One little house, two little house, three little house...? (14 Mar, 2010)

We have now slept two nights in our two little house. The people from Hope for Widows and Orphans Mission (HWOM) worked hard to have it ready on time. They took us there and when we arrived there was a lovely banner welcoming Dave and I to Cameroon.

We did not get one little house – the volunteer living there was extended and so the house with the leopard print sofas is no longer available.

Two little house is nice. You walk into a big enough sitting/dining room. A small table with 2 chairs is on the facing wall. From the front door, on the left, there is a small table, a sofa against and further down, before the back door, a cabinet for dishes and foodstuff. The rest of the room is filled with four matching chairs – quite comfortable, a corner unit with a little TV. At the back to the right is a galley kitchen which has a three burner gas stove top on one side; a sink, counter and fridge on the other. The outlet for the fridge is not working so we are still managing without.

To the right of this are the bedrooms and bathroom. The ‘master’ bedroom has a double bed and a built in wardrobe. Off the end is a little bathroom - so little that I cannot sit straight on the toilet without having my face in the sink. The shower head hangs between the toilet and the sink… try and imagine that! The bathroom is the shower. No separate room or enclosure or curtain. Everything gets wet!

The second bedroom is the same size with a double bed and a built in wardrobe. Between the two bedrooms, there is a second bathroom, bigger than the first one but still small when you shower in there.

All the same it is quite cozy in our little two house and we could see ourselves settling in quite comfortably here. Unfortunately, there are a few problems. The electricity is very iffy. Turning on lights means playing with the switch until you find the right spot for the connection – then don’t touch! The light in the sitting room is a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling which doesn’t work, alongside a florescent tube which also does not work. The plug for the fridge does not work – the wires are hanging out of the wall.

Also there is no hot water! None, nadda, not even a little drop. And no chance of any as the plumbing for it does not exist. Showers are an interesting event. And of course with heat here, they are frequent.

So the kind lady from HWOM, who was also less than impressed with some things in two little house, is already looking for three little house. Even though we will happily move to three little house, I am sure I will leave two little house sadly, as it is after all, our first home in Bamenda.