As we inch into summer, my first summer living on my own, I find that this is a season of utility management challenges. Fall and spring seem to have few utility challenges, with winter and summer having more. As this utility season starts, I remember the issues from when I lived with my host family, but they were already prepared and had several ways to mitigate. Primarily a secondary cooking source and a water cistern. I have neither of these so need to keep my water management up to date and have food available that I don't have to cook.
Water seems to be the easiest to manage since it is somewhat predictable. Water has good pressure until around eleven in the morning, then the water pressure either drops or there is no water at all. Water seems to return in the evening between five and six, but usually low pressure until ten. I think this has a lot to do with the watering of gardens that seems to begin around six. Lack of gas and electricity seem to be quite random but frequent. There is a lot of construction going on. Baku is hosting the first European Games next year and it seems that no matter where you go something is being dug up, paved, torn down and constructed.
Sunday's utility schedule was as follows: 9:00 am took sheets and towels over to my host family's house to use the washing machine while there was good pressure (a load takes just under two hours), water cut off just about then. Back home, hoped to make another cup of coffee - no gas. Read and finally made coffee, but no water. Went to the store and bought a chicken to roast for my upcoming week's protein. Got the chicken ready, no electricity until just before 9:00 pm, popped chicken in and ate just after 10:00. Since I had clean sheets, I wanted to take a shower and wash my hair. Initially no water then really low pressure. Took my shower anyway but washing and rinsing my hair took 3-4 times as long.
The chicken came out great and I went to bed clean. As the saying goes; all's well that ends well.
P.S. While I was washing my clothes, I asked my host mother for some potatoes. The potato crop is in. So off to the garden we went. First we hit up the tut (marionberry) tree and noshed a bit there, then on to the potatoes, red basil, cucumber, green beans, apricot, cherry tree and some fruit that has a stone and is tasty but I have no idea what it is. I came out of the garden with two small plastic bags with all of these items and she threw in four eggs. Cut down on my shopping list. Later there will be pomegrande, apple, figs, pears, carrots, tomatoes, and eggplant. The garden is large and a huge amount of work, but it provides lovely food.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Thursday, June 12, 2014
A typical day - #3 update
I went home last night and decided to try to figure out why the water to the sink in the house didn't run. After getting out my leatherman for its pliers, I unscrewed the faucet head and found it to be crusted with sediment. The dirt here has a lot of clay. I basically had to pry the encrusted clay and minerals off this plastic piece. Then I ran a sharp knife around to get into a small channel. Rinsed off the screens, put it all back together and voila, I have water in my house again. A little peeved with myself for taking so long to work on it, but alls well that ends well. This will reduce my water management time a lot.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
A typical day - #3
On Friday, June 14th I will mark the one year anniversary of my service. So I think it is time to go over a typical day. No day goes exactly the same, but this is a good example of a typical day.
8:30 - 9:30 - I start each day making coffee with my french press. It has become a ritual that I enjoy. My current coffee selection is coffee I bought on my recent trip to Italy (another pending post). I drink it with milk and a little sugar. I usually eat yogurt and muesli for breakfast. While I eat breakfast, I finish getting dressed, collect the items I want to take for the day and pack any food I need for lunch.
9:30 - Head out for work. A thirty minute walk. School is out and sometimes I see more kids playing in the road, but it really depends. Temp is currently in the low-80's when I head out. Usually listen to music on my IPod and often sing along. I pretty much know all the songs on my shuffle.
10:00 - 1:00 - Arrive at work Say hello to Mysick (English spelling of a Russian word) the clinic's dog. She is about 7 months old. A little nervous. Sometimes I have hot dogs to feed her. Head into the office and say hello to people I see and join my office mate, Sabina. Put any food that needs to refrigerated into the fridge and get a cup of instant coffee. Check email and news. I successfully applied for a SPA grant (small project grant) for a vision health care activity book. The end result will be the publication of an activity book to give to our younger patients. This should be completed early next year. I am still working on building databases and reports. Also, will begin working on updating financial report.
1:00 - lunch - I have been making pita bread about every three weeks. My typical lunch is half a pita with chicken/tuna/egg salad with vegetables and/or fruit. Yesterday I added a bag of chips. I'm still drinking Coke Zero and used to start one at lunch, however, it has become more difficult to find, as of late, so I save that item for when I get home from work.
1:30 - 4:00 - Continue working.
4:00 - Head home. If I want to go to the store on my way home, I either walk an extra ten minutes, catch a bus or a ride. I have a favorite market about a ten minute walk from my house. If it is really hot, I will buy an ice cream sandwich (dondurma) and eat on my walk home. Now that it is hot in the afternoons, I walk a little slower home.
