Home at Last

April 2, 2008
Well, here I am living in Cabrican. Sort of.

After staying at Sara’s this weekend, my room at Reina’s was finally ready. She owns a store across the street from Sara called the Tienda Tikal and she and her family live above it. Right now she is building an (well, my) apartment but it won’t be done for another few months. So for the time being I am renting a room in her house and using a hallway for my kitchen.

The problem is, I don’t have any stuff. Actually, I have a lot of stuff in the sense of clothes and books but I have nothing in the sense of a place to put all of it. On Monday, I went and bought a bed. The little old man at the store was SO excited for my business (not a thriving mattress market in Cabrican) and I got my bed for the same price Sara paid for hers last year. He even delivered it to my house which meant he and his 15 year old granddaughter carried my mattress 3 blocks to my house through the streets of the town. Good news, citizens, the gringa bought a bed.

I walked past the carpinteria at least twelve times yesterday to see if he could make me some tables but he wasn’t open any of those times. Today I finally caught him open and he is making me a table for my stove, two small tables for next to my bed, and also selling me boards to make shelves with cement block. He asked me what size I wanted and I held out my hands to show him while he tape measured the width I was showing him….so precise. All of this won’t be ready until Saturday or longer so for now my things will have to stay piled on the floor.

You also can’t buy a stove in Cabrican. So tomorrow I am going to Xela to buy one. The other problem is, I can’t really use it without a table so my diet of bread, cornflakes, powdered milk (no refrigerator), and mangos will have to continue at least until then.

The other good news is that the entertainment in Cabrican consists of sitting in my room reading, walking around town (it takes less than ten minutes to do the whole thing), or going to the gym. So far I have gone to our gym every day and I already feel really sore and tired. I have two years to get used to it. Besides, I have to make up for all the bread I have been eating. Also there is the boredom eating. Also the bite size snickers my mom sent me (thanks mom!).

Life is good.