Sitting at breakfast this morning, KJ asked ‘what are the challenges of the day?’ I arrived here three days ago and life has definitely been challenging.
The electricity has been off at their house five times. Dinner the last two nights has been by candlelight and mobile phones have sometimes been dead.
No electricity means no refrigeration. Friday was pay day and we did a huge shop, only to get home to a warm refrigerator. We adjusted our menus to eat the meat before it went bad.
They have a bore hole where their water is pumped from, so no electricity for long enough means no water. And yes, we experienced that.
The electricity was knocked out by two big summer storms with strong winds and rain, booming thunder, and lighting strikes overhead. The rain flooded a garage that houses two classes. We spent all of Saturday throwing away wet books and puzzles and drying out bookshelves and rugs. Last night brought another round of rain and we had to re-do the drying out today.
Claire and KJ’s car had problems on our 120 kilometer drive to Mafikeng on Friday. When we got there it wouldn’t start. The electric windows were open and I had to guard the car while they went to a meeting. Gratefully, after a rest the car started and we got home. But then it wouldn’t start yesterday. Just as the rain arrived we tried to pop the clutch, without success. But the windows were stuck open again and we had to push the car in the driving rain to face the open window away from the incoming storm.
That’s not all. In the last three days I arrived from the USA for a two week visit, Claire celebrated her 40th birthday, and her 18 year old son moved out of the house to attend school at a nearby town.
No water and no electricity were regular features of our year in Tanzania. In a strange way, these conditions make me feel back home in Africa.
And I wonder what will be tomorrow’s challenges of the day.
No Foreign Lands 