Another old pic...
Ah, so the water that came back on, on Friday evening
was only for the evening and the taps have been dry again since yesterday
morning. Today we had a teaser of
about 20 minutes in which the water temporarily came back on. Of course we never know when it’s going
to happen or how long it will last.
Thank God I was actually here when it came back on and Buyana heard a
neighbor rejoice that we have water again, so we quickly filled up the empty
bottles and I started some washing.
I was desperate for a shower, so left the second
bundle to soak and grabbed my towel to head for the shower. When I got there, the water had already
stopped and the bucket I was filling to rinse the second load was only a
quarter full… I managed to wash
those clothes too and rinse it all in the little bit of clean water as Buyana
sat with his hands full of clay, waiting for me to finish with the water so he
could wash his hands in it. Then
it started drizzling as well. I
think that might have helped for the washing that wasn’t extremely well rinsed
out.
Later the sun came out a bit and the washing got
mostly dry. I made a dall, lentil,
chickpea curry type dish with Basmati and we happily munched away and swayed to
our neighbors’ regular Sunday tunes (or should I say tune, cause they seem to
have only one) blaring in the background.
Apiwhe arrived and was just in time for the last
helping of food. Then the boys
drew some pictures, read a little bit and I read a little bit for them. Oh and Aphiwe tried very hard to get me
to pronounce the Xhosa words: Bhala (write) and bala (count) correctly! I tell you, I just don’t hear the
difference but apparently there is a big difference… Hope I get it right some day!
Then it really started to rain, so I got the bucket,
tub and a couple of bottle filled.
Awesome. That means I’m
about as clean as I’m going to get right now, without a shower or a bath.
That reminds me of my other two children, the little
Fika and Snooks. I saw them
yesterday evening when I went to Jah Drum with my drum. They were outside in the road and I
invited them to come with me. So
we had a good time, taking turns to play drum and chatting.
Later we got a bit hungry so we went over to Bomvu to
share a plate of chips. It was so
much fun with these two, it felt for a moment like we were sitting in Milky
Lane or somewhere, past their bedtime on a Saturday night (not that they really
have a bedtime…) and enjoying each other’s company like a little family! After the chips they wanted to go and
dance a little so we went for a couple of songs. Their mother works at the bar, so it was good to see her
too. Otherwise the night was
ours… Only three quiet backpackers
sitting and enjoying the entertainment we were giving. Snooks and Fika played with the
microphone, testing it out and shouting ‘Kaboom!’. At about 8 I reckoned we head homewards and I took the two
little ones home. I parked my car
in the road below their house and watched them as they walked the last bit to
the house.
I reckon I’d like to appoint myself as their
unofficial au-pair, just wish I had a functioning home to share with them.
Although these two are probably the most advantaged kids in this village
(Snooks’ English is already much better than most people here, much older than
her), they still possibly have never even had a real bath and many other things
we completely take for granted…
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