Monday 9 October 2006, by PowerNell. During the power crisis the people of Dar es Salaam are divided in three. There is the people that don"t have a generator, the ones that have a generator but can"t afford to run it, and the ones with a generator and enough money or an employer to keep it running all day. I am the one in the middle. At least I have the opportunity to run a generator, so I am not complaining. But for all of you in the civilised world who think that problems are solved if only you have a generator: this is not the case. Before I can make myself a nice cup of coffee, I have to go outside, walk to the other end of the garden, refill the generator, press the button, walk all the way home, make a cup of coffee, and walk to the other end of the garden and back again to stop the generator. Only then I can enjoy my cup of coffee. Under that circumstances it is much easier to make some instant coffee, and instant coffee is also fine, but hey, I like a decent cup of coffee. Running my generator costs me about 4 dollars an hour though. That is about the same as one hour parking in a large European city: not something that you do daily. It makes a very expensive and labour-intensive cup of coffee.

Generator stress

The other day I was at a friend"s house. She made me a very nice cup of coffee. Her generator was running – she is in the third category – and she took her time to prepare everything. There was an espresso machine, a froth machine, cacao powder, and the result was excellent. But what really amazed me was the tranquillity with which she was preparing the drinks. If my generator is running everyone is in a hurry. All leave has been suspended. The housekeeper is ironing, my mobile phone and laptop are charging, I am making coffee, I am sending emails, the washing machine is running. During all that the loud noise of the generator constantly reminds me of the 4 dollars: I actually have to close the window, otherwise I can"t concentrate. I also feel I should use the internet all the time: typing, reading and organising I can also do without power! But at least I have the opportunity to run a generator.
 
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