Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Our biggest adjustment since coming to Lubumbashi, is the lack of stable power. While we knew not to expect to have power 100% of the time, we did not expect that we would be 4 kilometers away from the main transformer line. Our house, is the last house on the power line, which means, by the time power reaches us, it produces power at around 100 volts, when it should produce to 220 volts. If you are like me, and you do not fully understand th
e concept of this low voltage, it means our house is very dim at night, when the power consumption is at its highest, and it also means, that the electric stove and oven that we purchased right when we got here, before we moved in, has not been used one time!
Knowing that we would not have power all of the time, we had already bought a gas cook-top that would run off of propane, for the times of no power. Unfortunately, the gas cook-top has become my primary means to prepare food, and I no longer have an oven. While we were in Kigali, propane stove’s and ovens were our primary means for cooking, as the cost of power was too high to use electricity. With gas being the primary, the “supply and demand” made the cost of propane, very reasonably priced, and very easily accessible. Here in Lubumbashi, there is only one company to provide the propane, so the cost to regularly run our gas cook-top is far too high to make this my primary means for cooking.
We made the decision to purchase 2 charcoal stoves, a couple of pots and a large bag of charcoal so that I can cook half of my meals on open fire. The price for propane is $125 every time I need to replace the propane, compared to about $12 to replace charcoal when I run out! It is definitely a money saver, AND a new learning opportunity for me! Thank goodness I had the opportunity to cook on charcoal while I was in Kigali, with friends to teach me; otherwise I would be completely lost! Tonight was the first time Blake and I had dinner before 7pm in about 3 weeks! I am still learning the timing of preparing food. While I start dinner before 5pm, we still end up eating well after 8pm. It’s not that it’s difficult to cook on the fires; it just takes a lot more time. It’s even more of an adventure to cook on the nights when the power is gone completely. All of this is part of learning this new process of preparing and cooking food. I am trying to adapt to our ever-changing circumstances, and I am trying to meet each new challenge cheerfully. Thankfully Blake has been adapting very well to 8pm dinners and he no longer asks “what’s for a snack” before we head to bed.