T.I.A.
This Is Africa. The past couple of weeks have been quite “african”. The “africanisms” seem to be following us around everywhere. And I LOVE it. Disclaimer- no part of this is in any way a complaint... I have it so much easier than most of the people that live here. I am so privileged.
You learn to appreciate little things when everything around you doesn't seem to be working. The slogan of the company that provides power to Malawi is “working towards power all day everyday” (or something to that affect). Lately it seems like it should read “working towards power for a quarter of the day...some days...). The constant switching on and off of the lights while in the pharmacy makes it feel kind of like a disco, but it is in no way, shape or form conducive to counting meds. But, like I said, there is no complaining coming out of my mouth (or hands, as I am typing). It just makes me marvel in the fact that there are millions of people in this world that survive day in and day out without power. This weekend I had the privilege to eat at a friends uncle's house. His uncle's wife cooked for all 8 of us by herself.... on a coals. The thought of cooking for eight stresses me out as is, let alone doing it without a stove or oven. People look at the lives of people that live in third world countries as trivial, but I see the opposite. I see how trivial our lives are. If the infrastructure in America (or other western cultures) were to collapse and we were forced to live the way people in third world countries live, would we even be able to survive? No, it is definitely not their lives that are the trivial ones.
The new experience that I had this last week was waiting in a queue for petrol. (A queue is just another meaning for a line- and a word with way too man vowels in it. Petrol obviously is gas). I am not going to lie, I enjoyed every minute of the 12 and a half HOURS that I waited to fill up the car. My fellow queue-rs were not so happy. Waiting in a queue for me was a novelty, something that I can appreciate doing because it is not the life that I have to live. For the next six months I might have to wait for gas, but when I go home, I can enjoy the convenience of gas stations in a functioning country. Waiting for gas here is an experience, and one I will accept readily because it teaches me yet again how blessed I am, but its no more than that- an experience. It is not a way of life for me. It teaches me never again to get frustrated waiting the fifteen minutes that you need to wait even in the longest lines at Costco.
All the things that have been lacking lately in Malawi- electricity, petrol, water, coca-cola (ok the coke shortage is annoying, but nothing more than that and I think most people realize that)- have taught me that the things that I thought I needed to survive were just blessings. Life goes on with or without them. It's up to us to decide to go on with it or to sit and complain about it. There are very few necessities in life- things that you absolutely need to survive- and all the “T.I.A.” moments lately have been showing me that. There is nothing you can do to change some of the things around you that aren't working, all you can do is take it in stride and roll with the punches. There is no use in getting upset over it, but it would be a lost opportunity if you didn't take a step back and use the experiences your a part of to realize the blessings that you have in life.
