A Real Bed

Finding a place to live can be an adventure… it definitely was for me.  I flew into Lima, where I stayed in a hotel for a few nights and then moved up to Chiclayo where I also spent my first two nights in a hotel.  A family with whom I stayed 3 years ago for a few weeks, offered to let me move in with them so I wouldn’t have to be in the hotel.  I took them up on the offer and stayed for quite some time. 

The search began.  Daily, I was walking up and down streets asking people if they had an apartment to rent or knew of someone who did.  Every time I saw a handwritten piece of paper on a building claiming it had a room or apartment or mini-apartment for rent, I inquired about it and looked at many of them and asked about prices and services. 

It was rediculous, some of the things that I encountered.  Rooms for rent (without windows!), a single room a bed could barely fit in with 1 shared bathroom (Did I mention their were only 14 members living in the house?), “apartments” but oh that means there are only two rooms…no bathroom or kitchen.  Most places forbid cooking and very few have any exterior place to hang wet laundry.  The list goes on.  It was quite the task and although I’m now living in an overly priced (and according to Peruvian standards: outlandishly priced) mini-apartment, I finally have a place.  Towards the beginning of the week, I moved from the couch in my friends’ sitting room, to having a place to put my suitcase and having a bed.  What a blessing! 

Despite the frustrations in the search and those that I still have (like supposedly having wifi in my apartment…which is part of the reason for my high rent price…but it never works!), I have been blessed by the kindness and generosity of many.  I didn’t have to purchase too much furniture.  I was loaned several things from different people and was able to buy a mattress in a market for the bed.  The first night it reminded me of my “timber mattress” from Kenya, but it’s really not that bad J  A man from the university who drives a pickup for work, came and collected all of my things and drove them to my mini-apartment, so I wouldn’t have to take a taxi. 

A real bed and my own space.  I may have to mop dust from the floors and everything else twice a day in this desert apartment and only have cold water, but at least I now live in a fairly calm part of the city and have a place to wash clothes and hang them.  Sweet home Chiclayo.

My whole place:

view of the park out the window