My Apartment, First Floor

I've almost been in my new place for a month now. I've been moving around so much with work and vacations that I haven't made my new home mine all the way yet. I've slowly outfitted it with the essentials, from cookware to a hammock. It's getting better and that's all I can hang my hat on for now. It's a mess but at least I can cook for myself (which is synonymous with "feel good"). Check this place out!

This is my messy (I want to show you the REAL Austin) entryway/living room. There are several things to note here, first the hammock. I just bought that this last weekend and boy is it nice. Everyone should have one in their house. It's secured to my staircase and the window frame. Window frames here are pretty tough/strong, it holds me no problem. You can also see: my beloved bike, helmet, laptop, and all three backpacks I own (one of which is the wicker looking thing on the far right).

Now this is a photo where my back is to my front door and I'm facing into my apartment from my living room. Prominent in this shot is my staircase which I've turned into an improvised clothes hanger. You can also see my dining room table, more shoes, and way in the back is my favorite place, my kitchen.

Here it is. I spend considerable amounts of time here. Looks like a nightmare but it works alright. There's the propane stove and it's best friend Tank on the left. behind that back door is another room, half indoor, half roach and spider infested. I don't go out there much. If you look closely at the window, on the bottom right part is a piece of cardboard wedged against the screen by a vitamin bottle. Why did I do that? At first I was blocking hole, about the size of a pool ball, that I thought was letting bugs in. Turns out something bigger, with claws, uses that hole. I've had to replace that cardboard several times, it was knocked out once.

So, it's basic and there's no getting around that. The faucet is finicky and the sink has spots that wont clean. There's the pot I use to make...

Chili!

My open face cupboards. I have all the essentials and a ton of terrible other stuff. The terrible stuff includes packets of sugary drinks, sweet spaghetti sauce, Vienna sausages, mega-oily tuna fish, and banana catsup. The good stuff is beans, onions (blue bag), garlic (light blue bag), beans (green bags), spices, hot sauce, loose tea (dark pink bags, upper right), and my new very healthy kombucha baby (bottom right, covered with a piece of t-shirt).

Here's my ref. In the Philippines refrigerators are referred to as refs, the more you know!

Aww yeah, the bathroom. Only the finest of accommodations here, I have both a knee-high spigot, and a pipe that spits on my head! Actually, this is out of the ordinary, usually people use a tabo (small bucket with a handle) to pour water on their heads, so I've got it good. The above ground piping is nice too. 

Toilet seat? nahhhh. I like to imagine the people that lived here before me took it with them, rationalizing it as "well, we bought it" (they may have). Or,there never was a seat to begin with. This toilet has also lost it's ability to flush, so I have to pour water from the big green bucket.

From the kitchen facing the front of my apartment. This is where I live. It doesn't fit with my first idea I had of where I might end up in the Peace Corps but I'm not complaining. You take what you're given here and I was given an alright apartment.