Quality isn't that Important...

…if I’m referring to photos that give you the gist of our living arrangements, right?

I figured it’s about time I post some pictures of the apartment.  I’ve already posted photos from the balcony—by far the most important part of the apartment, in my opinion.  But, there is this whole interior I’ve completely neglected.  The basic layout is as such: 2 main exits, one to a hallway leading to the front door, the other to the balcony and steps to the backyard; one large room divided by a long, tiled bar; on one side of the bar is the kitchen; the other side of the bar is a large living area; there is one small bathroom with a tile shower stall; two bedrooms lead off of the living area, both comparable in size and containing a full bed, desk, closet and bookshelf; one bedroom has 2 windows and the other has one window and a door leading to the balcony.  The walls are cement and white.  The floors are all tile and mostly a bluish-grey.

And now…[insert photos here, then delete this sentence after you have posted the photos so no one know you ever wrote this. Also, remember to collect some oranges from the yard tomorrow and make juice.]

Our mini stove, all you need is a propane tank, box of matches and swarm of elves to bake for you

Our fridge is also small, but we can't afford much food, so it works out.

The propane tank! (Caution: flammable)

Our very own China cabinet

Guest bedroom along with guest bedding

The comfy couch

The wicker couch

Entertainment stand? Shelving unit? Place where all your extra crap goes? (whatever, I still like it)

The living room

Our bedroom--mess and all

In our bedroom (cluttered) desk and closet.

You can probably figure this one out.

The step out of the shower can be tricky and those tiles are not forgiving if you stub your toe.

Our kitchen

The bar: where we eat some of our meals (the ones we don't eat on the balcony)

;)

Sure, I know the photos are full of flash and bleached out, but you get the idea, right?  Unfortunately, we don’t spend much time indoors before nightfall, so I don’t have many natural light options.

Today we took an easy pace.  It’s Mom’s last night with us, so we went out to dinner at De Big Fish (www.debigfish.com).  Not unlike the Dodgy Dock, we found ourselves dining on a dock in a bay.  Throughout our meal, customers and tourists would access the leg of the dock, hopping in their dinghies to whiz back to their yachts.  Ivan and I ordered the special: catch of the day, which was a serious slab of fish steak the waitress called steel fish (I looked it up and couldn’t find anything—anyone have any ideas?) smothered in a sweet and spicy Caribbean salsa, with a side salad and rice.  After dinner, we stopped by a nearby pharmacy/convenience store and picked up a 125-ml cup of nutmeg ice cream…

Digression: for anyone who isn’t familiar with the metric system, I have a few things to say.  A 125-ml cup of ice cream is about the same size as the plastic cups of ice cream or sherbet that were handed out with school lunches (you know, the ones with a flat wooden spoon?).  All I know about Celsius is that 0° is freezing, 28° is fabulous and 24°-26° is ideal AC temperature.  Anything below 20° is like Erie weather.  Anything above 30° is stupid hot.  The actual conversion requires a calculator most of the time.  One kilo weighs as much as a bag of porridge.  I realize that is a bad frame of reference, but I bought a bag of porridge the other day from the grocery store and it weighs one kilo.  Prior to that particular experience, if anyone had asked me how much a kilo weighs, I’d probably direct them to a coke-head.  Now, though, I know a kilo equals one bag of porridge (not a block of blow).

Back to the metric provision of nutmeg ice cream: we split it between the three of us as we walked back home.  It was delicious, like an eggnog ice cream, but better in so many ways.  Trust me, I know, I’ve tried Edy’s eggnog ice cream and have also experienced the tidal wave of guilt as I look at the empty bowl that once held a mound of creamy dessert.  It would make an excellent after dinner alcoholic dessert, with a splash of rum on top.  (I bet the pirates of the Caribbean would love it!)

We spent the last couple hours of daylight playing cards on the balcony, then retired to the AC indoors.

Today I was grateful for: my mom, who has been reliant, supportive (in more ways than one), and a comic relief this week, from cook to maid to photographer, she has lent her help however and whenever; delicious food, which can never be understated, what we want in fresh food we  have in spades here, and we are not ones to skip on recognition where good food is concerned; my sheer luck, that I am young enough to move to another country for a couple years without utter calamity, that I am in such a gorgeous country rich in culture, that I am able to document the whole thing; Ivan, of course, the reason I am here, and I don’t begrudge him that, perhaps I could not do this alone, but I can with him, and even if I am alone without my family and friends, we can be alone together.