Plumber's Butt

Last week while doing dishes I discovered that our sink was draining rather slowly. By the time I was done with the dishes it wasn't draining at all. I decided to forget about the drain and go about my day. About 8 hours later I returned home to find that the water had eventually drained, leaving the sink full of nasty debris. I turned the water on just a bit to rise the nastiness out and it still refused to drain. What happens when 4 people want to cook and eat? The sink fills with dishes pretty quickly. And if those dishes aren't done immediately the ants come. And when the ants come they come with the power of a thousand men. (Ok maybe I'm exaggerating, but just a little.)

So this morning one of my roommates decided to tackle the dishes in the laundry room sink. Genius, right? But there was still the matter of the kitchen sink. So after I cooked myself some very yummy Sudanese food (I've been learning from some of the best), ate, and washed my dishes in the laundry room I decided it was time to try to figure out something with the sink. At this point there was standing water/vinegar/baking soda/draino as we tried a home remedy and then a store bought one. There was no drainage happening at all. So I got a bucket and got to work with the help of my roommate, Jean. I began to unscrew the first two pipes and the water/vinegar/baking soda/draino mix came pouring out. Arms covered in goo, I continued to unscrew the next pipe down. More muck and slim came out of that portion of the pipe at well. And then the smell came. I'm talking the type of smell that makes your nose hairs cringe in fear. It was foul. Jean began to gag so I asked her to leave because the gagging makes me sick.

At this point all four of us roommates are fleeing the kitchen because of the smell. I decided that we couldn't just leave the putrid stench pouring out of the pipes. So we gathered the bucket of poo-like water and went outside to dig stuff out of the pipes. We got a good amount of rotting food and other nasty things out, dumped the grotesque liquid, grabbed a stick and went back into the house. With the stench still coming from the pipes I proceeded to dig with the stick and pull out globs of disgusting, black ooze. With my audience behind me I struggled to not run out of the room due to the nastiness of the situation. It had to be done if we wanted to be able to use the kitchen sink though. After all of the horrible stuff was disposed of, we then had the task of trying to put everything back together again.

I sat on the floor and put the pieces of our sink back together, making sure all of the slimy seals were in place to ensure no leakage. As I sat, there was a cool breeze and with the help of my roommates I discovered that I had plumber's butt... not as bad as we generally stereotype plumbers to have. In fact, just a bit of my underwear was showing. However, it was hilarious and we all got a kick out of it. Just another day here in Uganda. This is one of the many reasons that I love it here.

Sure we could have waited and called a plumber and if I was in the U.S. I would have called my brother, brother-in-law, or dad, but it was worth a try. We now have a sink that drains and a smelly house. I think the former makes the latter worth it. It's somehow rewarding to say that we were able to unclog a nasty drain with no help. It also makes for a fun story. :) I hope you enjoyed.

A quick update about the riot situation... This past week was very calm and we had no riots. However, this week will most likely be full of unrest as the president-elect is inaugurated back into office. Please keep Uganda in your prayers. We are prepared and aware at all times so no worries, but do pray. Thanks!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom and Liz! I love you!