The power is not there

Ugandans use certain phrases that Americans find confusing and/or amusing. "It is not there" is a common one.  When I ask a waiter "Can I have the fresh fish?" and they reply "I'm sorry, the fish isn't there." I'm tempted to ask "Where is it?" Sometimes I do, because the more you can turn things into a joke the better you fit in. But of course they are telling me the kitchen's sold out of fresh fish today.

I'm one to quickly adapt my vocabulary, so in Gulu it's become very common for me to ask "The power isn't there?" Today, the power was not there. All day. The power goes out pretty much every day here in Gulu, sometimes for 1 hour, sometimes for 10. For some this is a frustrating experience. But if you're smart you adapt pretty quickly. You own a propane stove instead of an electric one. You don't keep many perishable foods in your fridge/freezer that you don't plan on using in the very near future (in fact the only thing in the freezer at my house is reusable ice blocks, ice trays, and a couple bottles of whiskey). You have a lot of candles and flashlights and lanterns readily available. And when the power is there, you make sure anything with a battery is plugged in.

I really don't mind when the power goes out at home. Granted, at my office there is a generator, so that reduces a lot of possible frustrations. But at home, it just opens space for me to do things not associated with the internet or technology. Here's what I did today when I woke up and the power was out.

• I made breakfast
• I put the reusable ice blocks from the freezer into the fridge to help keep the milk and leftovers from spoiling
• I went to a yoga class
• I went to the market (and discovered carrot powder! It's so pretty)
• I stopped on the way home for a rolex (which was cooked on a charcoal stove, smart vendors don't depend on electricity either!)
• I laid in my hammock and took a nap
• I picked flowers from the garden to make the dining room table pretty
• I cleaned the kitchen
• I took a cold shower (cause no power=no heat, I'm more grateful for these on hot days, which today was not, but nbd)
• I used mobile data on my phone to check in with my friend via viber
• I talked to my housemates
• I wrote a letter to my sister

It's now 10pm and I'm at the hotel down the road from my house where they have a generator. Charging my laptop (which I didn't plug in last night so it already had very little battery life when the power went out) and phone, checking fb and email, and looking at plane tickets for a trip I'm planning to Zanzibar. While I eat dinner. Not sure if the power will have come back when I get back, if it is I get to yell "The power is there!" just cause. If not, I'll probably read until I go to sleep.

All in all, I feel like it was a pretty good Saturday. This is the first time I've ever sought out power when it wasn't there, and today it was mostly only because we need to get those plane tickets booked for Zanzibar! Other times when the power goes, I may watch a movie on my laptop (if I was smart and had it charging while the power was there), or go for a walk, or find someone to talk to, and I do a lot of reading. I feel like I do a lot of cooking in the dark, too. Point is, there is always a way to entertain myself that doesn't require electricity. And if I'm not immediately grateful for the disconnect, I usually remind myself to be pretty quickly.

peanut butter cookies that I baked while the power was not there

Trust in Africa--the mefloquine story

I was having a conversation with my dear friend Rachael the other day, who is in Colorado but lived in Nairobi, and after telling her a story she said, "You just gotta Trust In Africa, it's the new TIA!"

I love Rachael. And I love this reformulation of TIA.

Things don't often work out the way you planned or hoped or wanted, but if you give it space and time, it does work out. That's true anywhere, but for an expat in a place like Uganda it's just more in your face. The story I had told Rachael was about my quest for Mefloquine/Lariam, a drug taken once a week to prevent malaria. Which is pretty great. But it has its downfalls. Common side effects (which can happen at any point, even with the first dose) include bad dreams, depression, suicidal thoughts, and psychosis (which I fortunately have never experienced while taking this), as well as fever, nausea, vomiting, headaches (which I have experienced on occasion and suspect Mefloquine to be the culprit), and a very very long list of other things. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the side effects from the symptoms of an actual malaria infection, which happened to me just after I left Uganda the last time. Taken long term it can also cause liver damage. Awesome.

Taking all that in consideration, I don't plan to take mefloquine long term (although I have not decided yet how long I will continue to take it). I can take other measures to prevent mosquito bites as much as possible, and to keep my immune system strong so I'm in a good position to fight off a possible infection. I basically equate malaria to the flu (for which I have never been vaccinated): take care of yourself, take obvious precautions, and get treatment if you get it. Malaria is very common here (although I sometimes question the diagnosis as I think it's often times a default diagnosis, especially because diagnosis can be tricky if antigens from previous infections are present, and a host of other complications). And it's ugly. But if you do not have a weak or compromised immune system and you get treatment right away, you'll recover. I've read that 90% of the deaths caused by malaria are in children, and I suspect a large percentage of those children were probably malnourished or otherwise compromised, and many of them probably couldn't access adequate treatment quickly enough. I don't mean to downplay how serious malaria is, I just want to put my decision making process in perspective for those of you who would worry about my wellbeing.

So, back to my story. I was out of mefloquine and went to a pharmacy here in Gulu to get more. They were out. I was surprised, but ok, there's lots of pharmacies, I'll just go to another one. I did, and they were also out. I asked what's going on and just got a vague answer about there being a shortage everywhere at the moment. It's not uncommon to not be able to find something in stock at the supermarket that was there a week ago. There is little consistency to the things that get shipped into town. But I somehow expected this drug to be readily available and in stock. Obviously I should not have waited until I was out to look for more! I went to another pharmacy, they also didn't have any. I asked if they could recommend a place that might be more likely to have it (since until now I was just walking around and going into any pharmacy I came across). They recommended a place but it was not nearby and I still needed to go to the market, so I decided I would check another day. The decision about how long I should take mefloquine may have been made for me. Lack of supply may mean now is the time I stop.

Later that week on my lunch break I just happened to walk past the pharmacy that had been recommended to me, so I go in to ask about mefloquine. Turns out they have it! So I guess that means I'll continue taking it for now.

I have another great Trust in Africa story about termites and power outages, but I'll save it for another blog.