Utilities

Sometimes I wonder about the water supply here, even when I boil it. Julie and I were walking back from hospice yesterday, when we saw a dead dog in a stream that feeds into our city’s water supply. Yuck. I have been nursing a sick stomach for a few days. I was trying to hold off on the antibiotics until today, giving my body a chance to build up its own defenses, but now I feel like I am a little behind the eight ball. No telling the cause. Although we all eat the same food, everyone seems to get sick on a different schedule in the house. This week is my turn.

We passed by some construction while we were walking to our patients' houses this morning. It always amazes me we can walk in these construction zones which are plentiful around the city. There are no protective barriers or safety zones. Everyone in the neighborhood, including children, can walk behind or between moving bulldozers, 12 foot deep ditches and open man holes, one step away from losing one’s life or limb if you are not mindful where you tread. Today I am feeling less than stellar, so I was grateful our two patients today were almost non- visits. One declined a bath due to some newly placed skin patches that need to stay dry and the other had his water cut off. He had awoken to find his house without water because the water meter had been stolen in the middle of the night for its copper.

Utility theft is not that uncommon. There is a market for copper. The thieves usually strike in the middle of the night and you have to admire some of their skill. Last week we found the top electrical power line across the street was cut and removed. Somehow they managed to climb up the utility pole and cut it without being electrocuted. Fortunately, it did not leave us without electricity.

One of the girls is making a great lunch in celebration of her birthday today but I think I am going to have to stick with rice for now. Birthdays are huge here and someone always has one so there is always a party going on somewhere. The custom is to invite and serve your guests so if you are a guest, you are sitting pretty. The birthday person usually ends up having all the work and expense.

Our thoughts have turned to Thanksgiving but due to other expenses this month, we will probably be making a modest show of it. On a positive note, my Spanish continues to improve. Everyone is very patient and supportive. Thursdays I have two tutors that come to the house and participate in an exchange of half conversation in English and half conversation in Spanish. Sometimes, when I utter an intelligible sentence, I get the look of surprise from those who have come to expect less. Their facial expressions read as if the cat just spoke to them. I guess I should be flattered. I still have a long way to go, but I am starting to get compliments on my progress. Poco a poco.