stories of light and water
I can still remember what I wrote in my last blog entries from the old year (from October). If I may quote myself: "It's nice that the water for showering does not need to get from a well. [...] Until now we had only four days without water and even a brief power outages. "As irony of fate, we had after I wrote it, first for a while no more water.
At first we could use the shower or the water from the water canisters. When this was less and less, however, we switched to rain water from the well / hole in the garden. I was initially somewhat affected this water use. It seemed to me to make more dirty than clean. It was so sad that in the water buckets (< 10 Liter) nie den Grund sehen konnte. Oft musste man auch erstmal eine Schicht Erde und Holzsplitter von der Oberfläche entfernen, bevor das es benutzbar war (einmal sogar einen Frosch!). Ein Satz zum Wäschewaschen: Es hat einem in der Seele weh getan, ein weißes Hemd in dunkelbraues Wasser zu legen – erstaunlicherweise ist es aber sauber geworden!
Fetching water itself was initially an art in itself. You had namely a small bucket (on a string) in the "Fountain" to throw to again fill a large bucket. It is of course never come up that he has the same filled with water. Thus, you had to throw it back and forth several times, or throw. At the beginning I used safely for 5-10 minutes to fill a (large) bucket to shower and then go - really just a matter of endurance.
After one to two weeks, I had no problem with the whole. It was just annoying,
morning one had to urgently go to the bathroom, but before that was allowed to draw first of all have a bucket of water. As I had contracted from eating salmonella poisoning and diarrhea because often sat on the toilet, which was especially great!
so pulled the unnecessarily for four weeks that we had no water. We already scratch slowly at the bottom of the well and the water was always dirty. My host father had brought experience in that pipe work had on the whole debt. Apparently used pipes, dating back to colonial times, and finally replaced. Law was strange but then, not as the surrounding houses in our area with water again, only we had! My host father decided by the Board of Swesco-area to investigate the matter itself. Ultimately, it came out that we had forgotten after the end of a water supply pipe work to unlock. Therefore, we had 10 days of the four weeks for nothing have to do without water ...
in my quote from the beginning, I had also spoken of Stromauffällen. Which have recently also frequent. Once even almost a week (at the affected approximately 150,000 people were). As you have noticed how dark it eigenlich in the night. However, we have equipped with candles. My host sister, who often gets up at night to learn, had built on the ground a circle around candles. As they sat on the floor and let their books. It looked as if they perform an occult ritual. The only difference was probably the appearance that you are normal in a ritual presents more of a white, old priest with long dark robe. Abena, my host sister, but a black girl and likes to wear white, short shirts. It looked funny in anyway.
However, it was quite interesting a few days to get along without electricity - and above all quiet like that! There was no loud chatter of the radio announcer and television showed no Nigerian Soups, which is so often argued loudly! So it was at least the first few days, because then my host father had bought a generator, the at least a few hours of electricity generated at night. He was not as expected, before the house, but in the hallway to the shower and toilet located. to take well to less regard for the neighbors, rather him to steal can not be. The first time I thought, my host father had put the generator in the shower room (not hallway) so I went on my way to the toilet. When I opened the hallway but came to meet me smoke and I closed the door immediately. This meant that every time you wanted to go to the bathroom, you had to unlock the three locks at the entrance trying not to hit the leg at the garden (because of my size, with me instead of the leg rather ...Hüft-/Lendenbereich) and a few meters had to step out into the darkness ...
Nevertheless, I must honestly say that I think power outages from time to time very pleasant. If I'm just at work, of course, rather less. Because that was also often the case. Reminder: I am an ICT (computer) teacher here! If during one of my classes suddenly the screen went black, a loud groan from the class action was heard. Some did not hesitate, just get up to leave the room. I had to quote back once again and I have always tried to complete the topics in theoretical way, at least halfway. Since you can not really predict how long a power outage here, I am often several hours sitting alone in the computer room or have talked with a few teachers. A power cut is here labeled the "light-off" (~ light off). Some Light-off lasted only half an hour, but half the day. Blame it on the voltage leaks large hydropower stations in the Volta Region (So I've at least understood). As long as the power failure was that I had written on the top, the ground was quite different! How
had gotten around after a few days ago, was stolen in one night on the way from Accra to Winneba Junction, part of the long distance power cables from the poles. Now you wonder why and how in heaven's sake can someone steal a long stretch cord - At least that was my reaction to it. The answer is not much consideration. There were no rebels, who by this action, would bring something politically. The thieves did not allow the goal to be a raid by a power failure. That would be for me the most obvious answer been. No, they were really bent on the cable itself. The cable consists mainly of copper, whose market value is currently quite high! It really seems to be nothing to speak in what people hold. On how they managed to climb the masts and druchtrennen a power cord that is under high tension, I can only make the assumption that these masts probably not as high as here in Germany and the installation was probably not very solid. If the gross infrastructure of the power system considered here in Swedru, which is very likely.
any case, there is almost an almost week to repair the cable, and apparently it was not possible the power grid redirect. The thieves could be taken a little later. What awaits them in prison here, we did not prefer to talk about it.
Currently there are plans for a major dam project in central Ghana. If the project is implemented, the problems with water and electricity supply will be less, in Ghana, compared to other West African countries, already low.
So, enough writing, I will go myself now in the illuminated shower room and a bath - with the awareness that it is not selbstveständlich!
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