Things to get used to (January 21, 2010)

My windows and doors stay open all day, but around 5:30, we have to make sure that the screens are shut.

We light mosquito coils every night and place them by the doors. And we spray under the beds, under the mosquito nets, before bedtime to kill anything unseen. The nets are a little bit of a hassle, but we are getting used to them.

Fans are great at night until the electricity goes off. Then you get adjusted to the heat, and the electricity comes back on at 6am, and you get cold. No complaints here. I know one day we might not have any electricity, and it might be before my solar panels arrive.

The fans are great to drown out the dogs barking next door, the squeaking noise that takes place outside my window only after dark, and the myriad of roosters in the neighborhood alerting me that the sun is up.

The shower is a 5-inch deep square in a corner, open, with no curtain. It’s just you and the bathroom meeting together in full view.

Baths are taken in 2 inches of water. You roll around (at least the kids can), get wet, soap up, and roll around again to rinse off. Pretty quick.

I don’t think I crated enough towels. I down-sized considerably before I left. I’ve been told that in rainy season, towels are so thick, it takes them several days to dry inside the house, so you have to have a lot on hand. Hmmm.

I really do love the quaint, little grocery stores on a busy street. This is the biggest bicycle-riding town, I’ve ever seen (but I’ve never been to China). As Doug and I drove into town, the road was 4 bikes thick on each side. Quite a dodging game in a Land Rover.

My watchman ran an errand for me, and I thought it was the coolest thing because I was cooking dinner, really needed them, and I didn’t have time to go. Alissa said he would run an errand for me, so I gave him money to get eggs at a chicken farm on the next “street.” He took my newly purchased plastic egg tray, and brought it back with 30 eggs in it!

The only refrigerator the IMB could find to let us borrow until our crate gets here is an electric one. So every night, the power goes off in the fridge, and it has to re-cool the next day when it comes back on. It makes me smile.

We visited some good friends while we were in Kenya, and told them in passing that we were going to buy a TV the next day. By God’s hand, they had an extra one from another missionary family, and said we could have it for FREE. Praise the Lord. We carefully hauled it 13 hours to Kampala, and packed it well for it’s 11+ hour ride on the hired van to Arua. It is here!

My feet already look like I live in Africa (and that’s not a pretty thing). My children’s are probably permanently discolored, and mine and Doug’s are dry and cracking. Tonight I’m sleeping with socks on to keep all the products I put on my feet from getting on my sheets.

My house help and I are learning to communicate. She is a wonderful lady, so it’s not a chore. Today she made us some chapattis to eat with our lunch, and they were divine. There is no chance of me losing weight in Africa as long as chapattis exist. She is also good to practice my language with.

I found out today that we are not supposed to let nationals wash our undergarments, so tomorrow, I will be doing my first bit of washing by hand. They are soaking tonight in a basin.