"Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink"

Today I thought I'd write about water, and I couldn't help but think of a line from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner". "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink." What an unusual subject to blog about, but what an important subject to someone in the village. We don't have running water. This brings about such unique problems that you never really think about. At home, simply turn on the faucet and you have hot water, cold water, lukewarm water - running water. Whenever you decide you need a shower, you can take one. Whenever you want that leisurely soaking bath, you can take one. Whenever you want to flush the toilet, you can. We have none of that.

Water is a constant source of work. In order to have drinking water in my home, I have two five gallon containers that I fill with water to carry home. Actually, I hired a student to carry it for me. Once I get it home, I put it in my holding tank, which is nothing more than a large, green Rubbermaid garbage can. I then take a little more than a gallon of water and put it in my distiller and start it. In five hours, I have drinking water. I then put the drinking water in a two gallon water jug with a spout - the kind of jug you would use for picnics. This becomes water that I can use to pour into a glass as you would a faucet. Then, I need to do the process again. But before I use the distiller, I clean it. I use a stainless steel or copper scouring pad and really clean it. There's a always a layer of brown sediment on the bottom. The water looks clean when I put it in, but obviously it's not, and this is the drinking water I get from school.

So, after scrubbing the distiller and using the precious water that I just distilled to clean it, I start all over. One gallon of water will take another five hours to distill. Again, this water goes into my two gallon water jug. Now I need to repeat the process one more time. This water I will put in water jugs and put in the refrigerator. I need to be prepared in case of a power outage, which does occur. The moment I have only water in the refrigerator I distill water. This is a continuous process, and one that can never be ignored.

We have only showers no bath. So, if I want a shower, I use the shower here at school. It is used by many people, not only school personnel but also village people. So, I wear water shoes. I don't take daily showers. Actually, once or twice a week is about all I do. The water feels so good, but it also feels very harsh. It actually feels as if it is drying out my skin. I feel this way all the time. The water is dry and so is the air. I constantly use lotion, baby oil, and moisture eye drops to no avail. It doesn't seem to bother the people who live here but it does the kassuiq (outsiders).

The irony here is that we are surrounded by water. Akiuk (Kasigluk) is an island surrounded by water. If I want to go to the post office, grocery store, or hardware store, I need to take the boat over to the other side. This morning I needed to go to the post office to get the boxes that were ordered for the student store that I run. A new order of soda, juice, heatlhy snacks, and candy had arrived. So, I got dressed. Thermal underwear, wool socks, jeans, waterproof slacks, sweatshirt with hood, fleece coat, raincoat, neck scarf, gloves, sunglasses. Four of us were going to get the latest shipment. Immediately, we discovered a problem with the boat. The engine wasn't properly working. So, no trip to Agula (the other side of Kasigluk) for us. The shipment will have to wait until Monday, and we will probably hire someone to bring it over for us.

Water is a constant problem. In a few weeks, the river will being to freeze. When this occurs, it becomes very dangerous to travel in the water. People still do this, but they certainly have a great deal of experience navigating a river of ice. Once the river completely freezes, we will be able to use snowmachines to travel back and forth. Our weather is so mild right now. We have no freezing temperatures predicted in the near future. But it's on everyone's mind. When will freeze-up begin? You want to be certain you have everything you need for "freeze-up" because you know you will be on the island until it is safe to travel again, and only the weather will determine that. And, that could mean weeks.

Certainly after this experience, I doubt if I will ever look at water with the same attitude. Just to have clean drinking water. . . a shower. . . . a flushing toilet. At home, these are just a part of daily life. Here, they require a bit of work and because of that a greater appreciation. Still, I'm not complaining. Life is good here. It just takes a little more time to acquire one's basic needs.