My room has an L-shape , with other part of the L containing the bathroom. When you enter my room you see two twin beds looking like fourposters and vinyl flooring looking like laminate wood. One bed I use as a flat surface to put books, shawls, computer case. The other one which I sleep in has mosquito netting, which fits over the top of the fourposter and comes all the way to the floor. In the twenty first century mosquito netting is colored and printed so mine is pink with large flowers on it, Very well designed and easy to work with. Between the beds is a little side table, which has our electric water heater. I have coffee and tea but no milk, since I don't have a fridge. Should I try getting used to powdered milk? We can have cookies, but if we don't eat them all or dispose of them properly, the sugar ants will come in droves. Ah, the lessons one has to learn.
There are three panels of windows which face the west, sort of, and there are curtains which block out the light pretty well. Our backyard meets St. Michael's School, where I teach. I can usually hear raucous noise from about 7 am (kids screaming with joy?) There are no screens, and I would like to open them but humid air comes in with or without insects. So I use the air conditioner. It's where the wall and ceiling come together; it has a remote control and you can dial-a-temp; It also has a fan in the air conditioner. Then there's the heavy duty ceiling fan, which is great except when you're trying to sleep. I think we'll use a combination of them, until you decide which is more comfortable for you.
Anyway, back to the windows. From my view I can see the cows grazing, the chickens roosting and how the vegetable garden is coming. We thought there wasn't going to be a garden for awhile, because the young man hired to be the farmer let the seed potatoes rot and basically did nothing for his wages. The diocese bought a tractor and when I came it was left in the mud under some trees. The farmer lost his job, of course, and there was no one to replace him for several months. This is prime planting season for the winter crop. Well, the new farmer hit the ground running, planting tomatoes, chilies, cauliflower, eggplant and other vegetables. Then THE CREW attacked the tractor. The bad farmer had stolen all the tools from the tractor, and it had tires that were like cleats. then I saw real tires on it, and a bunch of us went to cheer THE CREW on. A farm machinery expert was there. It's a crank motor, so several of the young men and boys had to learn how to crank it fast enough. Then there's the whole carburetor deal, and the Bishop's wife (who knows about machinery and engines) tweaked something, and with five other 'consultants' it was running in five minutes. Now, how to plough ground? I saw three kids about 12 sitting on a plank with three nails in the dirt, being the furrow-makers. Now almost all of it is ploughed and planted. We hope that in a few years we can grow most of our own food, especially potatoes, since that is such a staple.
Back to my room. When I'm in the bed, I look directly at a kitchen sink and a marble cabinet top. it could be turned into a little kitchen, but it hasn't been yet. So I look around my room. I bought a neat steel desk with three drawers and an office chair. I also bought a steel armoire which is painted to look like honey oak Pretty good resemblance. There is a door with a full length mirror (the girls come in all the time to look at themselves and laugh.) There are three shelves in it for tops, slacks, underwear, etc. but not a place to .hang anything. There's another door below it. The other side looks somewhat like a clothes stand, but it's challenging to hang anything there, although my hangers fit on the top rung. Below that is a glass sliding door about 8 inches high and then another much larger space below where the door works like a barrister bookcase. I have a really good desk chair and another plastic chair for you to sit in.
Do you need to 'freshen up?' Most non-Indians (including myself at first) do not understand all the possibilities in this room. There's a fine toilet, and corner sink. The hardware is the standard of Kohler: solid and beautiful. You say, "Where can I take my bath?" You can't. There's a five gallon plastic tub and another 3 cup pitcher. There's also a spiral shower head like we have, and then you're on your own for awhile. All the other knobs produce water of all kinds from several different places. You can get hot water if you use the 'geezer' high above all the plumbing and turn it on. It heats the water, but I had months of cold showers before someone told me how to use it. They're kind of bracing, if you don't think about it. If you want to use the tubs, fill them with as much water as you need. Use your scrubbee, lather up good and there you are clean. You use the little pitcher to rinse yourself off with, and go back into the tub for some more water. The system works well, and you use very little water. I use the shower head to wash my hair. Now here's the neat part. If there's no tub, where does the water run out? The floor is slightly raked to the back of the room where the toilet is. There is a very large pipe connecting to the outside. You just pour your buckets of water toward the toilet, and it just runs down the pipe until it reaches the gutter below. Now that we've had tea and you got a chance to freshen up, how about we walk to the market?
