Friday, May 11, 2012

The Water Saga Continues

What follows are a few of the realizations I have made from not having water for three full weeks (and counting):
  1. My order of preference for using (precious) stored water: drinking, cooking, washing dishes, flushing the toilet (moved up in the list in some instances, obviously), miscellaneous cleaning, bathing, laundry.
  2. Underwear is the first thing you run out of when you can't do laundry for three weeks.
  3. It is extremely exciting and worthy of a happy dance when you turn on a tap (someplace else) and have water flow out instead of hearing the screech of dry air (as is the case at my house).
  4. I am I extremely grateful that I "practiced" not showering for multiple days in a row in my past life (i.e. before coming to Peace Corps) because, without that experience, this has the potential to be exponentially more miserable. 
  5. I am now able to have a complete bath, including washing my hair and shaving, using only the water from one 32oz Sigg water bottle. (And, miraculously, feel quite clean!)
  6. Baby wipes are essential.
  7. My neighbors are pretty generous people. They have filled up my water bottles from their own water sources on more occasions that I can count.
  8. Nothing feels better than a hot bath after many many days without one.
You may be wondering what is next for me in the water department? Will I or won't I have water again? And, if so, when? Admittedly, I have been wondering this same thing for what feels like an eternity... 

Up until today, the only answer I have heard is: "sit tight", "be patient", "keep taking water from your NGO and neighbors", and other similar one-liners. This morning, however, I had a candid conversation with my DAC about the reality of the situation with my landlord, the house, water utilities, and so on. Ultimately, there are some unforeseen problems that could hold up getting my water reconnected indefinitely. Basically, what we have learned now, after three weeks of calls and messages, is that my landlord has not finished paying for the plot and therefore cannot directly authorize my DAC to pay the Water Utilities Corporation. To do so, he would have to finish paying off the plot but, unfortunately, he hasn't the money to do that right now. He is also stating that he cannot (or maybe will not) pay off the water bill in total, meaning that the water will not be reconnected for some time. These new facts are quite disturbing if you're the girl living in the house without water for almost a month...

That being said, calls have been made and a full-scale search for a new house for me is underway... In fact, when I was walking through the village a mere hour after hearing that I will be moving, I was stopped by a half dozen people from my community all telling me that they are aware of the situation and are looking for potential new homes for me! If nothing else, it feels good to know that I have my community behind me! Anyway, it looks like move number three since coming to site may be happening in the next week or so. Sigh. I'm keeping the faith though - things have worked out for the best so far and I am hopeful this next move will be every bit as good. (But I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed just to be sure...)

1 comment:

  1. I hope you get some water soon! Super impressed with your ability to use limited resources to complete the task at hand... 32oz?! that's crazy talk!

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