A rose by any other name

The new house will do, and is great in many ways… and is just a little bit different in a few ways… The particulars: 2 stories, 3 bedrooms, proper kitchen, servant’s quarters, large patio with no garden but a couple of plants and a nice wall, 3 bathrooms, two generously long and fat legs l-shaped for a living area downstairs, and a big “bonus room” upstairs.

Sounds great, and it is, mostly, especially for the price (which I daren’t mention here, but John and Amanda told me the year I’m paying for would cover a month’s mortgage on the house they hope to buy), but here’s the stuff that makes this Indonesia. The house has been somewhat westernized… but those three bathrooms include three western toilets, 2 ceramic 4-foot high fresh water tanks with faucets, 1 bathtub, no place for a shower curtain and rods, one shower head which is aimed between the toilet and bathtub, hot water only for the “shower” and NO SINKS. In other words, when you walk into the bathroom, you’re standing IN the sink. At least there are mirrors in two of them. Gonna take a little getting used to. Might keep some bathroom stuff by the kitchen sink.

The aircon situation isn’t much better; it’s only in the master bedroom (ground floor), but it’s a very tall house, so heat rises, and with patio and upstairs windows open, the place is quite cool and breezy. Of course, that means the mosquitos will get in, but they should be minimal, and as I wrote earlier, somehow the bugs love me as much as ever, but they don’t bother me nearly as much after a year…The other two bedrooms have powerful ceiling fans. I’ll keep a mattress tastefully covered in the living area as a third couch close to the ground; I know people who prefer lounging on the floor. The whole was repainted this week (without my consultation): bedrooms are all pink, the rest is green like my living room in Poland… keeps temps cooler….

The neighborhood is very quiet – pretty much a typical suburban development. I live next door to an American journalist. I’ll have to get to know that neighbor. All streets into it are secured. And the nearest religious establishment is almost completely out of earshot.