House Hunting

For the last week my one goal has been very focused, my week has been full of house hunting. Well more like room hunting, I am only planning on renting a couple rooms, a living and bedroom as it is more commonly called here. I had a place all worked out, but as sometimes happens in life, it didn’t work out, and all this about a few days before I arrived in Benin. So as in the past I set out on rental search. This proved to be an exceptionally difficult one, it seems between June and now the housing market has skyrocketed, everyone is gobbling up housing, and not students returning to school, apparently Natitingou is the new Durham region (just visit Brooklyn, Ontario and you’ll know what I mean), people from the south are coming here by the… uh well I don’t by the what but lots anyway. So I actually had a placed lined up at the same compound where Manny and I lasted stayed just a different room, but that place is full of the old renters stuff. Well I told the landlord I’d like to move in at the beginning of this week, and seven days later the luggage is still holding the place hostage. It is a sticky situation, I tend to think that this is cut and dry, just throw the stuff on the street or in the small kitchen which I won’t be using. The people aren’t even paying rent, but the old renters are of the same race as the landlord and he can’t just to that to a brother. It is a real challenge this racial loyalty thing. Even in our church we deal with it. People will favor a carpenter of their race over someone else even if the someone else is way better than the dude of their own race. Are you confused? I feel the same way sometimes. Well I try to be sensitive and did give them time. The landlord’s brother who takes care of the compound said he’d have the place vacated by Saturday, fine I can move in on Sunday. Well today is Sunday and no go. It’s actually me that’s desperate they want the rent, but I really want to live there. Well I did find another place, good location, water, electricity, the works, and seems very quiet. If you recall the last Manny and I stayed at had some pretty lively neighbors, even within the compound music is pretty loud, so that might be a bonus. I read a saying once, I think on one of those catchy saying t-shirts (which are getting old news) that said, “In the end everything will be okay, if it’s not okay it’s not the end. It is very true God will work out all when we follow and trust Him. The challenge for me is getting to the end, I want to be there now or I worry all the way. Well I am glad for this housing situation it has really been a great help to me. I am starting to worry less. When the landlord’s bro told me on Thursday that the room would be ready on Saturday, I said okay and didn’t even bother going back to check until today, Sunday, can’t say I didn’t wonder about whether it would be actually ready or not, but not as much as usual, hurray! So now the situation is what? Well the place is still not ready so pretty much tonight I go to the other place sign the papers and move in tomorrow. Hey that was easy, hahaha.