Pretty in Pink

I'm afraid that I can't verify the title of this blog as there is only one small, mirror in the Pink House however Laurie, Dori and I have big plans for our new home.

Situated about 11km outside Kafanchan at the base of a beautiful hill, the Pink House is located on Waterboard Road in Kagoro, a village that boasts two tarred roads (although not including our own), a vibrant Saturday market and one of the most famous New Year's celebrations in the region.

Unlike our predecessor and current room-mate Glenn (the Canuck Amuck) we have had a wonderful welcome from all quarters including Glenn himself, our neighbour and fellow VSO volunteer John Kiza from Uganda and the Fantsuam Foundation. This meant that we could be shown how to work the kerosene lamps and stoves, the water barrels and water filter; we were introduced formally to Yashem and Peter (the guards that make up our 24 hour security system), Victoria (who will do our sweeping and laundry) and our neighbours including Chief Dominic and his children, as well as Jacob, Tabita, Cecilia and Justina. Most importantly, we know how to get to the place that sells the (occasionally cool) beer.

Some of our neighbours

It's true we have next to no electricity, and running water for only about an hour a day however it's certainly not difficult to survive, particularly with our four-strong house party. The house is spacious and we have three lavatories and two showers (I use the term loosely as the shower head rarely works, but it makes an excellent spot for a bucket wash). The floors are mainly concrete and the curtains makeshift however we are all confident that it will make us a very comfortable home. We will post pictures as the improvements begin!

My room...

Yesterday we made our first trip to the Kagoro Saturday market - an extremely lively and surprisingly large local market where you can purchase all of your basic needs. Our neighbour Tabita kindly accompanied us to help us negotiate good prices and we were able to return, fully loaded having spent only 7,500 Naira, about £35 between the three of us.

On Sunday we took a morning walk to the Water Board source (at the top of our road) at the foot of our mountain.

We really are in a beautiful location and even VSO neighbours who came to visit yesterday from neighbouring village Gidanwaya (I think...) commented on how clean it was. Of course everything is relative.