Water

So I have lots of fears about living here; some big ones, like what if India and Pakistan stop talking and start fighting; some small, like malaria and dengue fever....I pretty much flip out every time I see a mosquito and can't rest 'til its dead. I've gotten quite good at killing them.
But one of my biggest fears is a day to day thing...running out of water. I should say running out of running water...I can always get drinking water. See for the most part water is stored in containers on the top of houses and the water people come and deliver it. Part of my rent every month is for water. Our office runs out of water all the time...and I always seem to be the one to discover it. It is sooo annoying.
I know of people who run out of water in their apartment fairly often, like once a month or so. My power might go out more than I would like but I can live with that, no running water absolutely not. So this past Friday after being out and about sightseeing I headed home ready to hop in the shower and...no water. I couldn't believe it. I have lived in this apartment for over a year and that had never happened. I was really nervous because it was a holiday, I had no clue how long it would take to get water. So I ran down to my landlord's apartment and he wasn't there - yikes! Then I called him and practically shouted "no water!!!" - he was somewhere outside and it was really loud - and amazingly, 1/2 hour later I had running water again. One of the best showers I've ever taken.
Its weird, living here you realize what is really important and what you really can live with and without. I would say that water is the number one thing I need to function. One of the women in my photography class went to one of the slums to take pictures and she was there when the water truck arrived. They have no running water so every day a big truck of water arrives and everyone goes out and fills up containers to get their water for the day. From her pictures it looked like a big party - everyone rushing out all excited to get their water and making sure they get enough water. Every day it is The Event.
1/2 hour without water in over a year. Not that bad overall. Although now every time I turn on a tap in my house I'm a bit nervous and then breathe a little sigh of relief when the water comes out.