Power Struggle

As in most developing countries, and Haiti is no exception, electricity is almost never a consistent thing.  In the 3.5 months we’ve been here, we’ve had maybe two days where we had power for an entire 24 hour period.  We’ve had several days with NO power in a 24 hour period or power at completely erroneous times such as from 11PM to 3AM.  Sean and I have theories that the power is controlled by a little hamster on a wheel and when it gets tired the lights go off.  It’s always funny to me to watch the transition people make during their stay in Haiti.  On their first day they say things like: “wow, there isn’t any power how do you survive?” or “I’d love to have a shower but there’s no power…” or “How can I check my email with no power” or “Am I really supposed to deliver a baby in the dark?”  By the end of their stay most people will cheer when the power runs on, stop whatever it is they’re doing to plug their electronics in and after taking a shower will check their email and update their Facebook status; even if it’s 3AM and they’ve been asleep since 9PM.  Martin for example, one of our current volunteers who has spent his month in Haiti making us laugh and tirelessly working on fixer-upper projects has been trying to build gates for us for the better part of a week now.  Whenever the power is on he runs down to the garage and welds furiously, coming back inside frustrated saying “I was 15 minutes away from finishing before the power went out”.  So he decided to adapt to his circumstances.  The night before last when the power came on well after midnight, he rigged up a work light and spent a few hours working on the gates.  I think he’s almost finished so let’s hope the power cooperates today.  We’ve noticed a really interesting phenomenon about foreigners coming to live in Haiti: Everyone gets really sleepy right after dinner and will usually go to bed within a few hours of the meal.  We eat around 5:30 or 6PM and it’s not uncommon for most to be fast asleep by 8 or 9PM.  Everyone also naturally gets up around the time the sun rises which is usually about 6 or 6:30AM.  It’s amazing how your body will adjust to be in rhythm with the sun when give then chance.  Sean and I are really loving sleeping this way and as any good naturopath knows, good sleep is the key to good success so we must be well on our way. J