Stange January

It has been a very different January, if we compare things with last year. First of all I was looking at pictures on our blog from last year; I could not believe how dry everything looked. Now everything is green, and it keeps raining. There is standing water everywhere, some plants in our garden are dying because they are too wet. I had the pleasure of going to two site meetings for construction projects this week, and these construction sites had turned into total mud pools. Botswana does not know how to deal with this. The good side, the dams are getting really full, guaranteeing supply of drink water for the next 2 years, even if we do not get another drop of rain.

Also when we look back at last year, this January we were very much organised and settled. No waiting for furniture, no looking for jobs, no hectic tendering for all sorts of new projects at work. We have our house set up, have our cars, have things like bank accounts, residence permits, cellphones. We also know that we are working together, and even have a nice workload for the next months. I turned the opportunity to quote for a new project down today!

The other big difference is the recent power cuts. It is something we will have to learn to live with. At the office we have a power backup, that will last us for few hours when the power goes down, so we should not loose too much time. Otherwise it is always a good excuse to go home a little early….At home we have no backup, no power means candle light. Luckily we cook on gas, so we are able to prepare a dinner when the power is gone.

We have another two weeks until the Irish posse will arrive. We are trying to get as much work as possible done, so we can take time off as well. That is a benefit of having our own business, we can try to schedule work around these periods where possible. I am worried about the weather, it has been so abnormal, I don’t know what to expect anymore.

J1