A New Beginning

Well, today was moving day for me, and I now live about two blocks away from Casa #1. The actual move went pretty smoothly. After my classes this afternoon, I headed back to the house with Julio (other school administrator), packed up my things, turned in the keys, and headed down the street. Although the father was relatively nice to me this AM, he didn´t seem terribly enthusiastic when I returned the keys. I told him again how sorry I was about the way things had turned out, how I thought the whole situation was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and how much I appreciated all that they had done for me. He was seemingly uninterested in hearing all of that, but reluctantly shook my hand when I offered the gesture.

BUT, that is all in the past now, and there is already a new beginning.

Overall, I think the new place is going to be great. It´s a very simple house with four family members. The mother looks to be around 50 and spends ALL of her time in the kitchen. In fact, she actually runs a little restaurant out of the kitchen.....seriously! The front door remains open and people just walk in off the street to get a plate of food. Some of them eat right there in the kitchen, while some take their oders to-go. This afternoon one guy came in after work, and later this evening, a handful of people (including 4 police officers) stopped by for dinner. The going rate is $1.50 per plate, and you can even call ahead if you would like. While she is cooking, she likes to talk (which is great for my Spanish) and sing. AND, if my first impression is correct, she is clearly ruling the roost from her perch in the kitchen.
She has a husband that looks considerably younger (I thought it was either her son or her daughters husband). Apparently, he works construction, and although he was nice enough when I introduced myself, he spent the rest of the evening in his room. So, I don´t know much about him.
There is a daughter in her early 30´s, who is also very friendly. She lives there with her son, and I believe the son is about 10. I met him briefly this afternoon, but I have no idea where he spent the evening.
The house itself is, like I said, very simple but comfortable. I say comfortable because the people make it that way. It´s nowhere NEAR as clean as the first place (or as nice) but seems to be a VERY warm environment (very warm, excluding the shower......WOW that was cold!!!!!). The mother-daughter duo are extremely friendly and I was able to talk with them all afternoon-evening. Again......great for my Spanish education! I even talked with them about my moving situation, and although they DO know the other family, they were REALLY supportive and understanding.
As of now, the only foreseen problem is that I will most likely gain a temendous amount of weight in the next two weeks. She has been feeding since I walked in the door!

So tonight, all is well here in Boquete, and I´m feeling great about my new living situation.
Ahora, toda esta bien.