Power outages some more and Sinterklaas goodies galore

So I know I promised to post pictures of the trip to Lushoto and Mkuzi but we still don’t have internet at the office.  I apologize to all the people whose emails I have not been able to respond to yet.  I will get to it as soon as I have a consistent connection.  Although I have been assured that the bill has been paid, it is impossible to tell since the power has been out in half the office the entire week and all the office half the week.  The half that is working right now can hardly be called half since it is two sockets and one fan.  This means no A/C and no internet and it means that we are all risking our lives hooking all the computers and printers up to the two functioning sockets.  It is like an electrical nightmare in the middle of a burning inferno.  It appears that they are rationing the electricity and this is apparently quite normal as no one is too surprised by it.  I think most people were surprised that we didn’t have more in September and October but now that elections are over, it all kind of makes sense.  It amazes me because they do not have a back-up plan when the power goes out.  When the power goes out I usually continue working on my laptop at the office until the battery dies at which time I go back home to finish working there if there’s power there (which it also a crap-shot since our area is also rationed but not usually at the same time as the office which is good).  I wondered what those working on desktop computers would be doing and I was surprised as they were still staring at their screen even though there was no power.  What I have learned is that they simply sit there and wait.  They don’t even pretend to be busy, for several hours, until someone brings up the idea to go home.  In the meantime they’ve texted all their friends a hundred times and read the paper cover to cover.  I feel almost bad for them for having to sit there waiting which must be extremely boring.  I did ask why we don’t have a generator since the hospital (in which we occupy an office on the top floor- no need to remind you that hot air rises) has one and I figured it would be big enough for the entire building.  I was told that the hospital indeed has a generator that we are even permitted to use for a small contribution.  This seems reasonable enough to me, especially given the frequency with which the power outages are hitting during working hours and the loss of production this clearly causes, however, this is not so apparent to the coordinator and so we do not contribute and do not get to enjoy the use of the generator.

Anyway, as frustrating as this is, I am getting used to the routine and have saved some money by being able to eat lunch at home.  This has also been a welcome break from the chips mayai and wali I’ve been having for lunch interchangeably until now.  It also helps my productivity as it gets extremely hot in the office in the afternoon even with the A/C and I have learned that my brain begins to fizzle a bit in extreme heat.  Although we don’t have A/C at home we do have a very powerful fan that I can position myself under while sitting in extremely airy clothing, something I cannot do at the office. 

I have been working on the brochures for the organization itself and for the child marriage campaign.  I have decided that all the brochures should have a common design element so that people can recognize them as the work of CDF.  Since the logo for the organization has the colors blue and pink in it the coordinator requested that these colors be represented in the brochure somewhere.  This is not an easy task as pink and blue can quickly make something look like a birth announcement and is difficult to make look serious, however, by using darker tones of the colors and some more modern designs, I think I have managed to make the colors the design element that flows through all the brochures.

In the meantime, I have also finished the book, "Do They Hear You When You Cry" and was very impressed by the story (not so much by the writing).  It is very simply written so an easy read and an important story.  I'm sure I should have liked it more because the story included a lot of the legal issues that surround FGM and asylum but there was just something missing.  I really can't explain what it was but the emotion just didn't really seem to be there.  Perhaps this is a cultural difference between the narrator (author) and myself but I felt very disconnected from her.  Anyway, still a worthwhile read, just to understand the progress made in the campaign to end FGM and to recognize it as a human rights issue.

On a happier note, to all my Dutch family and friends- veel plezier met Sinterklaas!!  and thanks to my mam who sent me a gift box with pepernoten, marzipan and chocolate letters in honor of the celebration.  They arrived just in time and will be heartily consumed this weekend :)  It's always nice to have a little bit of home when you're far away.  I am shocked by how well the mail appears to work (although I do have to have it sent to Olaf's office because there are really no physical addresses and most people simply have P.O. Boxes because buildings mostly go by plot numbers and I've never actually seen a postman).