Posts Tagged ‘just life-monica’

We have been in Dili for 2 weeks now. Novelty has turned to reality, and my reality now is finding functionality in this new world of mine. (Tomr is a bit more deft than I am but this is no surprise). We have a spicket for water just outside the back door. This morning, Tom realized that a perfiect task for Hannah is to supervise the filling of 5 gallon buckets, which we then carry into the bathrooms and kitchen to fill the larger buckets (25 or 30 gal themsellves) to use to bathe, flush toilets, laundry and dishes. We had a hose (have) that ideally would carry the water into the house for us, but the pressure is too low, and it takes too long. The water is reliably on in the morning hours, than often stops running in the afternoon and evening, so I have got my morning task cut out,eh?
My favorite appliance is: The Fan! It is a good bug repellent when it is blowing directly on you, and it cools you down adequately, most of the day. I use it also at night, because even though we sleep inside our China Tour Tent (i.e. fancy mosquito net with poles and zippers), I prefer to be cool all night, not just in the wee hours of the morning.
I have taken to letting my 5 year old girl have strawberry Fanta at lunchtime along with her meal of rice, chicken and vegetables many days. Wouldn’t be allowing such things in Duluth, but, heck, it’s hot, she’s getting adjusted too, and her diet here is pretty darn clean! Speaking of diet, we eat the standard fare for asia: white bread with jelly, peanut butter, and coffee tea milk. Hannah has quickly learned to enjoy powdered milk, bioth white and chocolate-with room temperature water. We do not currently have a refreigerator, nor do we know if we will get one, but we are getting used to buying food for one day. That is, vegetables at the market, tempeh from the kid walking by at 5pm yelling TempehTempeh, theese things for dinner, or beans, or corn, and haveing only a few non-perishable items in the house. We bought a 25lb. bag of rice, and, so far as I can tell, nothing has crawled into the bag yet. Hannah did discover yesterday that ants like sugar, but not powdered milk or Timor coffee. Our little tableside cups for these 3 items were, after nearly 2 weeks, discovered by the household ants, and I had to throw out the sugar. Now we will store it in a sealed recycled peanut butter jar.
I hope you yourself are enjoying your coffeepots, your washing machines, and your cars (we don’t have one yet), and please don’t take them for granted, and don’t forget about all the good exercise you are missing out on by having running water in your home! Love hearing from you, please keep writing,
Monica