Home, Sweet Home

I hear that many friends and family in Ohio are experiencing sympathy pains as you have lost power due to a huge storm. My prayers have been with you! I may not have AC, but at least I have had electricity. Praying that power comes back soon.

I took some shots today of where I am living to give you a clearer picture of what I am talking about. The orphanage that we are staying at has about 80 kids....the youngest is 6 months old and the oldest are high school age. The property is quite large with several building: a dining hall and meeting area, boys and girls dorms, the baby house (where our room is), a log cabin, an outdoor kitchen, and a new building that will house a library and study area with computers.

(a shot of the property)

(the new library - the buildings look like this)

Our room is in the baby nursery and has its own bathroom. Asian bathrooms typically don't have a separate stall for the shower, but just a hand-held hose. The entire floor is tile, because the water will go all over. The toilet is the centerpiece:) It's a squatty potty. I will let the picture explain what that is. Needless to say, there is an art to using one!

(our bedroom)

(our bathroom)

The kitchen we use is across the courtyard. It's an outdoor kitchen, but it's fully equipped with a stove, refrigerator, and sink. Sealing food items is a must with all of the bugs, and wearing bug spray at night while cooking dinner is a good idea!

(outdoor kitchen)

(outdoor stove and refrigerator)

(outdoor kitchen)

The airport is in the log cabin just to the right of the kitchen, so we have to be close to it in order to get a signal. Most often, that means sitting on the porch to blog or email. Again, bug spray at night is a must! It is a little surreal to be blogging outside in this tropical paradise:)

(log cabin)

(porch where we use the internet)

There you have it! Now you can better picture what I am talking about. Of course, this will all change in two weeks when I leave for Cambodia. Though for now, it's home, sweet home.