There is a lot in my life that I have learned to appreciate due to
my time here in Botswana. I have learned to appreciate personal cars by having
to ride in over crowded, over heated kombis, or through hitching in the back of
trucks with basadi bogolos. I have learned to appreciate different types of
foods, and the ease of access that we have to them in the US, by eating some
variation of rice/lentils/pasta and beans/carrots/cabbage for weeks on end. I
have learned to appreciate different languages and those that are able to speak
many of them, by struggling through conversations and meetings in Setswana.
But there is nothing I appreciate more, at this very moment, than
the precious gift of water and all that comes with it.
Last Friday, sometime in the afternoon, my water went out. This is
not an entirely shocking occurrence in Botswana, and it is not my
first time experiencing this in Ramokgonami. In fact, one of the first
warnings I ever received from my co-workers is that I should be careful to
store up enough water because shortages are a part of life here. This means
that on any given day in my house I have my entire filter (about a gallon)
full, 5 wine bottles, 3 two liters, 1 five gallon camping drum and at least a
bucket full of water. This is rotated occasionally in order to make sure things
don't start to get moldy and is used for drinking, doing dishes, washing
clothing, or flushing the toilet.
Anyways, I wasn't too alarmed when the water went out, I had
plenty stored up and would be just fine...
3 days later
The water is still not back on and I have come to find out that it
isn't because there isn't any water in the village, but because there is a
burst pipe in our ward and in order to fix it they have had to shut off the
system. I have just had five volunteer friends stay the night for a poker
weekend (which turned into a cooking, drinking and talking weekend, which
happens quite often with Peace Corps events) and even though they brought a few
more two liters and a big 2 gallon jug, we still had to make a trip to the
community pump on the other side of the village in order to have enough to
flush the toilet on the second day. When I say "flush"I don't mean
plural, we trekked the village so that we could flush once.
I waved off their offers to help with the dishes, thinking that
there was no way that
the water wouldn't come back on the next day since the longest I've gone
without at this point is about 72 hours. Besides, dirty dish water is supposed
to double as a way to fill the toilet tank, and the water I used to boil the
potatoes, is ine for then washing the pot they were cooked in. I'm getting a
little nervous but am not too freaked, I am a Peace Corps Volunteer after
all...
2 days later
The dishes are still in my bath tub, I am on my last pair of clean
underwear and I have taken to flipping my socks inside out in order to get
double use out of them. The whole "if it's yellow let it mellow, if it's
brown flush it down" rule is now one of the ten commandments since half
the water I am lugging back from the clinic goes straight into my toilet tank
because I am a total wuss and still have refused to use the pit latrine. I
actually took a trip to my shopping village in order to use another volunteer's
shower because I haven't washed my hair or my body in nearly a week and I
started waking up in the middle of the night thinking I had bugs on me, only to
realize it was just my own grime shifting. I can smell myself...I mean really smell myself.
And then, this morning, something magical happens. I walk into the
bathroom to find my faucet dripping! No victory dance, in the history of
victory dances, has anything on the jubilant celebration I did in my
bathroom but a few hours ago. Not only that, but take a look at the water I was
celebrating about:
Yeah, that's right, this ain't yo momma's sweet tea, this is the
water that is currently coming out of my tap...have you ever seen something
more beautiful in your life?
Luckily for me I have my trusty filter to get me through and after
refilling every possible basin, bucket and booze bottle I could get my hands
on, I am ready to go in case I return from work to find it out again.
Rata Thata,
Claire
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