Home Sweet Home...

This is the Sandcastle, my new home. It is in a quiet subdivision. From our rooftop you can see the highway just over the next row of houses. We have four floors and are one of the tallest structures in the area. On a clear day you can see the the school, the Dakar skyline, the ocean, and the African Renaissance statue, among other things.



We're on the third floor at the top of the stairs to the left. You can see our doorframe behind the banister. The climb isn't bad and the stairwells are well lit at night.



The front door of our apartment. On our floor our one neighbour's door is directly to our right. Across the hall is another set of neighbours. They are all teachers at the school and have been great to us.



This is our front foyer. I love the painting and furniture they provided with the apartment. Kari brought the black and white print boxes from Ikea that we use for shoes and purses. Yesterday on our shopping excursion we picked up the orange mat.






When you come in the door of the apartment, this is the view straight ahead, into the dining/living room.



This is the living room. The open door to the left is one of our two balconies. The couches are huge and relatively comfortable although they creak when you move. My "spot" is on the right below the window on the biggest couch. I can catch a nice breeze even when the power is out.



The dining area is immediately to the right of the room's doorway. It is behind the smaller of the two large couches.





The living room balcony is a pleasant place to read and relax in the evenings. My bedroom window overlooks the balcony and therefore shares the same views.



The hallway leading to the remainder of the apartment is to the left, rather than straight ahead as you enter the apartment.



This first doorway on the left is the kitchen. The second balcony door is at the back right of the kitchen. There is a small deep-freeze, clothes line, and cleaning supplies out there so it is more utilitarian.



The green stacked bucket structure is our water filter system. We use filtered water to drink and cook. We use tap water to wash dishes but then we must rinse them in a bleach and water solution. All the dishes get washed twice.





Though it is uncommon to find computers in the kitchen this has been my office for the last few days. The small electrical looking box to the left of the computer is a regulator. I charge my computer and use it here so that the regulator protects it from power surges, especially when the power cuts in and out. So you can now envision me standing or sitting in the middle of the kitchen blogging or checking e-mail.



The second doorway on the left is the bathroom. I brought the shower curtain and green towels to make it feel like home. With the heat it is not uncommon to shower two or three times a day to cool off.





My bedroom is the only room on the right side of the hallway. My bed is amazingly comfortable (including the pillows), the armoire is plenty of room for my linens, clothes and extra toiletries. I'm a little bit sad that the stretched canvas above the bed is so high, but I used existing screws for two of them. I am also fortunate to have a desk, Kari doesn't have one in her room. I definitely lucked out on my bedroom. I don't have air conditioning in my classroom at school and she does, so we figure it's a trade-off.








I enjoy the view from my room. My first couple of days here I was convinced there must be a newborn baby nearby but as it turns out our neighbourhood goats like to hang out on the rocky ruins of the building across the street and their bleating sounds like a baby's cries. You may be able to see one if you look hard. There are also several young guys who use the steep incline to train. They often meet in the evenings and run drills up and down the hill.

This is the view straight off the balcony.


This is the view to the left


The view to the right.