Settling in part 2

So I’ve moved. With no end to my hostess’s murder trial in sight and with the maid gone on indefinite maternity leave, I had no choice. No cooking, cleaning or laundry is only sustainable for so long. Two weeks it would seem. So bye bye to waterside bungalow living and hello to mad family life.

My new family has 3 children of 14, 10 and 6. First impressions were not great. Not that they’re not nice children, they are very polite and well brought up. But children go to bed late here and get up at 5am for school. The house is a hubbub of noise from early until late. Mum shouts at the children, doors slam, two TVs border my bedroom competing for sound. And personal space is non-existent. The 6 year old wanders into my room to play with my belongings or simply to watch me. If I lock myself in she is soon knocking at the door. Having not lived with children since I was one myself, it is an onslaught on the senses that I wasn’t prepared for. I moved in on Saturday. Sunday was spent fighting back tears.

But things have got better since then. The family have been very nice and I am slowly getting to know them. Maybe it’s just weekends that are that manic. Time will tell….school holidays start this week so it may be a weekend every day!

The house itself is a modest bungalow with a small yard out the back. A fairly well-to-do place in this part of the world. The rooms are basic but comfortable. My room has a bed, a sofa and a table but no storage. I could live out of suitcases as the locals do but unpacking somehow signals a mental settling in. So my clothes, toiletries etc. are piled high on the table. Even in the living room, there is little decoration. On the walls are children’s drawings. I mean ON the walls. I find myself wanting to pop to the DIY shop for a can of paint.

I’ve sacrificed the luxuries for a cold shower and squat toilet. Despite all my travels, I fail to get on with cold showers. I tend to adopt the ‘hockey kokey’ tactic: you put your left arm in…… Toilet tactics are of course my own business…..!