it helps to turn it on . . .

It's our first morning back and I am fixing breakfast.

I start with soft boiling the eggs: the eggs go in a bowl of warm water and the pan, also full of warm water, goes on the stove-top burner. I turn the front burner dial to high. Then, I pop a couple potatoes in the micro, since Ron has asked for potatoes with our eggs today. I pour the oj, set the table with our own dishes -- ah the feeling -- throw bread in the toaster, and set out the various jams and honey we enjoy. Potatoes are done, so I grate them into a covered dish. That way they are still hot to eat with the eggs over top. Yum. Turn to check on the egg water. It's not boiling; it's not even any warmer. Duh. I forgot to turn on the stove switch.

In Africa, electricity is a big thing because there is so little of it. Many places we travel to do not even have access to electricity. But where it is available, there is usually one bulb burning at the end of the electric cord that hangs from the middle of the ceiling. And usually that one bulb is about 40 watts . . . or less. Because there are so many other demands here and now on the governments of these nations (i.e. corruption) just maintenance -- forget improvements -- gets low priority. The power plants that should have been upgraded 20 years ago are now overloaded and often just shut down.

There are many suggestions made for saving electricity: blanket-wrapping your geyser (pronounced gee-zer) or hot water heater, boiling only the amount of water needed in the electric kettle, etc., and of course turning off the lights. The electric company has the authority to enlist any and all in what they call power-sharing, meaning that some days the electricity in the whole neighborhood is turned off for awhile.

Just recently, a pay-as-you-use system has been set up here in Pretoria. You stop at convenient kiosks around town, pay for the amount you want to buy, and it is put on your electricity card. You take it home, punch the numbers into the meter, and you have access to more electricity.

When we first arrived in Africa, we were fascinated to find that all of the electrical outlets here have an on/off switch. When the outlet is not in use, you can just flick the switch and cut off the electricity. Wanting to be savers, and preventing electric leakage, especially when we are gone for weeks at a time, we run around our flat (the European term for apartment) turning off all the switches just before we leave.

It never fails that when we first get "home" we must remind ourselves where the light switches are, or where things go as we put them away. And at times we even forget that we must turn the electric outlet switches back on again if we want to effectively get some breakfast on the table.