Power cuts and little mangoes

So, here I am dripping in sweat with the power off again and it hits me that what sent us into panic those first few weeks now barely raises a sigh.

Last night, with M in Dodoma, there were torrential rains and an almighty thunderstorm which predictably plunged us into darkness. We were having a cheeky 'movie and jelly baby' girls' night (courtesy of Christmas packages) so we were none too bothered.

More annoying was the power going just after I had put the kettle on for my dawn brew. Cereals with UHT milk is the least popular breakfast option here, but was the only thing on the menu having failed to locate any matches or firestarting equipment to light our gas hob (specially acquired for these precise moments). It was only once our housekeeper arrived later in the morning did we realise that yet again it was not a power cut but we had run out of electricity. Cue her going off to the electricity shop to buy some more. I then have to precariously balance on a stool, on top of a chair, outside the front door to enter a code into the electricity meter (a job usually delegated to the surgeon). I still half expect her to come back with a bag full of sparking blue electricity! Mental note to self; must develop habit of checking the meter regularly.

Power off again this evening as dusk falls. Gives more time to locate all the torches than if power goes once night has already come...having distributed them round everyone's bedsides last night we still had to hunt them down as inevitably they were part of B's afternoon game along with Gerry the giraffe. We do this now with a leisurely acceptance, one lonely candle lighting the sitting room. The girls have all mastered jug washing without assistance, my role just to direct the headtorch onto missed areas of red dirt.

Our night watchman turns up at 7.30 with a 'Hodi' (knock, knock) at the door. He accepts a cup of chai, and a plate of food if I have any extras. It is reassuring to know he's out there in the dark, or at least we think he is! But only on dry nights, on stormy nights like last he arrives to tell us he will not be sitting getting soaked; I don't blame him.

Mummy school today; all the basics like fractions into decimals, prefixes, counting in 10s and then some interesting research into ants, today's chosen topic from B. We learn that the poor Queen is more like a slave than a tyrant ruler. She stays deep in the middle of the ant nest for her entire life laying eggs every few seconds. So she might have a million worker ants finding food, digging tunnels, keeping her clean but it doesn't sound much like a life of luxury keeping the entire ant colony in babies. We drifted into termite mounds....even more fascinating with the air tunnels. I do enjoy this looking up of things we don't know the answer to. I just need to get better at finding time to look up my medical questions. #

We popped in to the hospice for me to do a bit of paperwork; I'm auditing the drug usage to see if the palliative care side can liase better with the funding for the HIV side of things. B enjoys the swings out the back of the building which are used by the HIV kids club on Saturdays and got treated to a lesson on eating little mangoes by our palliative care nurse. Has opened up a whole new area of mango enjoyment for us!

Mango lessons in my clinic room