When Cinder block feels like Glass...

Tuesday, 01 April 2008


In our new home, there are “decorative windows” all through the house. In the living room and dining room there are glass windows facing the street. Glass windows covered with iron bars for security. All through the rest of the house are these decorative windows that are actually cinder blocks with designs in them to form windows. It is cheaper than glass, and it lets a good breeze in, but there are some drawbacks. They are always open, since they are built into the wall, and they are on every wall. Some of them have a screen tacked to them to keep the bugs out (we have to put screens on the rest because we get quite a few mosquitoes coming in at night and Dengue is a big threat here). We could cover the windows with curtains, but it would be stifling. The breeze here is really great, we actually get a little cold at night.

So, I feel like I am living in a glass house, because there are these big windows (big like, six feet by four feet) in every room and in the hallway and kitchen, so there is nowhere I can walk around in my unmentionables in the evening without feeling like I´d be putting on a show. And our bed is in the living room right now because there are no screens on the windows in the bedroom, so we are doubly exposed. The whole front wall in the living room is a glass window with the main street and a bus stop right in front of the house. But, I guess it is a good way to get to know the neighbors (or for them to get to know us...).

I will post some pictures of the house soon...