Power 5 September 2015

 Take a second and think about where and how electricity has infiltrated your life. You’re reading this blog on a device that has a power symbol you look at frequently. Within an arm reach away from you is probably a phone, within the room is a light switch and outlets that will probably work consistently. Within your house there is probably a tv, refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher and washing machine.

Power is out in Selekleka now.

The regular things go out--lights and outlets without much complaint. Today is Saturday though, so market is needed. However, the bank and A.T.M’s (in larger towns) are no longer open as power shuts down their networks. While you can order food that is cooked over coal embers, coffee and tea aren’t working. The cell phone service is still miraculously working, but the longer the power goes out the higher the possibility of network failing.

There is a joke circulating Volunteers that there is a little old man that just sits somewhere and randomly switches on and off the power. Sometimes he gets distracted and forgets to turn it back on. I think he might also be the man who comes into the “water room,” turns off the water, and forgets about turning it on for weeks.

The cliché of “absence makes the heart grow fonder” applies to power. When I first got to Ethiopia, power outages were kind of exciting. It meant reading or journaling with a flashlight. Then when I got to site, power outages meant going without a meal, no tea to warm up to in the morning, and no street lights. Now, it’s an eye roll and a joke. It’s part of life.

I’ve realized though, that there is a life without power. Finding things to do doesn’t directly relate to power being possible. I embroider in the compound. I read books, write letters, and journal by candlelight. Peanut butter, nutella, banana sandwiches are delicious and filling. Walks and hanging out with friends are always options.

When I do have internet, flipping through Facebook statuses makes me realize that not everyone sees power as a luxury. Laundry days are complained about. Short power outages are ranted with comments galore. While I do understand and recognize that these are frustrations, they are often short lived.

It is hard to really understand someone until you have to do like them. I admit I complained when power would go out in the States, but know now that I won’t ever again. I challenge you try it. Unplug from the life of power. Shut off the power chords, light switches, stoves, laundry machines for a day or two. How do you fill your time? What can you focus on instead of screens? What would you do if you didn’t have a hot water tank for a shower?

Power is important. It allows heads of countries to communicate, news to circulate through populations, banks to function properly, heat to come to the freezing and cooling to the hot. However, the amount you have access to is a luxury. I have one outlet that I can run some things off of thanks to a power strip. One of my Peace Corps buddies has just got one outlet that can only run one thing and takes out her one light bulb when it is used. Don’t forget to be thankful for what you do have.