MTV Cribs - Guatemala Edition

Hello everyone, and welcome to the lovely home of Dina and Angel!  

It's a beautiful house and I'm lucky to be living here.  I thought it'd be interesting to show you where I am everyday, as it's a lot harder for to me to explain and you to imagine.  Ah, the powers of modern technology!

Before we begin the tour, I'll add that this is not just a house.  It is more like a house/conference room/hostel. Both Angel and Dina are very active in the community, and so their home is a natural meeting place.  Often they have visitors over to discuss community projects, and many days people come from all over to ask for help.  This could mean driving them to the hospital, helping to pay for school books, recommendations for medical problems, etc.  Also, because traveling can be a bit of an ordeal here, they are always hosting visitors overnight.  I don't believe there's been a night since I've been here that I haven't stumbled across someone sleeping in the spare room or on the floor.  Everyone is always introduced as "the sister from this town" or the "brother from that town"--there's such a flurry of activity, it's hard to keep everyone straight!

Here we approach the front of the house.  As you can see, all the windows are barred, as none of the houses here have actual glass in them.  Their house has slatted, blinds-like windows that can be opened or shut, which help to slow, but not stop the dust or noise.  The garage is on the right, a great metal door that they swing open to let the cars in.  Angel owns one bus, which he uses as a taxi service for workers moving from home-work and vice versa, and Margoth also has a car (very handy and quite a luxury!).

Here's a look from inside the garage.  The house on the left is Margoth's, the house on the right is Dina and Angel's.

As you walk in the front door, you come upon the sitting room.  This is home to many of Dina's trinkets and books, and is also where they gather to watch television.  Also, you might notice that there is a computer on the desk, but it hasn't turned on in years, and I'm not sensing a desire to do so anytime in the near future.  The white curtain on the right denotes the entrance to my room.

Here's a peek into my room.  Surrounding my bed is a regal-looking mosquito net, which is necessary to sleep comfortably at night.  I had to laugh when I first saw it, because as a little girl I always secretly admired the decorative ones we have in the States.  Little did I know all I had to do was come to Guatemala to have my wish come true.  As you can also see, I am privileged to have two beds, one of which serves as my desk, chair, fainting couch, etc.  Hidden behind the pillar is a wardrobe and another window.

Walk further into the house, and you come upon the hammock room.  It takes up just about the whole space, but it's a great place to relax.  Its favorite occupant is Angel, who can often be seen snoozing away there.  In the far left corner are the doors to the toilet and the bathing room.  Behind you is a small guest room.

Moving onward still, you come across Dina's kitchen.  This is where she cooks some of the food (the rest is cooked outside) and where we eat our meals.  It's really a cozy little place to eat and chat.

If you keep moving back, you go out the door into the back yard.  The structure in the back is the second kitchen, where Dina cooks over a wood fire, as opposed to the natural gas in the kitchen.

Directly outside the back door of the house is Dina's kitchen sink.  She drains water into the sink on the right each night (the time when running water is available) to have dish water for the next day.

This is a continuation of the yard looking to the right, which leads to Margoth's house.

This concludes our tour, thanks for coming along.  Hope you enjoyed the newest and most popular edition of MTV Cribs!