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House Change


May 7th

A few days ago I changed houses.  It was the fourth time I’ve moved in with a new family since I’ve been living in Panama.  I was a little sad to leave Yarineth’s house, I’ve really enjoyed living with her family and she’s become my best friend here, but it will be good to expand the number of people in the community that I know intimately.  I moved into Ernesto Perez’s house, in the sector (neighborhood) of Nazareno.  Ernesto is the president of the environmental co-op, president of the Padres de Familia (the PTO), he will be my de facto landlord when I move in to my house, and he is a very intelligent and nice guy.  Ernesto’s house is a fun place to be because neighbors and family members are constantly dropping by, there are lots of kids playing together in the neighborhood, and there are a lot more people closer to my age that live in the surrounding houses.  Ernesto has organized it so that each day I eat all of my meals with a different family in Nazareno.  This arrangement has it benefits and it’s drawbacks. On the downside it’s hard to make a schedule for myself, each family eats at different times, serves me different types of food and portion sizes, and expects me to spend varying amounts of time at their house.  On the upside I get to spend more time with a wider range of people, and they are really happy that I’m sharing a meal with them.  Overall I think the arrangement will really help me further integrate into the community.

After living on my own for the last seven years, the biggest lifestyle change since joining the Peace Corps has been living in someone else’s household.  In general I’ve been really lucky with my housing.  My living arrangements have only become easier and easier since staying in Los Mortales.  However I am really looking forward to moving into my own place.  Every time I move in with a new family I go through a readjustment phase.  In each new house I have to learn about the personalities of the family members, how they interact with one another, what their schedules are, and the rules of the household.  I really like both Yarineth’s family and Ernesto Perez’s family, but I’m looking forward to living on my own so I can have a little more privacy, cook for myself, and set my own schedule.

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