Homeless Until Maybe Monday...

Not really homeless, just not in our new house yet. So the whole renting an apartment thing is not working quite the way we anticipated. We were supposed to move in a couple days ago, but the place wasn't ready. The family we're going to rent from is moving to their new house. It is taking longer than expected for them to clear out their stuff. So, tonight was supposed to be the night we moved in. When Jessica and I arrived to collect keys for Oriana and I, the house looked great.

Here's where the problems start. Then we spoke to Don Silvestre, the owner, and there's one door that they need to change the locks. There's also an internet cafe that they own --the storefront is right in front of our house. The problem there is that the kid that works at the cafe has to enter from the back door--which is inside our house so as not to set off the cafe's alarm. They have to change the alarmed door for the store from the back one to the front one. Then there's the additional problem that the landlord needs to park his car there until they find another parking spot for it. Apparently, I learned from Jessica, is that if he parked on the street, his car would likely be broken into and then jacked for parts. If the car made it through the night, they would be issued a stiff fine from the police.

So, we told Don Silvestre that we wouldn't move in until all of this stuff was taken care of. So it looks like maybe Monday. Since past and current events do not inspire confidence, my bet is on Tuesday or Wednesday. We shall see. Until then, we'll continue to squat at Franklin and Jessica's house (which is also the As Green As It Gets office).

Today we went to the open air market in Antigua and the big grocery store. Haggling in the market feels bad. When I lived in Jerusalem, I never had the same haggling guilt. It just feels wrong to try and take an extra Quetzal (Guatemalan currency, at 7.5 to the dollar) from these folks. We bought quite a lot of stuff--and only spent about $60 US.

Tomorrow Oriana and I are going to try to meet up with the As Green As It Gets carpenter, Roberto, and his family for a festival in their village--San Juan del Obispo (St. John the Bishop). I'm not sure what the festival is celebrating...something about the Eucharist, I think. Hopefully that will work out.

Until next time!