A common lament of those that live in the Global South (and quite frankly of those that don’t) is the instability of common lifestyle amenities, what I term the Holy Trinity i.e. power, water, and the God Almighty cable.
This being my first summer “living” in Jamaica, I have come to understand that this season is quite different from the others. I begin everyday with my own personal guessing game about which amenity won’t work. Will it be a no cable day, or a no water day? On good days it is only one, but I have experienced the dreaded NO power/ water/ cable combination. And you best believe that if it rains, be it a drizzle or a monsoon, you better cancel an expectation of having power and/or cable for the rest of day. As I write this blog entry, the heralding red light of my battery update is screaming to be recharged. But this is a no power day, so I will work till the computer forces me off.
Two weekends ago, the entire island was without power for almost an entire day and night. It was surprisingly enjoyable if not eerie to drive through pitchblack streets and see streams of people form little enclaves on the corners to ward off boredom. And you could almost trick yourself into believing that all the candles were actually romantic.
When I was in the US two months ago, some people had asked me sympathetically whether I was “enjoying” my time in America. The underlining tone was that of sympathy for my harrowing experiences living in (gasp) a “ Third World Country”. To which I replied sympathetically back, that I loved living in Jamaica even given the (smirk) “substandard living conditions”; if substandard means perpetually surrounded by the silhouette of mountains, ocean, and prolific vegetation. Yes, go ahead and pity me.
Then I have been reading that people in Queens and Staten Island have been having the same power issues we have here. And the heat in California, Washington D.C., and New York has us rivaled, and I smiled. Not a malicious smile, but a smile of recognition that the line between “Developing” and “Developed” is not that thick.
By the way, the reason my blog doesn’t have pictures is because Typepad never gives me the option in a toolbar. I guess nothing and nowhere is perfect…Stay cool.