Power

Although I knew that electricity was pretty spotty during the "hot season" (December- February), I was not prepared for it to be so sporadic during Tanzania's equivalent of winter.  The temperatures have actually been very pleasant (for which I'm extremely thankful), but over the last six days, we've only had uninterrupted power for one day.  Sometimes it goes off for a couple of hours, sometimes it cycles off and on multiple times within the course of one hour, and for 2 days in a row, we had over 12 hours per day without power.

Unfortunately, despite my beliefs going in, the veterans here tell us that power instability is a fact of life in Tanzania, all seasons, all conditions.  It is usually not tied to an apparent "cause," and in times of demand issues, the power company just decides when and where to distribute power, sometimes pretty randomly.

This has definitely been perspective-shifting.  Something I definitely took for granted in the U.S., (except during Hurricane Sandy) is now totally up for grabs.  It has already shifted the way I look at meal planning....why would I bother buying more than a day's meat when there is a high probability of losing it?  Of course that means a lot more effort in grocery shopping - something that's already challenging here.  

It also requires a Plan B at all times.  Over the past week and a half we've enjoyed a gas stove, but as of today, we'll be on our own electric one, which greatly limits our cooking options the next time the power goes out.  A lot of Westerners have generators, although they are extremely expensive here (new ones are the equivalent of about $1,000, plus, of course, the gas to run them).  The neighborhood we live in is marked with extreme poverty and extreme wealth.  When the power goes out, within 30 seconds our wealthy neighbors already have their loud, stinky generators cranking.  A lot of the poor ones don't have electricity to begin with!  We haven't used a generator yet, although the electric stove issue may rapidly send me in this direction (as will the hot weather...imagine trying to sleep without even a fan?!)

Whenever the power goes back on here, it is marked with a horrible, loud squawk (the regulator box alerting of a power surge).  When the kids hear this noise, they all cheer and run to charge their favorite electronic devices. 

We're still trying to figure out how to use some of our U.S. devices as the power is much more intense here.  Some things (such as computers, thankfully) are designed to withstand higher voltage, but other things, such as Josh' Nintendo DS charger, have been fried.

Just getting electricity itself is a bit more complicated than in the U.S.  Electricity is called "luku" and is pre-paid via a credit-card type of number tied to an electric meter.  Apparently, you can purchase luku via a number of grocery stores or dukas (little roadside shops), although thankfully we have not had to navigate these waters just yet, as the previous renters prepaid a bunch of power for us.  This is also challenging as we try to calculate how much luku we use on a daily basis so we'll know how much to buy!

We'll just keep repeating our mantra, "Ah...this is Africa!"  And appreciate the power when we have it!