Our New Apartment

Some pretty fuzzy pictures, but you get the idea

After about a week and a half of living in our Apart-Otel, we were able to whine our way into a more permanent (although still temporary) living situation. An employee who works for USAID (a government agency working out of the Embassy) had recently left his three bedroom apartment in a great part of town. I begged daily for them (USAID) to sublet the apartment to us since it was likely to be unoccupied for at least the next two months. In true government fashion, no one would make a decision. I pointed out the obvious, that the DOJ was paying $159 a night for us to stay in a dump. They would gladly pay $2000 a month (as opposed to $4770) for the right to sublet the apartment. I further pointed out that USAID would be getting $2000 a month as opposed to paying to keep an empty apartment. More waiting while people checked with their boss, who checked with their boss, who e-mailed their boss, who presumably checked with President Obama. “What if we get a new employee here and they need the apartment?” I was asked. “How long does it take to get a new hire to Kyrgyzstan best-case-scenario”, I replied. “About three months.” “We are moving into a house in January, it is now almost mid-November.” Blank stare. “We will move out” I promised repeatedly. Nothing. Finally, I heard “let me ask my bosses.” A few more days wait while the bureaucrats determined which was a better deal for the US government, saving money and pleasing one of its employees or losing money and making no decision. A few more days. Finally, I can only assume that someone in Washington in the jumble of excitement that is the Veteran’s Day Holiday accidentally said “okay” not realizing he or she was putting their career in jeopardy by making such a bold decision. They were probably working in the mail room when they returned. Who cares, we had the apartment.

You could easily fit our house in Milwaukee into this place and have room left over for the garage. In addition to a large great room, there is a modern kitchen with both a gas and electric range. There is a master bedroom and bath, a second bedroom, and a second bath as well. The third bedroom functions as a large den with a desk, filing cabinets and a large sitting area. The apartment is completely furnished with nice furniture. There is a huge dining room table in addition to the kitchen table. There is a washer and dryer as well. The building is gated and there is a guard on duty 24/7. He’s usually asleep, but a deterrent none-the-less. There is also a heavy steel door with at least seven locks and a burglar alarm. Probably way more than is necessary, but nice for peace of mind. We have a parking space but no car yet. It is a pretty great apartment in a nice part of town.