Update on Apartment Life in Huaraz -

Not long after we moved into our apartment, we posted some photos on the blog of the apartment and the furnishings. Since then we have added a few items.

Our laundry arrangements are a combination of U.S. and Peruvian methods and Sister O. uses both to optimum advantage.  However, this little patio really doesn't get any direct sunshine.

This is our open air patio and laundry area. Most homes that we have visited have washers but we have never seen a dryer. A dryer does use a lot of electricity and it is just too expensive for these people.  All clothes are hung on lines, either in open patios or on the roofs. During the dry season this is very convenient and effective. In the rainy season, clothes must be brought inside by noon to avoid the regular afternoon rains.

On the roof of our four story apartment building there are sinks for laundry and lines for drying.

Since we are apartment A, you can see our designated sink with the letter A on the wall next to it. We have never used this sink and it does not appear that the other tenants have used theirs either. The sinks only have cold water piped to them. The other tenants have washing machines--at least we think we can hear them from time to time when we are outside on our patio.

Each apartment also has a designated clothes line. The letters can be seen on the black metal pipe to which they are attached. Ours is to the far left.

We also each have a separate water tank with our letter on it into which the city water flows by pressure and then down to our apartments by gravity. You can see the black filter on the incoming line that we had installed on tank A to clean up the incoming city water. It has helped considerably.  We also had new faucets installed in the kitchen and so our water is no longer rusty.

Here is the laundry from one of the other apartments hung out to dry on a sunny Saturday morning.

Marilyn uses the clothes lines for the sheets and pillowcases which dry very fast up here in the sun and breezes.  However, the dryer is much appreciated as it would be hard to lung all our laundry up the five flights of stairs.  The rainy season is just starting again and the sky looks like this every afternoon and like the sky in the picture below every morning.

Before we leave the roof, here is the view toward the north with Mount Huascarán in the distance. It remains snow-capped the year-around. The building in front is the hostal owned by our landlord. He had many rooms rented during the holidays but it is empty now. He and his wife live on the ground floor.

We have added some wall hangings to the front room, office and spare room.

We added a coffee table and an alpaca wall hanging to the front room.  The bouquet of flowers cost one sol, or about 36 cents.  We should always have fresh flowers in our house, right?

 

This alpaca rug or wall hanging was purchased here in Huaraz for 100 soles or about US$ 36.00.

We had this table made here as we couldn't find any that we liked in the furniture stores.  We really like the table but will probably have to leave it here when we go home.

In the other corner of the front room we added these typical Peruvian wall hangings.  We have had several people comment on how pretty these things are and where did we get them.  They were all purchased here in Huaraz but the locals just don't hang typical things on their walls.  Most of them really don't hang much of anything or just posters of various things.

These are made here in Huaraz.

A woven cloth piece.  This is made out of thick pieces of yarn-like cotton strips.  We have seen them in various sizes and designs.  Very unusual.

We had the OxFest picture framed and it proudly hangs in the front room.  And of course everyone has to comment on what an amazing family we have--we have to agree.  And I have shared the calendar you made Jill (thanks again) with lots of visitors.

Here is the Nativity collection in the living room so far. We later moved the OxFest picture to a different wall.

A closeup of the all wood Nativity scene Marilyn purchased in Lima.  This is really an interesting set, all hand made by a couple in Lima.  It also has a tree and an archway that goes with it but the space isn't big enough.

A quick look at our now fully equipped office. 

An office is not complete without maps.  Again, people are surprised at the idea of hanging maps on the wall.  These were about 40 cents each.  But the store didn't have any world maps--guess South America is their world.  The left one is of Ancash, the equivalent of a state and the region where all the records that we are filming are from.

Map of Peru with the different provinces in colors. Ancash, gold or mustard, is the province on the left, just above Lima on the coast.

The third bedroom is now the music conservatory, ironing room and general catch-all room.  Don't you love the ironing board cover? 

The piano teaching area. We bought the keyboard locally. Marilyn now has 3 semi-serious students, 2 wannabes, and a new student. The chart has the note names in Do, Re Mi and the letter names.  As in all countries south of the boarder from the US, students are taught in Do, Re Mi but I think the alphabet letters are much easier so this is a combination--the students refer to it often.

At the suggestion of a student, she has added "Amigos Comen En Grupos" (Friends Eat In Groups) to replace the English "All Cows Eat Grass". "FACE" they all seem to understand as they all use Facebook.

Elder Oxborrow didn't feel that his 2002 SLC Olympics cap (thanks again Matt) was appropriate for Sunday wear, but needed something to protect his balding pate from the intense sunshine at 10,500 feet. He found this derby in a local hat shop but it had to be steam-stretched at the laundry to fit his big head. Such a handsome elder, no?

Marc: Could he audition for the Haymarket Squares?