Our New Home

Hey Everyone, Sorry its been so long since the last post. As you may have guessed we have been very busy getting into the groove of things, but its been going great! So this next Post will be dedicated to Info on our home here in Guyana.



Our Bedroom
Our bed is actually two twin beds pushed together. One side is nice and comfortable but the other side is very hard. We take turns sleeping on the comfortable side. It’s sort of like sleeping on a Sleep Comfort mattress (Guyana style). You can toss and turn all you want without disrupting one another’s sleep since we’re on separate mattresses.

Notice also Michael’s desk… the top is made from the crates Michelle and Tom shipped their belongings down with. Our two large suitcases are supporting the desk. It’s actually quite nice- it even has wheels!

See our curtains? I bought the material in New Amsterdam last week. They had very little selection. Notice how we hung them up? Clothes pins on the window bars- Michelle is a genius.

Something we are learning here is that there is rarely the right tool or the right anything for what is needed. So often we just have to make due and use what’s available. For example we cannot find Fishing Line or any kind of line for that matter. Also there are no digital clocks, so we’ve been using a cheap little travel clock for our alarm. And strangely enough no one has a 3 hole punch! There are only two hole punches here and Two Hole Binders! lol, It’s really funny.

Our first night here was pretty Interesting. To give you a clear picture of the circumstances, we had been up for nearly 24 hrs. We were a little jumpy with all the insects and bugs. We had just turned the light off hoping to get some sleep. Right above our bed is a ceiling fan/light. We both saw something flicker. At first we thought it was just the florescent light Bulb turning off but it kept flashing a few times. Me being blind without my contacts I could barely see anything. We continued to stare at the area above our heads looking for movement. Suddenly the flickering came back on and moved quickly toward us!!! We both frantically jumped out of the bed and ran to the door. We turned the light on and crept back in expecting to discover a gruesome poisonous insect on our bed. Instead we saw a small black insect on the wall. I screamed to Mike, “Kill it!” Which he did. We turned the light off again and just stood there in the room, Eyes bulging, waiting to see if anything else leapt out at us. Needless to say we didn’t sleep very well the first night. Fortunately we haven’t had any more encounters with bed bugs, but Mike says sometimes he would wake up and hear a slight rustling in the corners, so now he wears ear plugs. =)


My favorite thing about our bedroom is… The new screen that Mike put up in one of our windows. Now we can open the window for air and not invite all the other critters in!





Here is our bathroom. We have a new ritual before every shower: Look behind the shower curtain before getting in! This is where all little creatures like to hide- cockroaches mostly. One night I discovered a spider that was 4 inches wide… it jumped, was very fast, and hard to kill with a fly swatter but Tom managed to get it after chasing it around the shower a few times. (it reminded us of the opening bug scene from lady in the water.. lol) I of coarse went running and screaming out of the bathroom as if a ferocious lion was on my tail. It made for a good laugh. Oh and by the way, the spider was harmless. I was a more risk to myself in my haste to get away from it!


This is our living room on the main floor. This is our bedroom door on the left.


Just past the living room is the dining room to the right.


Next to the dining room is the kitchen. We our grateful to have such a nice kitchen since we do so much cooking.


This is where we do our laundry by hand for several hours each week.

Going upstairs


This is Michelle and Tom’s living room. Super cute. Upstairs is their bedroom, a guest room, Tom’s office and one bathroom.


Here is Tom in his office. His desk is also made from the crate wood.

Here are the water tanks for the house. These tanks fill ever other day with what the Locals call “Pipe Water” from the city. It isn’t safe to drink but works fine for washing and bathing. On the Odd days when the “Pipe Water” is off, these elevated tanks give us water pressure in the house. When we get the “pipe water” from the city it actually comes in very warm, almost hot some of the time. We assume its because the pipes are shallow in the ground. At first I thought I would like the warm water, but shockingly enough, I love the cool showers here (yes Danielle I said I like the cool showers!). After a long day in the heat and dirt and sweat- a cool shower is the best thing ever!