I remember on the rare occasions living in America when the electricity would go out, people behaved as if it were the end of the world. After storms the news would report how many homes were still without electricity several hours later. We're so dependent on it. Our computers, fax machines, tvs, refrigerators, air conditioners, and so many more things, all run on electricity and it seems that we don't know how to function without it. It wasn't too long ago that no one had it. For most, it was a luxury, reserved for the wealthy. Now it's available to pretty much everyone and it's a necessity.
Living in Africa has shown me that electricity, while nice, isn't needed for living. Last week our electricity was out for a total of about 53 hours, which is about average. Sometimes we lose it a little more, sometimes a little less. And you know, it's not that big a deal. We only need lights for about 4 hours of our waking day. While it can get hot without fans, we always have the windows open and there's usually a breeze. We have a gas oven, so cooking's not usually affected. Refrigerators don't need to be on all the time to keep things cold. The only times it really bothers me are when I'm in the middle of doing laundry and from about 6:30 to 8:00 at night when we're trying to cook, eat, and get Baylor to bed by lantern. Granted, we do have a back up generator that runs on petrol that we can use if we want, but it's expensive so we don't unless we need to...or if we've had a really long day and don't feel like sitting in the dark again.
Many people in Geita don't have electricity in their homes at all, and only very few have generators. It's like it was in America way back when--a luxury. I read somewhere that in America more electricity is used to power televisions when they're off than when they're on--I suppose to keep that little red light on in the front. I've just been thinking lately how odd it is that we expect to have electricity all the time, even in the day in our homes when we're not there. I'm not going to say I don't care about it at all; obviously I prefer to have it. But I have learned that I don't need it and it's not so bad without it--though it does make having ice cream a bit difficult. I guess I'll just have to eat it all at once.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I was just at a hotel in the Caribbean. They had some electricity issues on the island. You know, I lived through it...even though their router would have to reboot every time and I was without internet for like, 20 minutes! Funny the things we just "can't" live without
ReplyDeleteWe normally do have current cut for 1 hour every day whenever our dams have insufficient water supply to generate power.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWe've been doing the "Going Green" thing here at the office and it has taught me a lot about how much electricity is wasted on nothing. On electronics we aren't using, on places when we aren't there, etc. In my own little way, I'm trying to use less. I love the ice cream idea too! :)
ReplyDeleteI think America might curl up in a fetal position if we had to deal with electricity failure like you do. Most of us, if we had to live off the land, wouldn't make it. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't. I find that a little sad.
ReplyDelete