Update!

I have been gone for a little bit – sorry!  Tons of things have been happening since I last posted.

Housing update

·      It looks like my friends and I found an apartment to live.  It’s on the side of town I want to be on and I feel it is the right fit for all of us.  It’s a brand new 3 bedroom, 3 bath with a huge balcony. The landlord was asking for 1.1 million francs per month, but we managed to get it down to 1 million. We are also negotiating how many months deposit and rent we are willing to pay upfront before moving in.  At this point, I am cautiously optimistic that everything will go well.  But I’d be lying if I said that the thought of parting with over 10 000 usd collectively wasn’t terrifying.  I will keep you abreast of developments as they occur.    

·      I visited a friend who lives in Cocody Danga, directly across from the Swiss embassy.  Her place is huge but a bit out of the way.  Its best feature was its pool.  I didn’t think I wanted a pool (it’s relatively cheap to head to a hotel and swim for the afternoon), but I realized how much I was missing out on by not having one.  It was amazing.  For those of you who are wondering whether it’s worth it, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that a pool with a shady patio area is incredible.  Equally underrated, is the ability to relax in an outdoor area, with a pool, without having to deal with the outside world.       

Cost of Living update

·      I got my first light bill and it was a whopping 159 000 francs.  This is for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment.  The cleaning lady says that the bill is quite high, and she believes that the girls I am staying with have been doing too many loads of laundry.  Unclear whether that’s really what caused it, but it seems like a reasonable explanation to me.

·      I am still waiting for my contact to answer my cost of living questions.  I have also been reaching out to other people to try and get information about how much they spend here, etc.  I haven’t forgotten you guys, it’s just taking a bit longer than I though it would.

Miscellaneous

I have met lots of nice people here and am thrilled to have the opportunity to live and work here.  That said, I have come to realize that the move, and the pressures of starting a new life here with very little institutional, financial or social support have begun to grate on me.  There have been some truly kind people who have gone out of their way to help me, but by and large this is probably my hardest move (and I've moved around a bit).  I also find dealing with people here a bit tedious, and over the long term exhausting.  Hopefully, this little bout of the blues will pass as I continue to adjust to me new surroundings and keep meeting new people.  I'll keep you posted!