[lit-ideas] Re: On Nip Thievery
- From: "Phil Enns" <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2008 06:50:46 +0700
Walter O. wrote:
"What does Phil E's "mud hut" really look like out there in the
jungles of Borneo? A description of interior furnishings and maid
service would also be appreciated. (I doubt that Phil wears a grass
skirt to class. At home, perhaps ...)"
In an earlier part of my life, I lived for three years in a mud hut.
Well, it was actually two round hovels joined together, but the walls
were made of mud. The thing about mud walls is that you have to
protect them from the rain. Traditionally, one would make the walls
low enough so that the roof, usually some sort of woven grass, could
hang over far enough to keep the rain off. However, in my time people
were building bigger houses and using paint. The problem was that
people didn't want to spend too much money on paint, understandable
given that they often literally had no money. So, people would try
and use as much paint as was necessary. Unfortunately, they
occasionally got the mixture wrong and so every rainy season there
would be a few homes where the walls literally washed away and the
house collapsed. We kept a healthy coat of paint on our walls.
Another thing about mud walls is that one can't put nails in them for
hanging pictures and such. I tried once and put an inch round hole in
the wall.
Our walls here are made of brick. The house would be what I think is
known in the U.S. as ranch style. In our yard we have banana plants
and two papaya trees. And we have lots of ants. And not just one
kind of ant but several. Ah, the tropics.
For those interested, pictures of house, home and environ may be had at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/phil.enns
Sincerely,
Phil Enns
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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