The morning after I got there was the first time I had seen the house in the daylight. I arrived from the airport late the night before. Their house was very small and had a Spanish style. Like most houses there, it was made of stone and clay with clay tiles for the roof. The car was parked in front of the house. To the left were clothes lines hanging and a fence with a pasture that lay beyond. If you looked to the side of the house you could see Selva, a nearby town, sitting on the hill with the church in the center. There were light blue painted shutters framing the wooden windows, each with a plant perched on the outside window sill. To enter the kitchen you had to walk around to the back. There was clay patio with a straw canopy and a table. Two tall wooden doors opened to the small kitchen and dining area. To describe the lack of space, both the stove and the sink could be reached at the same time. A few cupboards and cabinets filled the leftover spaces. It was pretty difficult to fit more than one person in the kitchen at a time.


(On the left is the neighbor's horse and the right is the picture of my friend's house where I stayed)

To the right of the doors was the small and only bathroom. One of the most memorable things about this house was the shower. Taking a warm shower required some serious strategizing. There was only enough hot water for one, maybe two if you conserved water, brief showers. There were six of us in the house, so you can imagine this posed a problem. Most days I was too lazy to get up and take a shower before the rest of the house did so for the first few days I got very, very cold showers. I am certain I set a personal best for shortest shower ever one day. Eventually I took to taking showers in the evening, which allowed me to get some hot water. Among us teenagers we would always joke about what was the terrible shower.


"I'm going to take a shower at 2 am so I get all the hot water."

"Well I'm going to wake up at 1:45 am so you get no hot water."

"Guys, I'm going to wake up every half hour and take a shower so no one gets any hot water in the morning."

"I'm just going to sleep in the bathroom."


It went on like this for awhile until we all accepted that all of us were much too lazy to put that much planning into taking a shower. Hannah did, however, wake up at 6 am one morning to take a shower and then went back to bed. Across the room from the tiny bathroom and cold shower were a small set of stairs that lead to a (small) living room that doubled as a bedroom for Arjan and Sam. Arjan has his piano keyboard set up on some chairs and piles of books. There were some small mattresses and blankets on the floor, or in Sam's case a sleeping bag. There was another door that led out of the living room.


There was a set of stairs at went along the wall when you first walked in to the house. The first door led to their parent's room where there was a balcony overlooking the pasture. The second door was their Abuela's room. Hannah's room was attached to the rest of the house, but the only door that was attached was outside. It had a little wood stove and was much roomier than the tiny living room/bedroom that the guys shared. There were two beds for Hannah and I. There was a washing machine in the corner and a set of drawers with a mirror leaned on top. In another corner there were some shelves and a desk. It had more light than the rest of the house because of the double doors and window that allowed light to stream in during the morning.


It was tiny, but beautiful. The most beautiful part of the house though was the view. Next to the house there was a shed where the white horse lived. By next to I mean practically attached, sometimes I could even hear him eating when I was in Hannah's room. Every morning I could walk outside into the beautiful weather and see him grazing amongst the fruit trees or poking is head over the gate as if to ask for a visit. I would hear the birds chirping amongst the orange and lemon trees. I was incredibly grateful to stay in such a beautiful place. I also have a greater appreciation for my shower.