5:00 - Put my groceries away and start the ritual of my evening coffee. Usually read for a little bit then start my evening chores. I have a few flowers that I started from seed, so I water them. They look a little on the sad side. Last night I decided to do some laundry. Whites, so I soaked them in bleach water and will finish tonight. Also, cooked chicken and made barbecue sauce for pulled chicken sandwiches. Water continues to be problematic. The water into my kitchen doesn't really work. I think it is plugged due to the dirt in the water. A chore for tonight. So I have to get water from the bathroom, which is close but still a hassle. With the weather getting hot, I need to make sure that I keep my drinking water supply up. This is a three step process, boil, cool, filter. We have Britta water filters, which are plastic, so I have to cool the water before filling. I also did dishes and made egg salad last night. It doesn't sound like I did a lot, but the time it takes to do each of these items is two/three/four times as long as it would take in the states. I listen to music and read during the wait times. I took a shower last night too. I currently don't have hot water so a shower can be a two step process, hair first than a quick shower. It is amazing how fast the evening passes. Some nights I head over to my host families for a chat, tea and frequently dinner.
9:00 - start to get ready for bed. This sometimes involves a batch or two of popcorn. Read a bit in bed and a game or two of solitaire or hearts and then off to sleep.
The pace of my day is slow, but they don't drag. Weekends often include a trip into Baku to meet with friends and have a cup of coffee. You can tell I'm from Seattle, coffee is an integral part of my day.
8:30 - 9:30 - I start each day making coffee with my french press. It has become a ritual that I enjoy. My current coffee selection is coffee I bought on my recent trip to Italy (another pending post). I drink it with milk and a little sugar. I usually eat yogurt and muesli for breakfast. While I eat breakfast, I finish getting dressed, collect the items I want to take for the day and pack any food I need for lunch.
9:30 - Head out for work. A thirty minute walk. School is out and sometimes I see more kids playing in the road, but it really depends. Temp is currently in the low-80's when I head out. Usually listen to music on my IPod and often sing along. I pretty much know all the songs on my shuffle.
10:00 - 1:00 - Arrive at work Say hello to Mysick (English spelling of a Russian word) the clinic's dog. She is about 7 months old. A little nervous. Sometimes I have hot dogs to feed her. Head into the office and say hello to people I see and join my office mate, Sabina. Put any food that needs to refrigerated into the fridge and get a cup of instant coffee. Check email and news. I successfully applied for a SPA grant (small project grant) for a vision health care activity book. The end result will be the publication of an activity book to give to our younger patients. This should be completed early next year. I am still working on building databases and reports. Also, will begin working on updating financial report.
1:00 - lunch - I have been making pita bread about every three weeks. My typical lunch is half a pita with chicken/tuna/egg salad with vegetables and/or fruit. Yesterday I added a bag of chips. I'm still drinking Coke Zero and used to start one at lunch, however, it has become more difficult to find, as of late, so I save that item for when I get home from work.
1:30 - 4:00 - Continue working.
4:00 - Head home. If I want to go to the store on my way home, I either walk an extra ten minutes, catch a bus or a ride. I have a favorite market about a ten minute walk from my house. If it is really hot, I will buy an ice cream sandwich (dondurma) and eat on my walk home. Now that it is hot in the afternoons, I walk a little slower home.
5:00 - Put my groceries away and start the ritual of my evening coffee. Usually read for a little bit then start my evening chores. I have a few flowers that I started from seed, so I water them. They look a little on the sad side. Last night I decided to do some laundry. Whites, so I soaked them in bleach water and will finish tonight. Also, cooked chicken and made barbecue sauce for pulled chicken sandwiches. Water continues to be problematic. The water into my kitchen doesn't really work. I think it is plugged due to the dirt in the water. A chore for tonight. So I have to get water from the bathroom, which is close but still a hassle. With the weather getting hot, I need to make sure that I keep my drinking water supply up. This is a three step process, boil, cool, filter. We have Britta water filters, which are plastic, so I have to cool the water before filling. I also did dishes and made egg salad last night. It doesn't sound like I did a lot, but the time it takes to do each of these items is two/three/four times as long as it would take in the states. I listen to music and read during the wait times. I took a shower last night too. I currently don't have hot water so a shower can be a two step process, hair first than a quick shower. It is amazing how fast the evening passes. Some nights I head over to my host families for a chat, tea and frequently dinner.
9:00 - start to get ready for bed. This sometimes involves a batch or two of popcorn. Read a bit in bed and a game or two of solitaire or hearts and then off to sleep.
The pace of my day is slow, but they don't drag. Weekends often include a trip into Baku to meet with friends and have a cup of coffee. You can tell I'm from Seattle, coffee is an integral part of my day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)