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I saw two homes today. Both of them are occupied by many people and a variety of nationalities. Both of them are relatively affordable. They both offer interesting experiences and now I am struggling to determine which one should be mine. The first home has a name. They call their place Palabando. I am not sure what it means but the act of naming your home tells me a lot of the culture. It tells me that there is a connection amongst the people living there. The place is warm and inviting. There is a room to watch television. Everyone was sitting together, working on stuff and talking. I was under the impression that it was split 50/50 between French and Mexican. One person interjected that he was Colombian. But everyone dismissed his nationality and it was funny. That joke spoke volumes on their relationship

He showed me the kitchen, the terrace, and the shared space, all typical of a home filled with multinational residences in a foreign country. He showed me my room, which was small. There was a plain bed and a small desk and window that looked into the terrace. I didn’t mind it but it needed work. It was just a small simple room. I walked over to the second home. It was much more centrally located. Everyone was working on their own thing and seemed to be distant. They looked at me and then went back into their work. It reminded me of the difference between the first house I stayed at in Africa and the second.

The house itself was beautiful though. Incredibly spacious and well lit, nicer furniture and generally better quality. But what was lacking was a sense of connection. Everyone was kind of doing their own thing. There were no plants. As the man who owned the home led me around, his emphasis was on the fact that everyone keeps to themselves. The room was perfect. It had an area I could easily use to stand and work. It had a jacuzzi tub and a private dry sauna. I don’t know how it could be better. I could think many thoughts in that pretty room.

But that atmosphere was off. They were generally nice, but not my type of people. I like the more jovial and connective types. I had made mistakes like this before where I chose the route that had felt more upscale and I ended up suffering. I think by writing this I have made up my mind.