In the Dark

Written Saturday, September 27, 2008

Janis and I have been celebrating the return of the electricity to our house. Some of you have heard that our house had been without power since last Saturday. On Saturday and Sunday there were the usual blackouts. But then on Monday, the hydro company came, scared the livin’ daylights out of our new housemate, William, with their banging on the gate, and proceeded to climb the telephone pole to disconnect our electricity because apparently the bill hadn’t been paid recently.

That was Monday. On Tuesday, we brought the electricity bill to our Uganda Field Supervisor, Tom, who is our contact for our landlord. He leaped into action and had that bill paid. The hydro company said that our power would be reconnected on Wednesday.

Wednesday came and went and there’s still no power. By this point, things in our fridge and freezer have definitely gotten bad. We’ve thrown out everything (including an expensive block of cheese which I am still mourning) and it has a terrible, terrible smell to it. Any perishable food we buy we cook right then and there. It’s a little hard getting work done outside of the office because Janis and I are so dependent on our computers. Her computer, which we call the Columbian because it was bought in Columbia by her former roommate, usually has only 14 minutes of battery (but there was this one time the Columbian surprised us and produced a whole 40 minutes of battery before it shut down). My computer has about 2.5 to 4 hours of battery depending on what I’m doing. So, when our computer batteries are done, the evening’s work pretty much stops. Anything we do after 7pm had to be done by flashlight and candlelight (and, yes, we are very careful with the candles), so we felt pretty reluctant to clean the kitchen, do any reading, etc. Janis resorted to passing her time doing more of her experimental deep-frying and I organized stuff.

Thursday comes and I allow myself to hope that maybe, just maybe, our electricity will be restored. We are also told that a plumber is coming who will hook up the disconnected hot water tank. This means that we will have the luxury of a hot shower again. Thursday passes by and we feel the acute sting of disappointment as we realize it’s going to be another lightless night and another cold shower for me.

Finally Friday is here. We’re getting desperate and more than a little ticked off. I’ve been pretty patient up till now, knowing that often things take longer in Africa than in North America. But there comes a point when you’ve got to put your foot down and say “enough!”. The hydro folks keep saying that the power will be restored, but we’re not seeing it happening. I’m in the office and one of the staff members (named Jimmy) who’s been working very hard to get our electricity back, tells me that the plumber is in town and he can go to our house now. So he and I go to the house and I watch with delight as the hot water tank is hooked up. We still have no hot water yet because there is no electricity, but at least there is the potential for hot water.

After the plumber finishes, Jimmy and I take a walk to the office of the hydro company. By this point I’m pretty determined that I’m going to have to yell at somebody and Jimmy is equally determined to make sure that they come through for us today. In the office, the man is telling me that the work order has been issued, it will be taken care of, the workman is out doing calls right now, he’ll come to our house. I ask if the workman has a mobile that we can call him on. The office man fumbles around and asks around for the number and then tells us it will be done today. I tell him, “Why should I believe you? You’ve been telling us this for three days and we still don’t have power, so why should I think he’s coming today?” We argue back and forth and then he’s had enough of me, so he sends two workmen out to the truck and we drive to the house right then and there.

At the house, we see that the connection on the pole has been restored, but we still don’t have power. The workmen go to the meter box and see that the connection is loose or melted or fried or all of the above. This explains why on Friday night our lights had been flickering on and off repeatedly. We thought this was just a normal Fort Portal electricity problem. After a great deal of effort, he replaces the wires. Janis (who has just arrived at the house) and I run inside to see the lights on and the refrigerator once again running! And we shouted and danced for joy!

Since then Janis has wiped down the entire inside of the fridge with bleach, we’ve grocery shopped, cooked, used our computers, I had a wonderful WONDERFUL hot shower and we have been so very happy! Never underestimate the joy that electricity and hot water can bring while in Africa.