Electric Adventures

The electricity here is fickle, to say the least. Sometimes we have it, sometimes we don't, sometimes it's too much, and sometimes it's too weak. Our large appliances, like refrigerators, get plugged into voltage stabilizers, like the one in the picture to keep the voltage stable (when the electricity is on, that is) and to keep the refrigerator from suffering an early death. If you look closely, you can see that the needle is pointing to 0. That means that we have no electricity.

Saturday morning, I woke up to no electricity. No problem, this happens all the time, almost every day. (You might be asking why we lose electricity so often. We'd like to know the answer to that question, too!) Then I realized that both of my computer batteries were low. Oh well, the electricity will come on in a few hours, like it normally does and I'll recharge then, I thought. About 9 am, I heard the click of my stabilizer and the hum of the fridge, so I quickly plugged the computer in. About 10 minutes later, it went off. I was a little frustrated. Usually it stayed on longer, and I really wanted my computer charged. I had a friend coming over to help me learn some more Hausa langauge and to translate the wordless book into Hausa, so I put my computer away, and put the water on to boil for tea. After she came and we started translating, the power came back on. Great, I thought, as soon as she leaves, I'll plug my computer in! We finished our project, and I walked my friend to the gate, then went back up to my apartment to get some lunch and plug in my computer. As I opened the fridge to get out the tuna for my sandwich, I noticed that something was wrong. Then I realized- it was dark. The power was out again! This time I began to wonder. When the power only comes for brief periods of time like this, it means something is wrong at the power plant. It also means that it might not come on again for a long time.

All afternoon, I kept an eye and ear out for the power to come back on, but soon it was growing dark and still no power. I lit my four little candles and went to the fridge to get some dinner. It was already getting warm inside the fridge (I have a minature fridge right now because I'm in temporary housing, which means that it doesn't hold cold very well). I knew that if the power didn't come on in the morning, I'd have to start throwing away food. After eating my dinner, using the very last of my computer battery to watch a movie, and staring into the candlelight wondering what to do in the semi-darkness, I went to bed, reassuring myself that the power would come on in the morning. The next morning I woke to darkness and silence- no power! I had wanted to take a shower, but I knew that because the power had been off so long, the water would only be warm, not hot, the pump that pumps the water from the tanks wouldn't be working, and we'd be out of water soon. Even worse, it meant that I probably had spoiled food. Before I did anything else, I went to the fridge and opened it. It had a very pungent smell, that smell that's not good but not bad either, just the type of smell that tells you that your food is just hours away from going bad, so you'd better do something now! I contemplated the situation as I got ready for church, then something came to me. My dad had told me that when he was a boy, he had gone to see his grandmother at her house. She didn't have a fridge, but she kept things cold in the the creek near her house. I went my double kitchen sink and filled both sinks partway with cold water then placed all the containers in my fridge into the water.

Thanks, Dad, for the story! It came in handy! When I came back from church, my food was nice and cool in the sinks, but I gathered it up and put it in a friend's deep freeze just to make sure. As darkness came on Sunday evening, I cleaned out the last of the things in my fridge, lit my candles, and washed up my dishes- feeling very gloomy all the while. It's no fun being without power! What can I do in the semi-darkness, I thought to myself. I got out my Hausa book to study by candlelight, then I heard it. The most wonderful noise in the world. The buzz of lights coming on outside. The click of my stablizer. The hum of my fridge. Glorious! Within 30 seconds, I had plugged in my computer and phone to charge. My neighbor in the same building called, squeeling with delight. Almost 36 hours without electricity. We got through it okay, but we're sure glad it's back! You never understand how much you love the little things, like electricity, until they're gone. So as you're reading this blog, stop and listen for a moment to the hum of your fridge...and be thankful.