our first accomplishment

Getting settled takes a lot of time anywhere but that seems especially true here. At least when it comes to finding an apartment or house to rent. We have only had one lead and it turns out that the house (which is divided into two apartments) is rented as a whole. We would need to find another renter to go in with us on that, which everyone assures me would not be hard, but still seems a bit daunting. Thankfully, the Bills are well-connected and have a few ideas for possible co-renters.

Other than that- it seems like even finding available housing is pretty hard. One of the staff at BREAD is going to help us by calling a real-estate guy (super unofficial thing- just a number on a board). He'll give him our list of requirements and if he has something to show us- we'll have to pay 12 bucks a shot to view each place. Apparently, it can be hard to get taken only to places that are actually a possibility since these guys make their money by showing as many places as possible. But John and I feel like we have to at least try something to get other options. There doesn't really seem to be availability in apartments, though there are some ritzy places. Those are $2-3000+ a month- can you believe it? It seems like finding a place within what is considered the security zone is a real challenge. Even the place we're looking at is $800. Incredible!

The exciting news, though, is that we agreed to buy a bunch of stuff (fridge, stove, bed, etc) today from a French family who is leaving at the end of June (much cheaper than buying new and everything is in great condition). Once we find a place, we'll be almost all set up- just lacking a table and chairs, and maybe some shelving or a buffet or something. I have dreams of imitating this awesome German family we know in Rabat by building a loft for our kid(s) to sleep in when they are older- that or bunk beds. But I liked the loft idea because then the whole floor is free for playing. Having settled the deal to buy this stuff makes me a little giddy, because it really seems like John and I will have a more settled place than we've ever had before- even more so than Morocco which was awesomely setup by my folks but the stuff wasn't really ours. We brought six cases of stuff from that apartment so when we unpack it we'll have much of the smaller stuff too (silverware, pots/pans, medicine, some decorations, etc). That will be a glorious day and I will post pictures to celebrate! Having a real haven home is going to be so rad.

Workwise- we haven't done much yet, but we did have a meeting today with all of BREAD's Brazzaville staff. They are such neat people- I'm looking forward to working with them. We'll be taking it slow at first- learning about what they're doing, visiting the project sites all over the country (the two big cities and a rural area), and the like. So we're back in 'school' again :-)