Water

After 4 very hot days, the weather got cooler again, i.e. during the day it is very warm - especially from 10 AM to 5 PM - but in the evening a cool wind makes the temperatures drop until the morning. Rain is out of the question until the end of the year.

Although each year the climate is getting dryer in Syria, people tend to waste a lot of water. The house is cleaned each day with a hose. At each good restaurant, there are some people to clean the car. The water is running the whole time. They do not even bother to close the tap, not even when waiting for the next customer. And so on...

Fortunately, we are living near the Euphrates river. Aleppo is supplied with water from the Euphrates. In the villages water is available at sources and wells. To have your own water supply you have to dig about 150 meters deep. And, an authorization is needed from the government. I hope to have my own well in the garden by next year.

This week, we've been using a lot of energy to get the people working in the house. It is starting to feel like a house. Yesterday, doors and windows were ordered after heavy discussions on the best price for both parties. The floor tiles have been delivered and the tiles on the walls of the kitchen and bathroom are finished.

The people working on the facade decided on Thursday at 11 AM to go to the seaside. They were due back on Saturday. Yesterday they phoned to say they were staying 1 more day and this morning we have been told they are all ill. Now, they promised to finish by tomorrow and they will be reminded of it when they show up.

But, this is how a lot of Syrians live and work. They work a little bit, they sleep a lot, they like to have fun... It is not the case for everybody though. The guy placing the tiles shows up at 8 AM and hardly stops working until 6 PM.

He will be paid immediately. The others will have to wait to get paid and it will be in installments. This is the way to take revenge ;-)