Appreciating the simple things in life…

November 25th 2005, 0805B

One thing I’m seriously looking forward to about coming home in February – second on the list after seeing my friends again – is a long hot shower. Ok, make that third on the list after a session of hot and nasty sex, but the hot shower is far more likely to happen first and will be greatly appreciated all the same. And when I say a long hot shower, I mean a loooong hot shower, or at least until the hot water runs out – I’ve only got a small geyser, & when Ash was living with me I’d fairly often only get a lukewarm shower by the time she’d finished. I’ve not had a hot shower in over four months now, and this freezing my tits off in the shower every morning shit is for the birds. We’re not far from the equator here, so it gets pretty bloody warm most days – today is an exception though – but it’s still pretty cool in the mornings, and a cold shower is still a cold shower and not a whole shit load of fun.
I’m very happy I ended up coming to Burundi early though, & went through the “small mob” at Snake Valley in Pretoria ‘cause that only lasted 3 days, & while the accommodation was basic it was comfortable enough. The poor bastards who came up in August went through the full 3 week mob phase at de Brug in Bloem, living jammed together like sardines in tents, with only cold water in the showers. And for those of you who’ve never been to Bloem before let me tell you that it’s still bloody cold in August, as I’m sure Rich (Lacuna) will attest. That the army, after over 4 years of using de Brug to mobilise & deploy personnel for external missions, still hasn’t made a plan to provide reliable hot water is reprehensible.

You know, I may be complaining about cold showers & so on, but actually they serve a useful purpose, beyond the obvious one of getting clean – they help teach you an appreciation for the basic things in life, the day to day shit that 99% of us take for granted. Flush toilets? Something else I’ve not seen in 4 months. Reliable cell comms? Add that to the list. Being able to, on a whim, call up your friends & organise to get together for lunch is something I desperately miss. Access to electricity hasn’t been too bad here – pretty damn good in the context of a deployment actually – but it’s not as if there’s a power point whenever & wherever you want, or that there’s power all the time anyway when you do have access to an outlet. It’s often off for a good 2 hours or so a day here in Muramvya for example. And hot running water is another thing I’ve very rarely experienced since I’ve been here. Running water of any sort isn’t exactly widespread for that matter. Another thing you often take for granted is food, not in terms of availability but rather choice. Being in a position to go to Spar and buy what you want to eat, and then having the choice as to when you’ll actually have a meal, unlike here where you get whatever the chefs have fit into a pot & then turned into shit at the same time every bloody day. For the most part the food isn’t too bad, & the rations we get from the UN are pretty damn good actually, but an army chef is an army chef with all that implies. We’ve had liver two days running for supper now, and just the smell of that shit turns my stomach. Given that I’ve missed lunch on both days because I’ve been busy, all I’ve eaten since Tuesday has been CornFlakes, so you can well imagine just how pleased I was when I saw what was on the menu. It’s probably also not very difficult to imagine just how much I’m looking forward to the gnocci tricalore at Spigga when I get back. And the pork chow mein from Maan Hing, or the muffins at the Mugg & Bean. I’m also really missing my regular beer while I’m here, the Firkins brew, or the Notties beer when I can get it in Durban. I mean, I quite enjoy Primus – the best thing about Burundi, actually lol – and it’s far better than the SAB lagers, but given the choice I’d be drinking my usual Milk & Honey Ale, or Pickled Pig instead. It’s a good thing that I’m only going to be at home for about two weeks in this regard – any longer & I’d be the size of a bloody house by the time my leave ended :P And likely very broke, which is more of a problem because I’ve never really struggled to lose weight.

Anyway, I’ve got to finish this off for now as work beckons. I’ll likely update this again pretty soon, but cheers till then ;)