the windows and doors that keep bugs and critters out, for ceiling fans, for electricity, for running water, for appliances that work, for so much that in Canada, we would have never even considered NOT having. Here, in Mango, these are BIG deal things and we are very very grateful.
Wait til I show you photos of our neighbours homes....then you'll get what I mean.
It looks very similar to the house I had in Indonesia, which was also very much nicer than the neighbours' houses. But I was very thankful for windows and doors and screens, for toilets and showers and a refrigerator and my tiny little propane stove.
ReplyDeleteIt is especially lovely to see the kids in the pictures. I prayed for each one of them.
<3 <3
I found your blog! So cool to read about all of your adventures. Will be praying for you Erin. I laughed when I read in your sidebar, "Lord, not Africa." It's been my dream to go there since I was a girl! I love your helper, Adile. Did she just come to help or was she sent by someone? Looking forward to reading more and living vicariously in Africa
ReplyDeletethrough you!