This is Jessi's apartment. There are two apartments up there, she and Candace live on the side with the tree in front, which is nice to have there in the afternoon to have shade from the hot sun. She lives above a little grocery store, which is pretty convenient to have when you run out of something.

This is their water tank. All the homes here have one like this. It is on the roof, they have steps up to the roof and can actually sit up there. I was up there taking a picture of the sunset one night when I decided to take the picture of the water tank too. The twilight makes it look like something from outer space. It is filled by the water department. They don't have hot water, which really is not that bad since it is air temperature and so far I have not seen the thermometer go below 80 degrees. Funny though how we have such habits. Each morning as I have gone to take my shower, I turn on the water, nothing comes from the hot side, I should know that by now...but still when I turn on the cold, I put my hand under it to test the temperature before I step in. I don't know what I expect to change.

Something that always bugs me when I travel is how all of the countries use such low watt light bulbs. It is almost impossible to put make-up on with no more light than what a candle would give off. But when I got to Jessi's place, I was so HAPPY when I turned on the light and I could really see...I thought "Wow! I can really see to do my hair and make-up here!" Then I noticed the size of her mirror...oh well, you can't have everything.
This is her washing machine. She and Candace saved and saved in order to buy it. Normally it sits in the hall way. When it is time to do the laundry, they put it in the bath tub. It is quite the process, pretty much like the old wringer washing machines my Mom used in the 50's. They put their clothes in one side, fill it up with water from a bucket and let it wash and rinse, then they put them in the other side and it wrings them out. The next picture is her dryer...a fan in front of a rack. With all the humidity in the air it took three days to fully dry them!

Here is her bed. Each night I get to sleep under a mosquito net. Alongside the bed is the 'air conditioner'. It has been cooler here this week compared to last week (not below 80 degrees though) when we were at the condo with the real air conditioning, so I have been just fine with the fan instead. It seems that the heat comes in waves, short ones that last a few minutes. You go from being hot to dripping sweat hot. I normally don't sweat. I keep asking if I am the only one experiencing it, not sure if it is the weather or a hot flash. I've not had a hot flash before so I really don't know what to expect, but that is how I imagine it will be like. So far everyone else is feeling the same thing.

The power has gone off every day. It never happens at the same time of day, so you can't plan ahead for it. It has stayed off no less than 4 hours and longer than that a couple of times. When that happens...no fan. I am surprised how much the fan helps keep you cool. They are still able to cook because they have propane. The other night we were about to use the toaster oven to toast some french bread, power went off, they lit candles, and instead of toasting in the toaster oven, she used a skillet and did it over the stove. Last night I made dinner myself. Jessi has a cold and was not feeling good at all and I was doing my 'mom' thing to make her one of her favorite dinners. First I had to go downstairs to the grocery store to find what I was able to in order to cook. I was halfway through cooking it when the power went off again. I finished up by candle light. Last time I did that, I was camping.