The picture above is of the studio apartment I stayed in my first month on the island. In many ways it left a lot to be desired (such as the garbage system which was based on having tenants leave bags of garbage in the hallway and in the entrance way for the cleaning lady to pick up on the days she showed up) but in other ways it was o.k.

As a studio, it had a certain coziness and simplicity about it. I wouldn’t have wanted to entertain guests there but for a solo occupant, it compactness allowed for a certain efficiency. Had the air conditioner been of this decade or last (when did White Westinghouse go out of business?), one could have kept the place cool at a minimal cost. Certainly, it didn’t require much time or energy to clean.

I’m sure over time it would have begun to feel a bit confined but for my first month on the island, the small scale helped keep everything manageable. The studio had a small balcony and that is where I spent most of my time. The balcony provided both an escape from the heat and entertainment.

The apartment, like the house I’m now and like most buildings here, is built from concrete. One downside to building with concrete is that it soaks up the heat from the sun during the day and then slowly releases it during the evening. Passive radiant heating is, I believe, the term used in the green building industry. It’s a great concept for locations that enjoy a cold but sunny winter but its not so good for the tropics.

Why do they build that way here, then? The answer is simple – termites. But I digress –

As I was saying, in addition to an escape from the early evening heat, the balcony replaced the television set and provided me with my nightly entertainment.

Across the street was a big yard upon which sat an unoccupied building. The yard served as the local café for some neighborhood chickens that would appear regularly both for the morning special and the early bird dinner. The mother and her chicks would make their way hurriedly around the yard pecking away at whatever bugs they found, hurrying because soon a rooster would show up and bully them into leaving so that he could feast on the remaining bugs. The pickins must have been good because the chickens would all repeat the scene at dinnertime.

After the chickens would leave, a pair of puppies would show up for a twilight romp. It is always enjoyable to watch puppies play. The innocence and the energy. A simple coconut husk would often serve as a toy. Sometimes the game would be tug-a-war and other nights a game of catch-me-if-you-can.

Watching the battle for the bugs and the coconut husk Olympics provided me with a local version of reality TV.