Mood:  a-ok
Topic: Daily Life
I was going to do a little piece on being an Ugly American, but I've gotten a lot of questions about my housing situation. So, let me give you a quick overview of what I have. I have a nice 800 square foot "hardened house" all to myself. It is made with really thick walls to help protect me from any stray bullets or mortar rounds that might land inside the compound. The house has three small rooms. The first room is a combination kitchen/living room. In the living room have a couch, desk, chair, bookshelf, and small coffee table. In the kitchen, I have a refrigerator, stove, microwave, sink, and toaster. The dressing room/bathroom is fairly small and simple. Sadly I don't have a bathtub, so my dreams of reading books in an English tub will have to wait for at least another year. The bedroom has a bed (duh), two end tables, and a dresser. The walls are white and pretty barren. Truthfully, the place feels like a nice hotel room. I'm doing my best to make it feel homier, but since the Attack Inside the International Zone a few months back, the military has kicked out almost all the street vendors. Without the ability to go shopping, it is really hard to make my house feel like "home." Please keep in mind that I have it WAY better than almost everyone else in the International Zone. Most foreign service officers double up in big metal containers that were converted into housing units, and soldiers are living in tents.