happy monday!
well, i have been in cape town for two weeks now and i’m honestly dreading the day i have to leave in four weeks. but, here is to another month of classes, papers, and fun adventures!
the city is beautiful, each district filled with different cultures, architecture, and history. while cape town itself is filled with a dark history, it has been a journey learning more about it; i believe this aspect has added an important layer of depth and complexity that has only benefited my time here. but that’s a story for another day.
onto the subject! the water crisis!
for those who do not know, Cape Town is in the middle of an extreme drought; it is the first city in the world to come close to fully running out of water. originally, when i knew i would be spending my summer here, “Day Zero” (the day the city was bound for completely being without water) was set for September 2018. Due to rationing and the current rainy season, “Day Zero” has been set for late 2019, or maybe even into 2020. bless the rains.
because of the need to conserve water, each person living in Cape Town has been rationed to use around fifty liters of water per day. to put this in perspective, the average American shower is eight minutes long and uses sixty-five liters of water. so, obviously, coming from a country that is not in a water crisis, there are a lot more habits to put in place. in our dorm, we are not monitored by how much water we use, but it’s kind of an understood rule: do not use all the water.
to be honest, i feel a definite awareness of being a foreigner using the resources of a country in crisis. i do not necessarily feel guilt per se, but this feeling of: “it is a privilege to study here and you must respect their circumstances. you are not entitled to the fullness of resources.” i mean, yes, i need to shower and drink water, but there is a certain level of respect i much have as a guest in this city.
day – to – day, i am conscious of my water usage. a lot of conservation is in the little things that you do not really think about. for example: not leaving the water running while brushing your teeth, washing your face, or washing dishes. a simple trick is also using hand sanitizer instead of soap and water to wash your hands. other things we are asked to do are only doing laundry once a week and when we do, to either have a big load or pair up with other people… and obviously, take short showers. and i am not talking five minutes short… i am talking like, two minutes. maximum. i am slowly but surely getting the hang of this one.
even in the shower, there is still conservation. in the dorms, we put buckets on the floor of the shower. while waiting for the shower water to heat up, the excess water that falls in the bucket goes into the kitchen sink for washing dishes. but while you are actually taking a shower, you must switch out buckets for the “gray water” bucket. this “gray water” bucket becomes filled with excess shampoo, body wash, and water. we use the gray water to manually flush the toilet as one automatic toilet flush uses anywhere from six to thirteen liters alone. yes, i know this is kind of gross to talk about, but we gotta do what we gotta do. again, as this country’s guest, there is extra responsibility to respect the city’s circumstances.
adjusting to the water crisis has been a little easier than i originally perceived it would be. a lot of times, the line between need and want is quite clear when you learn what you are actually capable of living on.
while the “Day Zero” situation is becoming more hopeful, it is far from being finished. while riding in an Uber the other day, i heard a water report over the radio. the radio host’s concluding words perfectly summed everything up: “yes, we are having rain. things are getting better. but we must keep going. the crisis is far from over.”
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International Studies major Layne Coleman spent the Summer 2018 term in South Africa.
Read more from Layne at https://lifeoflaynecoleman.wordpress.com/
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