Domesticity

The construction of the on-site housing is finally finished at the Timothy Centre, and last week my team members and I moved into the houses we’ll be occupying for our time here. It must be said: these houses are lovely! We’ve got all the mod cons and some features that are really nice even by North American standards, let alone African standards. We even use “green” technology what with our solar electricity, solar hot water heaters and harvested rain water. It is really great to have my own home to set up and to be able to unpack some of the bags that haven’t really been touched since I packed them in June.

The new house requires a fair investment of time to maintain, however, and sometimes I feel like I could spend each day just doing domestic chores. The greatest challenge is trying to keep the light-coloured tiles on the floor clean. Since the site is still in the process of being landscaped and it is the rainy season, even a quick trip outside results in muddy shoes that leave reddish-brown footprints on the tiles. Even if the ground is dry, the red dust gets tracked in. There is also an interesting situation each morning as there are usually lots of dead bugs on the floor that were attracted to the porch lights outside and then met their demise; I’m not exaggerating when I say that I sweep the floor about five times a day and mop it once a day.

Pre-planning and adequate time are also required to complete kitchen chores. When I buy fresh produce at the local market, I let it soak for a few minutes in a diluted bleach/water solution in order to get it clean enough to be able to eat it. Similarly, each morning and evening I boil a kettle of water and pour it into the water filter to have clean drinking water. Doing dishes is simpler in the new house, because I actually have hot water coming out of the taps and don’t need to heat it on the stove first like we did at the other place. Running water is convenient, but when you can’t drink it straight from the tap, you need to evaluate how you intend to use it every time you turn on the faucet and act accordingly.

Having said all that....even with the all the work associated with the activities of daily living, it is wonderful to be moved onto this gorgeous site with the beautiful view from my living room window, nothing but the sound of crickets and frogs at night and great neighbours next door.