And then there was darkness!!

Well here I am typing away by candle light on to a word document which I can copy over tomorrow, keeping an eye on the battery on the computer in case it runs out.


Gideon gave me a run home, which got me out of the trauma of getting the minibus on my without Jedone. As if there was even the slightest chance of me getting off at the right place!!!

When I got home nothing much was happening in the kitchen and as ever I couldn’t see that much food around (perhaps they are hiding it from me as they do keep producing meals). Jedone didn’t appear, but then why would he the poor lad is ill. So I thought I may as well play mom for the night and start cooking. Fortunately, I had picked up some stuff at the supermarket the other day with the intention of making a vegetable chilli one night (with soya mince no less). So I decided tonight would have to be the night.

Now do bear in mind the kitchen is not very big and all they have to cook on is two electric rings sitting on top of what looks like a microwave, and the rings themselves only have two settings – off or on!! But undaunted by all this and the fact I was cooking for 6 (as opposed to my normal 1) I ploughed on with the preparation. The soya mince didn’t look much like the stuff I used at home, I wasn’t sure we had enough vegetables to pad out the soya and there was no rice, but adaptability is the word out here and there was a big bag of pasta! Jedone’s youngest brother was keeping me company in the kitchen. His English is not very good and my Bemba is nonexistent so conversation was a bit stilted, and to be honest it felt a bit strange at times having him sit in the corner watching me. Felt like I was on master chef or something (I’d like to see what they could make with some weird looking soya and some dodgy electric rings)!! But we conversed as best we could, with him just smiling and nodding at me, which is an improvement on the reaction I normally get from kids back home, who, well just stare at me without the nodding and smiling.

All was going well, the chilli was a bit runnier than I wanted, but it just needed a bit more boiling time, when bang, we were plunged in to darkness. At which point everyone (except Jedone) seemed to appear in the kitchen. Now I don’t mean to be in the least bit rude, but it was very dark and they are all very dark, so I was finding it a bit disconcerting as I stood in front of my two little rings in the pitch black, with lots of people shuffling round, and me thinking well that’s dinner ruined!! I tried to ask if they knew why the power had gone off and was told it was because it was Tuesday – silly me, why else!! Estimated time for the power to be out seemed to be something between 1 hour and 20 hours (or maybe they said 2 hours). So having felt my way along the walls to my room, tripped over my handbag in the bedroom, knocked umpteen things of the table, I eventually found my torch. Boy was I glad I had lashed out those kwacha’s on that little life saver!

I then stared forlornly with my torch in to my pots of food, wandered aimlessly around the house, popped my head outside, wandered back inside, muttered to myself a bit. All with absolutely no point to it whatsoever other than I didn’t know what else to do. If I was American I would say I was regrouping, but I’m not, so all I was doing was fighting off one of my flaky, what the heck am I doing here, moments. Another successful flaky battle won I strode purposefully, torch in hand, back in to the kitchen. Nearly burnt my fingers lifting the metal lid with the metal handle, off the pot (excellent invention that one). Decided the pasta was now cooked and the chilli would just have to be runny so dinner was ready!! All I had to do was find someone who wanted to eat it!!

Anyway, eventually everyone ate pasta and runny chilli, even Jedone dragged himself out of bed for it and said it was good, in fact it was the most I have seen him eat since I got here. He explained that the power outage was because there was not enough to go round as they had to sell it to South Africa (why they can’t get their own I do not know) so they just randomly shut it down in areas every so often.

Jedone soon shuffled back off to bed and I was left to bat off the mosquitoes and listen to the fridge beside me slowly defrosting as I type by candle light!!

And just as I am getting to the end of this diatribe the power has come back on. Although in reality it doesn’t actually increase my options on what to do tonight with no internet and the kids in control of the remote. Another early night reading my book by torch light under my little mosquito net tent I think!! Life on the wild side in a village in Kitwe! Maybe I will go do some press ups or something!!

And I know there are no photos with this one, but your options were a plate of runny chilli or a picture of darkness!!! Vote using your buttons now!   :-)