Creature Comforts

Our return to Mountain High Hospital after Easter break brought home two important lessons that all Peace Corps Volunteers must learn; Never get in the shower without looking in all four corners. Lesson two; Always inspect the contents of your toilet before plopping yourself down and letting it happen.

We returned to our South African home at Mountain High Hospital after touring the back roads and small towns of the Cape. I missed the patients, our comfortable cozy flat and the beauty of this mountain site. However, after a week of living with power, water (even hot water) and a rental car it is hard to go back to the challenges of life in rural Africa. Interestingly enough, the discomforts vary from day to day and hour to hour so one is always surprised. We opened the door to our flat and found water and electricity; so far so good. The food in the refrigerator had not rotted and the hot water poured out of the tap like a geyser. I lifted up the toilet lid and shrieked at the first surprise- Mr. Toad was swimming in the toilet bowl with arms flaying and legs hyper extended. I quickly shoved the lid down and called for my US Army Artillery trained husband to take action. His fighting words were “just flush”. The pour soul was flushed back to his home in the pipes that run down the hillside.

We take showers at night because the tap is dry in the mornings and hot water is a scarce as a fast food restaurant in this neck of the woods. The shower is situated in our small kitchen with limited lighting. I stepped in, sorely in need of ablution (a South African word for all bathing and washing activities). A toad jumped up at me from the dark corners of the shower. I screamed and called for my sweet husband to come with our special toad hunting net. South African toilets are shrouded in lace and frou frou which makes for the perfect toad catcher. He found the lace netting decorated with maroon ribbons and grabbed that toad with an amazing expertise. (of course last year toad season yielded approximately 20 hits in our flat with none in our bed, fortunately). With immense gratitude toward the husband of the year, I bravely traipsed back into the shower getting ready for warm water and the comfort of a clean body after a long journey home. EEK, the father toad leaped out at me from the dark corner of the shower! I screamed and my faithful husband returned with our lacy toad catcher, ran to the door of our flat and threw him out into the night with his progeny. So has toad season started? Peace Corps manuals do not explain the true seasons of the year or cycles of experience. However, we are more experienced at dealing with surprises from nature, although old people do not appreciate being surprised, especially after the first cute toad is spotted. The other side of the mountain experience is that there is utter quiet at night, the beautiful birds are returning to devour the guava and pear trees, and the patients are so happy to see us. This is a special place that I am sure we will miss when we return home.