This past Monday, a fellow volunteer and I moved into an apartment we found listed on Airbnb, just one block away from the hostel we were originally staying at. The hostel was great for what it was–but it wasn’t a place either of us could see us staying long-term.
Every morning, despite the amazing free breakfasts, I fielded the same three questions: Where am I from? What am I doing here? How long am I here? It got to where I considered inventing false identities just to make the conversations more interesting. The other people were fine, lovely, but I was really getting bored with myself.
“I’m from the United States, about 45 minutes outside Chicago, I’m volunteering as an English teacher, and I’ll be here until October.” And repeat.
Fortunately, we found the Arequipa-equivalent of a secret palace.
One of the things I love most about the home we found is its layout–it feels like a home because the rooms breathe with their own life. There’s natural lighting everywhere, a full kitchen, and even a rooftop patio!
And like any home, the meals you make in it really bring it all together. I know I need to branch out and experiment with cooking dinner meals, but I’ve never shied away from breakfast. Quite the opposite.
As if our new home wasn’t homey enough, there’s a fantastic place with delicious noms and coffee literally right around the corner from our new place that has a daily muffin-cappuccino special for only 10 soles.
Slowly, my routine and life here is starting to take shape, and I couldn’t be more excited.
Pretty