There are three panels of windows which face the west, sort of, and there are curtains which block out the light pretty well. Our backyard meets St. Michael's School, where I teach. I can usually hear raucous noise from about 7 am (kids screaming with joy?) There are no screens, and I would like to open them but humid air comes in with or without insects. So I use the air conditioner. It's where the wall and ceiling come together; it has a remote control and you can dial-a-temp; It also has a fan in the air conditioner. Then there's the heavy duty ceiling fan, which is great except when you're trying to sleep. I think we'll use a combination of them, until you decide which is more comfortable for you.
Anyway, back to the windows. From my view I can see the cows grazing, the chickens roosting and how the vegetable garden is coming. We thought there wasn't going to be a garden for awhile, because the young man hired to be the farmer let the seed potatoes rot and basically did nothing for his wages. The diocese bought a tractor and when I came it was left in the mud under some trees. The farmer lost his job, of course, and there was no one to replace him for several months. This is prime planting season for the winter crop. Well, the new farmer hit the ground running, planting tomatoes, chilies, cauliflower, eggplant and other vegetables. Then THE CREW attacked the tractor. The bad farmer had stolen all the tools from the tractor, and it had tires that were like cleats. then I saw real tires on it, and a bunch of us went to cheer THE CREW on. A farm machinery expert was there. It's a crank motor, so several of the young men and boys had to learn how to crank it fast enough. Then there's the whole carburetor deal, and the Bishop's wife (who knows about machinery and engines) tweaked something, and with five other 'consultants' it was running in five minutes. Now, how to plough ground? I saw three kids about 12 sitting on a plank with three nails in the dirt, being the furrow-makers. Now almost all of it is ploughed and planted. We hope that in a few years we can grow most of our own food, especially potatoes, since that is such a staple.
Back to my room. When I'm in the bed, I look directly at a kitchen sink and a marble cabinet top. it could be turned into a little kitchen, but it hasn't been yet. So I look around my room. I bought a neat steel desk with three drawers and an office chair. I also bought a steel armoire which is painted to look like honey oak Pretty good resemblance. There is a door with a full length mirror (the girls come in all the time to look at themselves and laugh.) There are three shelves in it for tops, slacks, underwear, etc. but not a place to .hang anything. There's another door below it. The other side looks somewhat like a clothes stand, but it's challenging to hang anything there, although my hangers fit on the top rung. Below that is a glass sliding door about 8 inches high and then another much larger space below where the door works like a barrister bookcase. I have a really good desk chair and another plastic chair for you to sit in.
Do you need to 'freshen up?' Most non-Indians (including myself at first) do not understand all the possibilities in this room. There's a fine toilet, and corner sink. The hardware is the standard of Kohler: solid and beautiful. You say, "Where can I take my bath?" You can't. There's a five gallon plastic tub and another 3 cup pitcher. There's also a spiral shower head like we have, and then you're on your own for awhile. All the other knobs produce water of all kinds from several different places. You can get hot water if you use the 'geezer' high above all the plumbing and turn it on. It heats the water, but I had months of cold showers before someone told me how to use it. They're kind of bracing, if you don't think about it. If you want to use the tubs, fill them with as much water as you need. Use your scrubbee, lather up good and there you are clean. You use the little pitcher to rinse yourself off with, and go back into the tub for some more water. The system works well, and you use very little water. I use the shower head to wash my hair. Now here's the neat part. If there's no tub, where does the water run out? The floor is slightly raked to the back of the room where the toilet is. There is a very large pipe connecting to the outside. You just pour your buckets of water toward the toilet, and it just runs down the pipe until it reaches the gutter below. Now that we've had tea and you got a chance to freshen up, how about we walk to the market?
Loving your posts! Take care. :) - Kalai
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