On Thursday night, without warning, the water was cut at the school. The students and teachers living on campus couldn't take showers for Friday. My class reeked of BO and the school washrooms (which are pretty clean) suddenly turned into Chinese public washrooms that don't flush. What's more, the water didn't turn back on until Saturday, even though maintenance said it would come back on Friday.
Not having running water really put things into perspective for me. We Canadians are so lucky to have such good utilities and infrastructure to assure good utility. The school area's waterworks are pretty good most of the time. There are other places in the world that have it so much worse. But the worst part to me was the lack of warning. Bad waterworks, but worse communication.
Yesterday, Cathy and I brushed our teeth outside next to the only faucet that worked. It was behind the cafeteria and next to two sewer grates. The tap was slow and the area around it was muddy. Cathy washed her face and I took a sponge bath, developing world-style. Didn't trust the water all that much, so when I came back inside, I took a shot of Chivas Regal 18 year old scotch whisky.
On a lighter note, I'm off to Shanghai next weekend! My colleague Mitch is getting married and the boys are throwing him a bachelor's party on the Bund!
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