La Casa De Los Sanchez - home sweet home

La Casa De Los Sanchez - my room is the window on the top, right

After Marijke's departure back to Canada I moved into my new home, the four floor of La Casa De Los Sanchez.  It is an old hotel in the heart of Miraflores, located right across the street from Parque Kennedy (as in J.F.K.) and in a building attached to Starbucks (my little taste of home when I need it).  The hotel is 5 stories tall and I have a room on the 4th floor, over-looking the park.  Sounds luxurious, eh?  Well, I'm sure at one time...long ago, it probably was.  But for now, I'm getting used to which spots in my roof leak when it rains and am now accustomed to sleeping with earplugs every night to drown out the hustle & bustle of the busy street below (they use their car horns here like we use  turning signals at home).  There are windows in the front of my room and in the back, which during the summer months, I'm sure I'll be grateful for.  They don't fully seal closed though, so on Friday and Saturday nights when the Karaoke bar next door is really goin', I drift off to sleep to the sounds of Peruvian men trying to enunciate their way through "Hotel California".

My first week in Los Sanchez was spent reminding myself over and over that I'd been in this situation before, and I know that I can make the best of it.  I bought myself a new comforter for my bed & some new pillows, some Lysol wipes, a few fake plants, developed some pictures and rearranged the furniture.  Day by day it's becoming my own.  

Because it's a "hotel", they clean my room everyday (although, besides emptying my garbage, I haven't quite figured out what else is involved in the "cleaning" process) and my bedding once a week.  Not bad!  Because it's a hotel, there is no kitchen in my room, which was a concern when arranging to stay there.  They are the nicest people and have really welcomed me into the Sanchez family, so much so that I have full access to the hotel kitchen. 

I have a mini-fridge in my room in which I keep most stuff, and bought some baskets for a pantry.  When it's time to make dinner, I gather all of my supplies in a bag and bring them upstairs to the top floor.  The kitchen at Los Sanchez has everything I need, as well as a lot of.....character.  Although the idea of an outdoor kitchen in South America sounds exotic,  the tin roof and open walls mean that most nights I prepare dinner with my jacket and running shoes on...like camping!  Because there is only one light-bulb hanging from the ceiling, I'm getting very good at cooking on an angle, so that my body doesn't block the light on the stove.  And to think...at home we complain of cupboard space and what colours of counter-tops wont show dirt. 

the outdoor kitchen at my new place - the utensil drawer was an instant flashback to Merici's kitchen in Cuba

I have found some spots near my work where I can buy a big healthy lunch (a piece of chicken, vegetables and rice) for 7 soles, or about $2.50.  So that's taken some of the heat of trying to prepare lunches at home before heading to work.

Every day things are getting easier and easier and a little bit more familiar.

Day by day.