That's us on the top floor. It's the third floor if you count the basement level, since the building is on a hill.
Some views from our balcony:
Please note that we can see the Caribbean Sea from our doorstep. I can look at it while I wash dishes.
Moving along to the inside...
The kitchen table didn't come with chairs, so we're pretending it's an island.
Living area:
More on that fireplace in a later post. Of greater importance is the couch. A REAL COUCH! Most Dominican apartments come with furniture made out of wicker or wood. It's more like patio furniture than real furniture. So this couch is a pretty big deal.
As if this couch was not awesome enough, there are American style wall plugs right next to it. So I can surf the internet from the couch, and plug in my e-reader. Our last place only had Dominican plugs (which are the same as they have in Europe if you've been, or so I hear). The Dominican plugs are shaped differently and the electricity output is 220V instead of the 110V in the States, so plugging things in requires transformers to avoid frying said things. Unless you have American wall plugs that are pre-transformed. Okay, enough on that tangent.
Other side of the living space:
Bedroom:
The bedroom is oddly shaped.
Study nook, also in the bedroom:
There's the one AC unit in our whole apartment. We will probably never turn it on. Electricity is super expensive here.
Let's get a closer look at that litter box:
The only practical place to put the litter box was next to the desk. Chris didn't want to smell cat poop while studying, so he fashioned this cover out of a cardboard box. Looks goofy, but it does a pretty good job.
Bedroom storage:
We have a little balcony off the bedroom:
The balcony was all wet because it rained earlier, so I didn't want to go outside for this photo shoot. So here's part of the view, taken at street level:
Not pictured: cow that normally hangs out over there. We get some occasional moo's. Aside from that and a few cars, it's pretty quiet around here. We're surrounded by mostly students now. Our place in Glanvilla had lots of roosters/dogs/goats/kids/parents screaming at kids/neighbors blasting Rihanna at all hours.
Bathroom:
Small, but clean. The medicine cabinet is a huge plus. I haven't even had one in my last two American apartments.
Shower:
This is called a "suicide shower." The water is heated by an electric coil inside the shower head. Bad things can happen if your wiring gets messed up, hence the name.
Our shower is pretty new and kept up very well, so no worries.
Annnd that's about it! It's a pretty small place, but it's clean, comfortable, and a four minute walk to Ross. The landlord seems to be a good guy, which is also a huge improvement. We're very happy here, and barring any unforeseen developments, we'll probably live here for the rest of our time on the island.
Coming soon: how to celebrate the holidays in Dominica.
Merry Christmas!
