Where do I start? I live in a second floor walk-up five minutes from the office. The door to this five floor apartment block is guarded by a couple of boys and occasionally their father. This means that they live, wash, cook and sleep - all of them - in a small cubby hole next the front door. I'll try to take a photo of it sometime, but don't want to do it when they're around.
I live with my two colleagues, Karen and Wendy, in a big apartment with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Sounds great doesn't it? Well, it's actually not bad if you don't look too closely at the peeling walls or greasy kitchen. the worst thing is that we don't have any hot water and the shower is a basin in the bathroom. I don't know how any woman has any time to do anything living in a place like this. My daily water routine (which I share with the others but is still a chore) consists of getting up to empty the big pan of previously boiled water into the water filter, re-fill the pan and put it on to heat up more water for my bucket shower. Then I fill the kettle from the water filter to heat it up for coffee. After my shower I put the water on again for one of the others, then again to provide hot water for Khalada our cleaner. Khalada, who is paid the princely sum of £6 a month for three days a week, spends most of her time battling with the bloody dust which constantly seeps through every nook and cranny leaving a carpet of the stuff on everything. Bring on the rain - not. I don't ask her to do my washing as I can take it to the laundry to be washed and ironed for less than 40 pence per item. I wash my smalls myself as I don't think they'd cope terribly well with the robust cold water washing techniques of both Khalada and the laundry.
Our bathroom is pretty basic and I'm not doing terribly well with this shower in a bucket thing. Plus the toilet cistern leaks. Remind me never to put in a wet room back home.
Aaah, hot water. What bliss. I'm now a member of the Bagha Club (British High Commission club) and have become a real ex-pat. Truth be told, besides the access to alcohol, the best thing about the place is the hot shower. You can tell those who don't have access to hot water by the hours they spend in the shower gurgling with pleasure. Count me in. Unfortunately I can only get there about once a week.
The photos are to reassure my mum whom, I'm sure, thinks that I'm living in some dark bug-ridden hovel.
Our sitting area
The dining area with maps - as instructed, Richard!
My bedroom, with mozzie net
Since I took this photo I've bought some lovely pale sari fabric to use as curtains
Our luxury kitchen. It has no redeeming features whatsoever
The water filter
I live with my two colleagues, Karen and Wendy, in a big apartment with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Sounds great doesn't it? Well, it's actually not bad if you don't look too closely at the peeling walls or greasy kitchen. the worst thing is that we don't have any hot water and the shower is a basin in the bathroom. I don't know how any woman has any time to do anything living in a place like this. My daily water routine (which I share with the others but is still a chore) consists of getting up to empty the big pan of previously boiled water into the water filter, re-fill the pan and put it on to heat up more water for my bucket shower. Then I fill the kettle from the water filter to heat it up for coffee. After my shower I put the water on again for one of the others, then again to provide hot water for Khalada our cleaner. Khalada, who is paid the princely sum of £6 a month for three days a week, spends most of her time battling with the bloody dust which constantly seeps through every nook and cranny leaving a carpet of the stuff on everything. Bring on the rain - not. I don't ask her to do my washing as I can take it to the laundry to be washed and ironed for less than 40 pence per item. I wash my smalls myself as I don't think they'd cope terribly well with the robust cold water washing techniques of both Khalada and the laundry.
Our bathroom is pretty basic and I'm not doing terribly well with this shower in a bucket thing. Plus the toilet cistern leaks. Remind me never to put in a wet room back home.
Aaah, hot water. What bliss. I'm now a member of the Bagha Club (British High Commission club) and have become a real ex-pat. Truth be told, besides the access to alcohol, the best thing about the place is the hot shower. You can tell those who don't have access to hot water by the hours they spend in the shower gurgling with pleasure. Count me in. Unfortunately I can only get there about once a week.
The photos are to reassure my mum whom, I'm sure, thinks that I'm living in some dark bug-ridden hovel.
Our sitting area
The dining area with maps - as instructed, Richard!
My bedroom, with mozzie net
Since I took this photo I've bought some lovely pale sari fabric to use as curtains
Our luxury kitchen. It has no redeeming features whatsoever
The water filter
Hope your' mum is reassured....she might not be too happy about the kitchen and the water story,but your bedroom looks lovely !
ReplyDelete