Two months of dusting later I've learned this important fact...

I've learned something very important in the last two months.

1. There are windows with the same name as a piece of music I regularly played back in my cruise ship days, Jalousie.
2. These windows are not recommended for any outside walls. 

This is what Jalousie windows look like. 

Often I see this design on closet doors, but in Mexico they are the most common type of window on houses. Very often there are panes missing which make the situation even worse as maybe 1/3 of houses in the cities have screens to keep the mosquitoes out. 

But the main reason these windows are practically useless is because they do not seal. You can close them, but they overlap each other and there is no sealing agent of any kind where they overlap nor on the sides where the opening mechanisms function. The result is incomparable, even to normal single pane windows.

• There is no sound control. It appears that anyone remotely close to your windows, whether neighbors above or people simply in another apartment with the door open 15 feet away, are actually in your house. You can hear all the conversations, music, telephone messaging notifications, and other various sounds we won't discuss. 
• There is limited rain control. Yes, if you close them completely, most of the rain will not come in, but if it's raining hard or the droplets are large, the windows simply do not seal sufficiently to keep the rain from entering. Curtains get wet. Floors get wet. Furniture that happens to be in front or nearby gets wet. And heaven forbid what happens if they're open because the rain landing on each of the panes acts as a launching agent soaking everything within ten feet. 
• There is ample opening for mosquitoes. If the screens are well sized and without holes than this is not a problem, but I have learned in Mexico, this is rarely the case. If there are not holes in the screen itself, the person that cut and installed the screen didn't measure the window properly or didn't bother to do the job correctly so there is at least a half inch opening on one side or more where the screen closure simply does not touch the other side of the window. There are both holes and poorly measured screens in my home, and with tape to cover what I can it helps, but the windows themselves are far from sealing and are welcome invitations for mosquitoes to enter all day and all night.
• There is no insulation in these windows. Single pane windows offer very little insulation as well and often the water and ice will form on these windows, but that is better than inside the house. With Jalousie windows, if there is a gale of cold air, whether the windows are "closed" or not, you will feel it. It's impossible to stay warm in the winter time with these windows and no electric heater. Even with an electric heater, it has to run constantly to maintain an adequate temperature because the windows are constantly permitting cold air to enter. The opposite also works for hot air in the summertime. Air conditioning will bleed you penniless with these windows because they just don't seal. Fans blow the hot air from outside around your house and you control how much of the hot airs circulates based on how much of the window is open, but it never circulates cool air.
• There is nothing to keep the dirt and dust outside. This is the worst of all for me. I've never lived in a house with all Jalousie windows and I hope I never do again. With tape over the sides of the screens and curtains over all the windows (sometimes double curtains), the tops of the kitchen counters and bedside tables are black with dust within 5 days or less. I do not exaggerate with the color black. The paper towel has so much black dust on it it typically starts having rolls of the stuff instead of just absorbing it. I can't quite describe the awful reality of the dirt that passes through these windows. No, it's not necessary to live on the street or next to construction. This happens in a secluded and private complex.

Needless to say, I spend hours a day just cleaning various surfaces in my home. I did try for two weeks to just barely clean and spend more time on other (more important) tasks, and quickly learned that if I want to sleep well, breath easy, have clear sinuses, and not sneeze all day, (as well as not eat dust), I need to commit the hours of cleaning every day.

This fact has been the most horrendous part of my two months in the new place. Every hope and excitement to get my writing career started has fizzled with exhaustion and the endless list of what else needs cleaning. Two months in has revealed it won't subside and there aren't cheats to be had to clean less (other than paying someone I suppose). My time is now spent in janitorial fashion without the paycheck. 

So, if you ever see these Jalousie windows in a house and you can't change them, turn around and don't look back! Trust me that they are not worth your sanity, your sleep, nor your sinuses.