Water

On the one hand, it's everywhere. It's the rainy season after all.

On Tuesday night, I had my worst experience so far in Nigeria. Heading out to watch the semi-final match at the home of a colleague of some Dutch volunteers, we felt a few drops of rain. We had looked at the map and decided it was close enough to walk to his house (where we had never been before). Maybe 20-30 minutes walk, so we left around 6.30pm: it gets dark around 7pm. Around halfway there, the storm clouds were such that it was pretty much already dark; and then the heavens opened. Proper, full-on thunder and lightning, torrential rain - the stuff of horror movies. This did not go down well with my phobia of the wind.

So we're walking along a road (no pavements) in almost pitch black, not knowing where we're going, and in a torrential thunder storm. We got to what was probably only around 50m from our destination when we decided to turn back - we were drenched to the skin, I was in tears and we still had no idea what the house looked like even if we could see it with our headtorch. So we then had to do the whole journey in reverse but by this time the dusty areas at the side of the road were fast-flowing rivers so we actually had to walk on the road, dodging cars and okadas as they zoomed past. We hadn't taken our helmets, because we thought we'd be walking, but even so I might have considered taking a bike if they hadn't looked so scary driving along in the dark and the rain.

I think I have decided pretty much not to travel at night. Which is a bummer, because that means I have to be home so that rules out a pretty hefty chunk of any potential social life. BUT we found out this week that the house our employer has secured for us is right next door to two other volunteers, so we can at least socialise with them!! (I think I can face the few steps back to our house afterwards!)

On another hand, it's nowhere (water, that is). 

I'm really finding the lack of running, drinkable water really suffocating. Suddenly realising that you only have half a bottle of water left, it's too later to buy any and you don't have the means to purify what may or may not come out of the tap, can be quite panicking actually.

It brings me new appreciation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I totally notice the difference in my ability to focus, to work and to communicate with others depending on my environment. When I'm in a conference hall of a hotel (like today) with air conditioning, free bottled water, a regular supply of food and pretty reliable electricity (most of the hotels have generators), I feel so much more alive and alert!