Water

There has been a big water shortage the last few months.  We have only been getting water every few days because the city is trying to distribute it equally.  We have big tubs all over our house that we fill whenever there is water.  We also have a rain water tank that can be used as a back up.  The campus water supply often runs out before we get water again and this usually means that students walk to the river to fill buckets for bathing.

But the water has been particularly bad recently.  In fact, we went a week without getting any water.  This has meant that afternoon classes have been cancelled a lot so the older students can bring back buckets of water from the river to use for washing dishes and clothes. 

Yesterday, we had used up nearly all of the water in the house and the tank only had about 12 inches of water left in it.  We were having to make tough decisions about what to wash and clean since we didn't know when we would have water again.  The water left in the tank was also very dirty and yellow.  We weren't feeling particularly comfortable with cooking, drinking or bathing with it even after we filter and boil it.

But just when thinks started to look desperate, the water turned on a few hours ago!  It has been flowing for a couple of hours.  We've filled up everything in our house and we hope the water says on long enough to fill all the students' buckets as well!

Pasho

Patricio has always been old for his age.  But this experience has already taught him so much more than we could have anticipated.  But I think what amazes me most is how much he continues to teach me.  This past weekend in Mwanza, we took some time to talk about how they last few months have gone for each of us.  We had set some goals for ourselves and we wanted to see how we've all done.  I will readily admit that when we got to Mwanza, I was pretty exhausted and feeling down about everything.  I go through pretty regular cycles of culture shock and frustration. 

During our discussion, I was talking about how I really wanted to fix my attitude before we headed back to Bukoba.  To that, Patricio replied, 'You just have to look past the bad.  Think about the positive.  You can always find something good past the bad.  Even if it is just one thing, it's there.'  We've only been back a few days and I've already told myself to 'look past the bad' at least 5 times.  My boy, Patricio, who by the way, has more nicknames than I can count now....is pretty amazing.  (Nicknames include: Pato, given at birth, Ticho, given by Nino, and now Pasho, given by his friends at KEMPS.  I often wonder which he'll stick with.....)

A Weekend in Mwanza

After feeling a little run down from all of the activities and classes we have been working on, we decided to take a weekend away.  We traveled across Lake Victoria to Mwanza.  Normally, there is an overnight ferry.  But it isn't running so we decided to have our first bus adventure.  It was definitely an adventure.  It took about 10 hours to get to the hotel and at the end of the trip, the bus itself ended up boarding a ferry to make the last leg of the trip to Mwanza. The bus was small and crowded. There were passengers that stood for hours because there were no seats.  It rained quite a bit and some of the windows were broken.  So the people seated next to those windows were soaked.  And of course, there was a chicken on the bus....at one point it got free and wandered up and down the aisle.

But the trip was worth it.  The hotel had a swimming pool and a playground.  We got to eat delicious, prepared meals and take hot showers.  We felt rested and ready to finish off the last few weeks before Easter break.  I'm sure we'll be visiting again soon....but we may wait for the ferry to be up and running again!