When we came
to Botswana our new home was in a flat that was built by the Chinese. It was
one of about fifty flats. The Taylors were already here in number 37 and a set
of sisters were in number 17. Our new home was number 6. It’s a very nice 3
bedroom flat, two stories and about 10 months old. The Taylors were in front of
the sisters and we were directly behind them. We were directly behind them. We
were very pleased but we were also cautioned that the Chinese build fast,
leaks. We had some nice rains storms last summer (December thru March) but no
major leaking problems with the exception of some wet spots around the windows.
About three weeks ago we were called by Sister Cook at about 6:30 in the
morning to let us know that there had been a leak in their bedroom and the
ceiling had caved in directly above their bed. Luckily, they heard the sound of
water running about 1:30 am and had turned the light on to see what was going
on and saw the wet ceiling. They quickly moved the beds to the other side of
the room before the ceiling ruptured above where their beds had been. At that
time they looked out of the window and noticed Sister Taylor ironing shirts in
her flat. (This was normal for Sister Taylor. She only needs 4 hours sleep a
night.) Anyway, they let the Taylors know and Elder Taylor got the
Security
Guard to shut off the water to their flat. I was happy that Sister Taylor was
awake and I hadn’t received a call until 6:30 the next morning. We checked out
the flat and the damage was confined to two rooms, the bedroom and the bathroom
next to it. We called Emily Liu that Chinese lady that manages the flats and
the next thing we know some Chinese workers are at the flat repairing the
damaged ceiling. They even painted the wet ceiling. I told Emily that they
should have waited a couple of days to let the ceiling dry out. The problem had
been a leak in the geezer (water heater) that was in the attic. I took a small
fan over to the sisters flat and put it in the attic to help dry everything
out, plus I left the attic trap door open. The Sisters moved their mattresses
down stairs and box springs outside to dry out.
Two
days later I received the first call at 1:30 am from the sisters. The Taylors
had gone to South Africa to go to the temple with one of their Band of
Brothers. Sister Cook said it’s leaking again. I went to the guard shack and
had the water turned off. This time the water came down in the same room just
in a different place in the ceiling. I called Emily the next morning about 8:00
am and told her that we had another leak again in the same room. This time I
made it clear to her that she needed to let the room
dry out BEFORE the workmen
re-sheeted the ceiling and painted it. I thought she understood but found out
later that it didn’t matter because when I came back from the office everything
was repaired again and repaired even though the ceiling was still wet. I called
Emily and told her I was not pleased and that we would probably have mold
growing in the attic. She asked “What’s mold?” I tried to explain that the
sisters could get sick from mold but I’m sure she didn’t understand. She speaks
very good English but her understanding isn’t there. I had considered moving
the sisters to another flat but instead left the fan in the attic to help dry
the place out. We did move the sisters to our flat for the weekend because by
this time their flat was stinking pretty badly plus the light switch on the
stairs was tripping the circuit breaker and I wasn’t sure how safe it was
there. The repair men were supposed to come on Tuesday to repair the electrical
problem. Monday was a holiday, Presidents Day.
On Tuesday morning we
got a call again, this time it was about 6:30 in the morning. It was
Sister Cook again and yes, she said, we hear dripping again. I was
already up and dressed for the day so I told her I would be right over. When I
got there Sister Gillis was in the shower so I told her to call me when she got
out so I could see the bathroom where they thought the dripping was coming
from. She called about fifteen minutes later and told me the Chinese
workmen were there and they were starting to repaint the bathroom and one of
them was checking for the electrical problem. I rushed over and found
three men there. One painting the bathroom, one in the attic looking at
the geezer and the other one had taken the light cover off from the light
fixture at the top of the stairs. The sisters explained that cover was
completely full of water which he dumped on the floor. (electrical problem
solved) I tried to speak to them in English but they didn't understand me
and I didn't understand them. I finally told them to stop doing what they
were doing and get out of the house. I must have had the gift of tongues or
maybe it was my angry mannerisms because they seemed to understand this time.
I called Emily and asked her if she had another flat which she said she
did. I told her that three times was enough and I wanted the sisters to
move as soon as possible. She complied and the sisters are now in number
8, two doors down from us.
I have a new
saying "Chinese build fast, leaks. Chinese repair fast, we move not
fast enough!!"
The end (Elder
Gubler)
PS The Rest of the Story:
Today, new tenants
moved into the vacated flat. The Sisters think they should take over cookies
and let the new renters know where to find the water shut-off valve. The flat
it newly repaired (read painted) but the water problem isn’t fixed because the
workers didn’t have time to fix the problem. Argh.
