Greetings from headlamp central. I just finished eating my supper: a serving of cold Indian leftovers that was lovingly illuminated by inverted MAG-LITE. Don’t believe me? Here’s a photo I just snapped using my just-located headlamp that illuminated my make-shift dining room light.
“Without lamps, there’d be no light.” As it turns out, this isn’t always true.
My beautiful building is completely without power. How did I know this before even coming upon the parking area out front? Easy. I passed my building superintendant in the street, cigarette in mouth speaking quickly in Wolof. He is never here at 8:30pm unless there is a problem. Once I walked through the front gate and saw all of the guards “posted” (read: seated) around the shack, I knew for sure that there was no power. Funny, I thought to myself as I passed the now-vacant guard chair at the base of the elevator, in my line of work when all power goes out the command goes to security alert. To me, operating without power is a terrific vulnerability; here, it’s an opportunity to sit around and wait to see how long we’ll all be in darkness. God help us if this was ever even a minimally-orchestrated burgling…..
The grand irony is that I was able to see inside my building and make my way up the eight beautiful marble flights of stairs without difficulty. This is because each night I make my way home from school using my trusty little flashlight that was your typical utilitarian Dad gift two Christmases ago. The big flashlight that is currently illuminating my dining area is normally stationed in my kitchen in the unlikely event that I need to withstand a home intrusion. You never know.
Not that I like to employ logic in this part of the world too often, but the grand irony is that my air conditioner did indeed get fixed this weekend, and just today I had to turn it off because it’s actually cold outside. One of my classmates even strolled into class tonight (he was only 70 minutes late) sporting a black velvet dinner jacket…and me, I brought a light cardigan to class that I wore on the walk home. Ca c’est pas normale ici…
So if it’s cold in Senegal in January (and I use the term “cold” loosely), there is no great demand on the power grid. This past Ramadan I was informed that our building generator was “fried”- this was the last time I had to resort to the headlamp. Not sure if that puppy is still under warranty, but I don’t see much reason for:
1. a power outage in the middle of “winter”
2. an electric generator not functioning when it serves as backup power for a decadent residence like that one I inhabit.
It’s a bit like the millionaire who can’t use his money to cure the terminal disease that is one day certain to kill him. You can construct some of the most ornate edifices that money can buy here in the developing world, but if you don’t have the basic infrastructure to support (or even illuminate) these very things….really, what’s the point?
Speaking of which, I’m not sure exactly what the point is of this posting. It may have made better sense had I raided my liquor cabinet prior to bringing fingers to keyboard. At a minimum you would have been more entertained, and then I know for sure that my pending request for a visa extension would doubtlessly be denied.
Do me a favor: lean down and look at your power outlet. I know it’s an inanimate object, but tell it “thank you”.