On the home front, things are going well. The house isn't 100% unpacked and settled yet, but I would say that we are at 95%. I've lost most of my motivation so until we get a visitor and need that 3rd bedroom, things are going to be like this. As far as I can tell, we have everything we need. I'm not as happy with this house as I was when we first saw it, which, I think, is typical with a rental house. There are so many things we would do differently if it was our house.
My biggest fear in moving here was how I would adjust to the heat without central air conditioning. It really hasn't been as bad as I had feared. I think that in the 2 weeks that I've been living here, we have entered into a new season. The seasonal changes are subtle here but I feel a distinct difference. At first, we had almost no rain, but in the last week, we have had almost daily rain. Its not nightly rain, like when we lived on the mainland. This rain seems to come whenever and with no warning. Last night, Rob had to run an errand and the sky opened up as soon as he left the house. It also seems to rain as soon as I hang any laundry on the line to dry. The rain has brought some much better weather. What I've really noticed is that the afternoons have become much more tolerable with lower humidity. According to our trusty little home weather station, the temperatures are generally in the mid-80's with humidity over 80%. The past few days, the humidity has gone down to about 70% in the afternoons which seems to make a huge difference. Its really not too bad, especially if I lay low rather then running around the house cleaning and chasing the 2 year old. I think the trick to living here comfortably is to take a nice cool shower whenever I'm getting ready to relax.
Things are going slowly for me on the friends front. I'm anxious to meet some other mommies but there isn't really a place to meet them. I assume most of the mommy-types are all working during the day and there doesn't appear to be a playground or anything like that where I can take him. Hopefully, we will get Hunter into the little preschool down the road soon. I'm sure that is a good place to meet some other parents. I have been volunteering at the library which has been great. The lady who runs it has been here for decades and knows everything about life here as a gringa. I will report more on the library in future posts.
I have 3 huge frustrations here.
First is my kitchen. Its horrible. I love to cook and since I've been staying at home for the last 2 years, cooking has been my favorite hobby. The kitchen is awful. Using the stove or oven heat that room up to unbearable temperatures. There is a nice big door but no screen so if I open the door, I'm inviting in every mosquito in the area to feast on us. Just thinking about this makes my blood boil. Obviously, the home owner never cooked a real meal here.
Second are the mosquitoes. Honestly, we haven't had a huge problem with bugs here. Our house is far enough from the beach that the dreaded sand fleas aren't around us. They only seem to be an issue if we are at the beach in the evening, which doesn't happen much. The mosquitoes, on the other hand, are pretty hungry. It seems like every evening, a single hungry mosquito will come in a devour Hunter or I. Its amazing that the landlord had the sense to put new screens everywhere but left spaces around the screens where the mosquitoes can fly right in. Rob brought me house some painter's tape yesterday, though, to seal up these holes. Its not pretty but it will do.
Finally, my biggest annoyance here is nothing new new for me here in Honduras. At our house at the mine, this was a bit of an obsession of mine. Its these stupid, tiny ants. I know they are worse for us with a toddler constantly dropping food. They don't bite or anything but they are anywhere where there is food and drive me up the wall. My normal solution to them is to keep as much food as possible in the fridge and freezer but our fridge is so small here, that is a bit of a challenge. Luckily, I'm not spending much time in the kitchen so for the most part, they are out of sight. As far as I know, there is nothing I can do about them.
I had more to write today but Hunter has just let me know that he is ready to play! Maybe we will head to the beach!
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