How the Hill House Works

I thought some of you would appreciate SEEING how our house in Uganda functions. Here are some examples:

The dryer.

We dry 90% of our clothes on the line, but we actually have a very old Maytag dryer which we bought from missionaries in Nairobi who were moving back to America. We use it when it's raining or too cloudy to finish drying the clothes and diapers.

The air conditioner and part of the security system.

We are very fortunate that Uganda has such a great climate! The windows are open all the time, and the house stays cool in the shade of some big trees in our garden. Most homes in East Africa have some form of bars on the windows to protect from intruders. And we definitely have screens on every window to keep out the most common invaders - mosquitoes and their malaria.

One of the security guards.

Koko stays outside all the time. Ellie sleeps inside with us so that we have double the protection from inturders. Although we are mostly concerned with thieves, the dogs also help out by keeping snakes out of the yard and house. Tessa's cat, Tiger helps out with mice, rats, and geckos as well.

Another part of the security system - the front door.

Having a large set keys is the norm, and you can see why - every door and gate has its own set of padlocks. Most interior doors have their own skeleton keys as well. This is the first time we've lived in a house with a solid metal door.

The produce aisle.

We're fortunate to have ample space for both flowers and edibles. Here you can see lettuce, ginger, and broccoli, but we also have tomatoes and several avocado trees. The saying here is "if you plant it, it will grow." We've found that to be true for the most part.

The local private school.

Before we arrived, there was a home schooling co-op, but those kids have moved away or into boarding schools, so we're on our own, although there are some other home schooling families in Entebbe. Now that I'm teaching kindergarten and 2nd grade, I really feel like an actual teacher, and we facetiously call our school "Queen's Road Academy" since we live on Queen's Rd.

The water supply.

We get our water from the city of Entebbe. It makes its way to this red tank above our bathroom and then into the house, and so far it's been much cleaner and significantly more reliable than what we had in Tanzania, but you won't find me peering into this tank!

The official filtration system for the water supply.

Although our water is clean enough for bathing, it certainly is not trustworthy for drinking, so any drop of water that we digest goes through this metal container with ceramic "candles" inside. The only trick is remembering to fill it!

The widow maker, otherwise known as a suicide shower.

Why the morose name? This modern version is much safer, but former versions of these individual water heaters can shock careless users. It intimidated me at first, but now I'm quite thankful for being able to heat water for a shower immediately instead of having to have the foresight 15-30 minutes in advance.

Self explanatory.

The reason I've included this photo is because of the awkward pulley for flushing (black thing on top near the right). If you don't pull it properly, the entire plastic top falls off. It seems that almost every toilet here requires an explanation before someone can use it. Either there's a tricky flushing mechanism or a missing/sliding/pinching seat.

The attached garage.

Apparently our house had an actual garage that was then converted into our guest bedroom and bathroom. We're thankful for this covered parking place which keeps the car cleaner and cooler. And now, you can come stay with us in comfort instead of us having to put you in the garage!

Ugandan power outlet/switches, 220V.

The lowest switch is for the light, and the right one is for the water heater in the shower. There are multiple ways to heat water for a shower, including solar, but this one has its own small heater attached, and you turn on the switch about 15 minutes before you want to take a shower. All the power outlets in the house look like this one, with safety switches to turn them on and off. Occasionally, Cooper turns one off near the floor, and it takes us a while to figure out why some appliance isn't working. An odd thing about the switches is that many power cords have only two prongs, so we're frequently shoving a ball point pen or scissors into the top opening in order to get it to work.

American power, 110V.

Any time we want to use an American electric device, we either have to use a transformer or an adapter. This transformer is in a kitchen cabinet, and is actually wired to an outlet over the counter, so we recharge the cordless drill and other devices in the kitchen.

The alternate power system.

When the power goes off, which is often, these batteries kick in to provide us some power in the house. Even though we can't run everything in the house, this is a great help to us when we're in the dark!

The entertainment system.

OK, so we actually do have a TV and a DVD player, but we limit the kids' viewing time, so they keep a lot of craft items in this Action Packer and can play checkers on top of it with bottle caps. They spend a lot of time outside playing as well.