This was at the end of the weekend after mass.
Well this weekend is no exception.
I woke up Saturday morning getting ready to enjoy my day of rest and relaxation, reading philosophy and sketching Africa. I of course always look forward to Skyping with my fiance when she wakes up.
So the day was getting started and not too long after breakfast the power went out. Well not a big deal it is pretty common, it should be back by 2 or 3 as it always does.
So we all went about our business and lunch came around and we ate. As time went by, it was around 5 or 6 and there was still no light. So I went and worked out and showered and went for dinner. After dinner we started up the generator because we wanted to watch the English Premiere League. But we figured light would be back by eight.
well for the rest of the night there was no light. This was the beginning of a bad weekend.
When I went to bed that night I took a cold shower and went to sleep. Only to be awoken a few hours later by stagnant heat and being drenched in sweat. So I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, hoping that light would return, but it never did.
The next morning I went out with Big E into the village (Chakuwi) to celebrate mass. We also went there to do a survey of the current water situation. They requested a Bore Hole so we wanted to see. When we went to see where they were drawing water from (and another 15 villages) I was quite astonished and disgusted.
So we took into account what we saw there while this woman was fetching water. And we interviewed the villager there to find out everything that we could. So hopefully we will be putting a bore hole there soon.
During mass, right after Big E's sermon, a snake decided to visit us in the church. It was amazing how the whole church stopped to watch. Finally the alter server came with a giant stick and beat the snake to death. So we made a few jokes and finished with mass.
When we returned home we finished up lunch and I went and napped. When I woke there was still.....no light. So I worked out and then went to shower. And to my surprise (I should have known this) there was no water. The water pump stopped working and hence no water. So I grabbed the closest bucket with water and cleaned myself as good as possible.
As the night came we started the generator again so we could watch another futbol match. Once that finished I retired and just hoped for light.
I was laying in bed when all of a sudden I heard my batter charger come on. BAM we had electricity. As I quickly looked up and saw the light emanating from the charger I just as quickly saw the power leave again.
Well it was going to be another hot hot night. I did not sleep much that night either as again it was hot and I was drenched in sweat.
This morning I woke up, hoping for light and there was still none but that was okay, so I got along with my daily routines. Just before lunch, I was doing some inventory in the guest house when I saw the white fluorescent light flicker on above me. Well praise be to God. I was so happy. I can finally take a shower again.
So now I am sitting in my room writing this, taking full advantage of my fan and preparing to go out for a run soon.
I have to say that although this event only lasted 2 1/2 days, I learned quite a bit from it. I think that everyone who is or aspiring to be an architect should come experience what I did. After you do, all the Go Green, Green Week, Green-a-palooza, will seem like a giant joke to you. It helped me to solidify my understanding of sustainability and what it requires.
So tonight, I well enjoy the last match of the English Premiere League with a cold beer. I set off to stay at Kalembe at the end of this week and within the next 2 weeks we will break ground on the Guest House.
I return home on the 17th and excited to do so.
The mantra for the weekend was, "No light, no water"
No comments:
Post a Comment