In the kitchen, next to the sink, we have a bucket we keep filled for washing dishes. Outside, we have large barrels of water that we keep filled as backups in case we have to go without water for a longer period of time.
As for electricity, it's pretty reliable. It goes out more during the summer months due to more people using cooling devices, such as air conditioning or fans, that overwhelm the system, causing blackouts. Luckily, I haven't experienced many of those here, but the ones I have experienced have been pretty brutal, leaving us in the heat with no relief system. I am thankful they do not happen often where I live.
Our house is constructed from concrete, wood and metal. The whole house itself is made of concrete, which is topped with a metal roof held up with wooden beams. This is what most houses in the DR look like. A lot of the walls in my house have cracked due to earthquakes. The metal roof makes for very loud rain. When it rains hard, we have to shout to talk to each other over the sound of the rain hitting the roof. And if it's at night, I can't sleep because it's so loud. Fortunately, it doesn't rain too often in Monte Cristi.
We have two pets here at my house. We have a dog, Perla, and a cat, Nina. They are essential parts of our household, as they both have very important jobs. Nina catches rodents, making sure they don't come into the house and keeping our property free of rats and mice. Perla is our watchdog. I sleep soundly at night, knowing that if anything were wrong, Perla would bark to alert us. They also serve as a form of entertainment. They are best friends and often play with each other, which is always amusing.
Overall, I love my house here.
