This cryptic advice came from Duncan (Arlene's husband) earlier this week and I wasn't sure why he said this. Was he hinting at George's capacity to snore like a Scottish Country Dancer or even at Nicky's non-stop verbal sharing ability? Surely he can't have meant me because to this date I have woken up from my own snoring . . .
But then I remembered that the living conditions on our trip will be very basic. Nowhere do we sleep on the ground or in mud huts but the accomodation will certainly be spartan rather than sumptuous. The only place we actually know from the previous trip (three years ago) is Bernadette's mission station in Mocuba. At the time Libby and Arlene had brought their tent with them and were pleasantly suprised that some people from an American charity had just finished building a house for Bernadette and Bernadette had just moved from her caravan into this proper building. Libby and Arlene never unpacked their tent and moved right in as well.
One of the most memorable stories about Bernadette's house has to do with rats. So if you are squeamish about rats - look away now and come back to this blog tomorrow. Apparently the rats used to live in the lining of Bernadette's caravan and by moving about at night they often kept the sole occupant awake. When Bernadette moved into her house three years ago, the rats quickly figured out that this was a much nicer place to live - and they also moved in. The rooms in the house have tall dividing walls but none of them reach the ceiling (like we are used to in England) and so the rats go walkies on the dividing walls at night. Their forageing results in a constant background rustling in various parts of the building - UNTIL one of the blighters gets stuck on the gluey trapping paper which is fixed to the tops of the walls. Then the rustling turns into a squealing which goes on for some time.
So I think I have figured out why Duncan said "Take plenty of earplugs" and I'll make sure I don't forget them.
No comments:
Post a Comment