Daily life at the mansion

I may have given you the impression that home life here at the school is just like back on Oz. This is not so, as the photographic evidence shows:

The water supply is only cold water, both to the kitchen and bathroom. However, the Kenyans have a clever system where a small heater is attached to the shower rose. The water is 'heated' as it flows out the rose. As you can imagine, it doesn't get very hot, but in Kenya's climate that's quite okay. You must remember to turn on the water before the heater, and then turn off the heater before the water. Otherwise you will burn out the heater.

Of course, Kenya is a country where malaria is present. We take a daily tablet to prevent the disease but it is also common for houses and hotels catering to Westerners to have mosquito netting. Long pants, long-sleeve shirt and shoes are also advisable. Our travel doctor recommended "Bushman" insect repellent as well.

We have a stove that has three gas elements and one electric element. Often in the evening the power is out, so the gas stove is essential. Our supply comes from a 9kg bottle outside the kitchen. The first time we turned on the gas it leaked out the pipe and required repairs - sandwiches for tea that night.

The cold taps are not gravity fed. Water only flows when our pump is turned on. It is a small, inexpensive pump that we only use when we need to fill the toilet, use the shower of fill water containers. Water is double-filtered before we drink it.

This is the bore/well. If the bore runs dry all bets are off and there is no water in the school at all. This has happened once this week, probably because of the construction work that uses a large quantity of water. There is an obvious need for rainwater tanks - something that doesn't seem common in Kenya.

On the bright side, only one of these fruits and vegetables was NOT grown in the local area. The orange is from South Africa. All of the others (including Des' favourites of mango and paw paw) are readily available in the local market. Typical prices? 5 bananas for 25 cents, $1.90 for the pineapple, 50c for each large mango and about 25c for the small ones on top of the bowl, $1.20 for a kilo of tomatoes. These are local market prices, supermarkets can be double that. Basics like fruit, grains, flour and pulses are very cheap. Anything Western is about the same price we would pay in Australia.

SWAHELI LESSON:  Ndio Tafadhali  (yes please)