Well, I’m all annoyed now because I just lost an entire post I had written, complete with photos. So now I’m just going to cut to the chase and slap on the photos.

Here’s what I said, in a nutshell:

We’re still house-hunting, but we think we’ll be done today. I hesitate to say that because we thought we were done yesterday, but something fell through. Right now I’m here at the hotel letting Chickpea take a much-needed nap, and Kabob is out with our TL, hopefully closing the deal on a place. So while I’m enjoying some peace and quiet, I thought I’d show you some places we didn’t pick. If I were a friend or supporter of ours, I’d be interested to know what a typical home in our neck of the woods looks like. We’ll post photos of our chosen place soon, but in the meantime, here you go:

Here’s a typical “salon,” or living room:

Here’s a great view of the bay from one place, but it was a bit too high for my taste. A 10th-floor apartment on a steep hill and a balcony with inadequate railing just don’t mix with a 2-year-old:

This one was the “Kabob Special.” It wasn’t too bad, really, but it would just take too much of Kabob’s time that is better spent studying language. Maybe in a few years…

Many places come with outdoor brick ovens on their terraces. I’m telling you, outdoor eating is huge here:

This is a typical kitchen in a newer place. When I took this photo, it was the nicest kitchen I’d seen. I’ve now seen even nicer kitchens:

Another high-rise, this one with a city view. Yet again, if you stand still and can feel the building gently moving, it just doesn’t say “family friendly” to me:

Villas come with a small yard. This one would need a LOT of work, and we just don’t have the time right now. One day, though, I’d love to have a garden:

So overall, that should give you an idea of what we’ve seen. Most have been quite nice and definitely liveable. Seeing as I went to the store today and found my brand of deodorant, six types of potty training seats, and row after row of flat-screen TVs with Usher’s latest video blaring, I really don’t think this is the type of field where we’ll be physically suffering, at least with creature comforts. However, I’ve been told several times that that’s one of the great deceptions here when you come to work – it’s beautiful and easy to live here, but the darkness is palpable and it can creep in on your consciousness.

In the meantime, we just want a place to call home. And I desperately hope I can tell you we have one in the next few days.

posted: 07 March 6
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