Painting

Since August, it is now two months later, my landlord has been retro fitting the apartments with running water. This is great! I want running water. Although I wish he wasn't so Beninese about the whole thing. What's he's doing is working on one house, then finishing that project and moving on to the next house. For example, tiles one house, they moves to the next, when that phase of the project is complete he starts on the next one. Which is great when nobody is living in the houses but really obnoxious when they are. Every time I think to myself, they must be done, I find that Papa has found something else that needs improving.
Normally he's a very good landlord. He understands that sometimes when he asks about something technical in regards to my house I may not know about it, he has often times taken care of my cat while I'm gone, and whenever I go over to his house he feeds me something. I call him Papa and as far as I know I'm the only person in my concession who can get away with that. But with the business of improvements on the apartments he doesn't really really know what he's doing. This is the first time that he's had to go through and do work on them while people are living in them. My concession is relatively new no need to do improvements on it just yet.
Here comes running water! In my house I had a very small shower and a drain. I also have a pit latrine, which is something that I've grown to love. The cool thing is after running water happens I will have a toilet and a pit latrine! Only Peace Corps Volunteer I've heard of with choices as to where they go to the bathroom. One day, Papa knocks on my door and says 'guess what we're going to begin putting running water into your house today' if you look back on former posts you will see what a headache that was. We finally get to the end of it and my house was quiet for a time. Then Papa knocks on my door again at 7:30am I roll out of bed and answer the door. 'We're tiling your bathroom today! Isn't that exciting!'
'Today, as in like right now?'
'yea!'
'is the this last thing you're going to have to do to my house?'
'Yes after this it's over!'
I look around my house is a total mess, I have stuff in my bathroom like laundry that's been soaking, he could have hardly picked a worse day to come. I tell him that I need like about 20 minutes. I quickly pick up my house and get the stuff out of my bathroom. I move the litter box from it's location where they are working (last time they used the contents as filler for around the pipes). I get a knock on my door. Now the way that the works announce their entry into your house is they knock once on your door, say 'ko ko ko' and then open the door themselves and stride right in. This is truly obnoxious. I have explained to the workers numerous times that I really hate this and I wish they would wait for me to open the door. After all, it is my house and I'm letting them enter it. They nod their head and repeat when I say, they say they understand. Next time they need to open my door the do it again. There is no use pissing them off, they are all good trust worthy guys. And they are just doing what is culturally acceptable for them.
I get settled for some computing and reading for the day when from my back area comes more banging, I didn't realize that much banging was involved in tiling a bathroom. Another few days go by after the initial day of tilling and then they all come back and put the toilet, shower, and fixtures back in. I think to myself, wow this must be it! The counter to know how much water we use is installed, the sink, shower, toilet and now tiles are in place what more could I need. Papa has a key to my house, I trust him and he is someone who I really do enjoy spending time with in Bassila, he always knows where I'm going and the fact that it's his job to take care of the apartments he feels like he's already responsible. Papa is someone who takes his job very seriously.
Then today at 8:00am I get a knock on my door. It's Papa, I go and answer it. Papa is the only person who can wake me up out of a dead sleep here who I am not angry at. Because normally when he does this he wants to give me things.
'Good morning Papa'
'Good morning Melissa'
'How are you today?'
'Good and you?'
'Just fine thanks'
'How is your bike?'
'My bike is good, it gets me places, how is your family?'
'They are very well lately how is your cat'
'She's good, there's only one kitten remaining in my house, how are you pigeons?'
'They are very fat and happy, and your health how is your health?'
'My health is very good, and yours Papa, how is your health?'
'My health is very good, thank you God'
This is typical Beninese style greeting, you ask about everything you can think of before actually getting to the point. Papa then says 'We're painting your house today.'
'What?'
'Yea, we're painting your house today.'
I look around, and just like last time my house is a mess three days before it was immaculately clean. But then I got sick and basically ate oatmeal for two days and slept. Needless to say things were starting to pile up. In my shower I had hung all my underwear to dry, the floor needed to be cleaned and there were dishes everywhere. Today was just not a good day. I will still recovering from being sick. This is something that Papa does which is OK within Benin, but not OK for Americans he arrives at my house and tells me as if I'm ready for anything at any given moment that he's doing work on my house. A few times he's been caught off guard when the workers have come and I'm in another part of the country for work related reasons. I've tried to explain if he gave me a weeks notice as to when the workers were showing up then I would be ready for them when they did arrive, I would move things around in my schedule to best fit their needs and if I knew I was going to be gone I would give him the key to my house so that he could do the work while I was away. Even if he came by the day before I would be better prepared.
My response, 'But Papa, I'm not ready. Can they paint another house today and come back tomorrow?'
I know full well that this gets in the way of his system but I also know that there are empty houses which could be done before mine, another thing I know is that my neighbor is gone and that Papa has the key to his house. After a pause in which Papa fretted and wrung his hands in agitation he said 'Well OK, but you're going to be here tomorrow then right, and ready?'
'Yes'
So here we are, I'm sitting in my house smelling paint fumes from my neighbors, periodically cleaning and getting ready for them to arrive. Hopefully I will be able to make an impression on Papa that it works a lot better and everyone is happy when he waits an extra day to come to my house.