housing in auraucania

Temuco is in a region full of monkey puzzle trees. They are silly yet majestic plants that seem out of place anywhere I've ever seen them. There are several on my street in the yards of the very organized looking houses. For about a week now I've been living in a rented room that works out to be about $5 a day. And I am getting what I paid for. It's dark and dingy and smells like wet dogs. But the land lady is so nice and so are the college students renting the other 7 rooms. I can cook in the kitchen of the main house and there is a supermarket a couple blocks away. I agreed to stay for January but plan to move to my coworker's house since she has an extra room, lots of natural light, and a cat named Nena. That's more my speed. I've included a photo of a traditional Mapuche dwelling (called a "ruca") to add a little excitement to today's post! The rucas aren't found in the city of Temuco but there is one on the grounds of the Chol Chol Foundation (where I'm volunteering) which is 16 km out of town. I hope to see more when I get the chance to visit more of the countryside.