The locals tell me they wash the floors of their homes every single day. Sometimes I look at my tiles and I don't see anything wrong with them. Then I get the mop and bucket out and I'm shocked at the state of the water; it's always dark brown to black. I suppose it's the dust in the air, which comes in constantly, as the vents in the walls are permanently open and the doors are open during the day.
I don't mind really as it's a bit of exercise. Today I was typing my Nigeria 1981 notes and I'd mentioned cleaning my house in Kano when I first arrived. I was told it had been cleaned but their 'clean' and my 'clean' were totally different. They'd mopped the floor but had splashed the dirty water up the walls. I got that sorted out and then I had to tackle the floor. The walls had been painted white but the lads had splattered the paint all over the floor. I lost count of the number of razor blades I went through. I don't suppose the lads had seen a fridge before so they didn't bother looking inside. It was in an awful state, dirty and with lots of leftover food. After cleaning it I noticed there was only one hinge on the door and so I reported it to the school principal. He sent a workman to fix it but his idea of fixing the door was to remove the other hinge, supposedly to buy another one the same, but he never ever came back and so, from 1981 to 1984, whenever I needed something from the fridge I had to lift off the door and prop it up against the wall.
My Phnom Penh shower has started to behave itself after over a year of use. Up until recently I'd have a shower and turn off the water so I could stand at the sink and have a shave. Invariably water would start coming out of the shower head and I'd end up having a second shower. Again, I don't complain. When I was in Nigeria I had to inspect the dormitories and toilets every Saturday with an Indian teacher. I felt sorry for her because she'd be dressed in a sari and dainty sandals which were hopeless for the inspection. Water constantly dripped and algae were everywhere. The green slime would clog up the drains and there'd be water everywhere. It took us 1 1/2 hours to inspect the 16 dormitories and 9 toilet/shower complexes.
One day I was called to the dorms because a lad, Murtalla, had slipped on the algae and bashed his head against the shower wall. There were no ambulances so we put him in the back of my VW Beetle and took him to the hospital. The poor lad died from a brain hemorrhage. Phyllis and I collected all his belongings and visited his family. We had a photo of Murtalla and we gave it, along with his belongings, to the father. He refused to accept them. He said, "I know no Murtalla". I guess he was too grief stricken to know what to do.
Spending time in Japan forced me to learn how to use their complicated toilet system. I know people with automated showers that give the same temperature of water every time they step into the shower. After seeing what I've seen, I'm happy with what I've got.
The young boys I know are provided with a lunch every day when one of the office staff takes a meal to school for them. This is instead of eating the school canteen food. Today I asked Samnang if he'd had the Ta Krung for lunch that I'd had yesterday. He said, "No! I ate canteen food. It's too stinky and I have my reputation to look after." I brought him recipe books from Canada but he never uses them. Today he decided to do a sweet and sour dish and he just hunted through my shelves looking for this and that to put into it. I thought I'd befuddle him and said, "We'll do a flambé on Monday." He knew what I was talking about and was already planning how to do it. At his age I think I knew how to boil an egg!
The lads are at their Chinese class so I've no idea if anyone is coming over this evening. I'll have to kick them out early tomorrow as I have to go to the airport to meet a young man from Nagaland who is coming here for three months to do some volunteering work. I have a Naga blanket so I should put it on his bed to surprise him and make him feel at home.
