There's no place like home, Auntie Em!

It's hard to believe it's been three weeks since my last post. I wish I could say it's because I've been so busy, but in fact, it's because I've had little access to the internet. I do have exciting news to report though. I found a beautiful place to live and moved in on June 11th. Of course, there's a story involved! In Belize City, the safest place to live is called the Kings Park area. So everyday after work, I would take the bus to that area and walk the streets looking for "For Rent" signs. I didn't see one sign in over a week's worth of looking, so I began talking to people on the street and knocking on doors of apartment buildings, asking if anyone knew of a place for rent. One afternoon I walked by an attorney's office. I said to myself, "Attorneys in America always seem to have enough money to buy investment properties, so maybe they do here also. Anyway, all that time I spent on getting the Paralegal degree might as well be of some benefit." So I walked into the office and asked the receptionist to ask the attorneys if anyone had rental property. A few minutes later a young man came out and said he had just purchased a house. He said he was going to move into the upstairs and was considering renting the downstairs. He gave me his card and when I got back to the office, I asked my Executive Director if she knew the name. She said she thought he was the son of the Executive Director of one of the member agencies that worked with us, so I called her and sure enough, he was her son. I told her she HAD to tell her son to rent the apartment to me (even though I hadn't even seen it yet!) Then that evening, I went to visit a Belizean friend I have made and showed her the card. She screamed and said, "He should have been my son-in-law, but he's too much of a bad boy!" She picked up the phone and said, "Ariel, you know who this is? It's Mary, and you need to rent your apartment to my friend Jane." Two days later, Ariel showed me the apartment and I rented it for $200 less than he usually rents it, because I told him the amount the Peace Corps allows me for rent and he agreed. It is a two bedroom, two bath, furnished apartment with nice wicker furniture in the
living room and a futon for extra guests! The kitchen has a full sized refrigerator, six burner stove (though one burner would have been enough for my culinary skills!), a washer and, ready for this? - AIR CONDITIONING in the living room! There is an eating area off the kitchen, and a cute alcove for my desk. My landlord is going to move upstairs in a few months, so we are going to split the cost of cable television and internet. That will help keep my costs down (so I can use the AC!) I planted two trees in pots and hung planters by the front door. It has a huge fenced yard, and I've been weeding gardens and planting coconuts, so hopefully there will be shade by the time I leave the country! I also have a private patio off of the bedroom in the back of the house. The house even came with a dog named "Peoples", who unfortunately likes everyone and onlybarks at other dogs. I'm afraid he won't be a very good watch dog, but he's great company! So, I'm ready for visitors any time you decide to visit lovely Belize!