Yesterday morning, the water was out at home. That's fine, I thought, I can go one morning without a shower, can't I? This never happens back home, how exciting! (I'm told this excitement will soon give way to anger, denial, and finally, acceptance.)
Then I got to work, and found the power was out and had been for a while. All the backup power sources had drained and, consequently, all the computers were dead and the office had heated up to an ambient temperature best described at this point as "pleasantly warm".
Then I got to work, and found the power was out and had been for a while. All the backup power sources had drained and, consequently, all the computers were dead and the office had heated up to an ambient temperature best described at this point as "pleasantly warm".
My laptop battery died around 10am, and by lunchtime, although the office temperature had probably not increased significantly since morning, I was ready to describe the conditions as "sweltering". As a result, I decided to tag along on an outing with Dan, and captured what is perhaps a very uniquely African photo:
Standing in the CEO's garden, inspecting a generator and eating guavas freshly picked off a nearby tree. |
The containers were all filled to the brim at Maria's, and of course, the subsequent trip along African roads had reduced most to under half-full by the time we reached home. The water eventually came back shortly before I went to bed.
Impressive that you manage to consistently take this kind of thing in stride.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the internal process that keeps it stable in these moments? For me, if I woke up and found that the water and the power weren't working, I would probably spend the rest of the day trying to grumpily insist and goad them back into operation.
As I've been telling the Malawians, my instinctual reaction to these situations is still firmly rooted in a Canadian context. Power outage at work = "woohoo, day off!". Water outage = "it's like I'm camping!".
ReplyDeleteOne day this feeling will disappear, and when no water comes out of the taps I will have some sort of violent breakdown in my bathroom. (I'll try to get a picture of that, too, so we can see the progression). :)