The move

On Monday of last week Jim and I moved to a different house, due to the problems we had been having with theft, and random charges that should not have been assessed to us.

Our new place is the home of Dona Claudia, and it is by our standards amazing. In the front of the house, Dona Claudia runs a Pasteleria (cake shop), and from what I have seen, her work is most impressive. In addition to cakes, she bakes all kinds of different pastries, which we have been lucky enough to have at breakfast the past few days. I told her that she has to teach me, sometime when I'm not at work, and she agreed.

We now have our own room, with a locking door, a tile floor, an air conditioning unit (which we have decided not to use, out of respect for their desire to save energy), our own separate bathroom, and permission to use our fan whenever, and for however long we like!

By far, the best part about Dona Claudia's is the fact that there, we feel welcome. Behind the cake shop, the rest of the house is partitioned into multiple rooms, which Dona Claudia runs like a boarding house for university students. Here, we are only two among around 10 other students, some of whom speak English, and almost all of whom are eager to talk to us, or at least help us by correcting our Spanish. Most of the students that we have met are girls (the guys seem to be a bit more hesitant to interact), but one hombre, Edwin, speaks nearly fluent English, is working on a degree in Civil Engineering, and has been most helpful in facilitating my practicing of the Spanish language. Yesterday, he decided that he would no longer speak English with me, unless I first attempted to say it, or understand it in Spanish. A painful idea for me, but a good one nonetheless.