Today was our first full day in country that we were totally on our own without any orientation.  I was in my pajamas all day.  Easy, relaxing day, right?  Not exactly.

I began the morning by washing a load of EB’s clothes.  I started the load at about 8:00 am.  Right now, at 9:00 pm, it is still unfinished in the washer.  One reason it never finished is because of the sporadic electricity throughout the day.  After lunch, because the water was dripping in so slowly, DB added 6 pots of water to the load.  The washing machine is in the 3rd floor hallway, and after restarting the load with the additional water, DB and I went downstairs to the second floor to work on unpacking in EB’s room (EB was napping in our room).  As we worked, we noticed the washing machine seemed rather loud.  DB stuck his head out of the door, made an unintelligible remark, and sprinted away.  Stunned, I too stuck my head out the door to see a waterfall coming down over the ledge from the third floor.  After much cleaning of the gorgeous marble floor and stairway, DB discovered that the issue that led to the torrential downpour could be traced back to the drain for the washing machine.  Apparently, it was stuck lightly into the drain in the wall with only a plastic bag to hold it in place – and the pipe within the wall slanted uphill.  DB (my own personal Magyver) fixed this problem just as the plumber arrived to install a western toilet in one of the bathrooms.  The plumber arrived on a bicycle with the toilet tied to it with string.  I would give anything to have had a camera at that moment.

I was not present for the installation of the toilet, so I will let DB give details about it in his blog, but I will say that the plumber lit a bonfire inside the toilet as a part of the installation process.

Our refrigerator doesn’t work, but it doesn’t matter because the temperature inside the kitchen is usually somewhere around 40 degrees, and we have to boil water to wash dishes because the hot water in our kitchen doesn’t work.  The plumber claimed he fixed it, and he definitely did something, because the water pressure in our shower is now non existent.  He is coming back tomorrow for the third day in a row to hopefully take care of the rest of our plumbing issues.  I suggesting finding a different plumber, but apparently, he is the best one we have had yet.  While this all seems relatively harsh, I must say that we live in a brand new house with hand painted ceilings, and in our kitchen, to the great excitement of the the man showing us the house for the first time, all of the cabinet doors and kitchen drawers work very well.

This evening when I asked the guard to go buy us some bread for dinner (we buy it fresh everyday for 25 cents) I had EB on my back in her backpack.  (We do not have a rug in the kitchen yet, and I do not want her crawling around on the cold marble floor, so I usually keep her in the backpack while working in there).  The guard interrupted my request to give me a lecture on the fact that EB was sucking her thumb, which he apparently thought was not good.  I understood that he said “not good” and using hand motions he repeatedly put this thumb in his mouth and removed it and explained about how detrimental it is for a child to suck their thumb.  I did not understand his words, but I got his meaning for sure.

Seriously, this was my day.  DB and I laughed and laughed this evening as we talked over the day and all of the crazy events – this is actually our life.