Sylvia's Journal

Yesterday I arrived at the airport, got a rental car and found my way back to the MSH apartment.  It took less than a few minutes to get the hang of driving on the wrong side of the road. At the apartment I met the land lady who handy me a lantern, with the bad news that the electricity may well be out for a few days, after a bad storm on Friday that left the posh neighborhood powerless.

I went out to buy food that did not require heat or cold to prepare, which happened to be food I had not had enough of in Maseru: salads and fruits, and a bottle of wine. I prepared my meal before the sun set and was in bed with the lantern on my bedside table and a book when it got dark.  I have been reading a lot as a result of the power outage, finishing Sylvia Nasr’s fascinating story of the people who made modern economics (Grand Pursuit).

This morning I went to the local coffee shop where many other outage refugees were charging their electronics while sipping their lattes and cappuccinos– it created an instant camaraderie, even though I was a foreigner.

After making calls to the right people, one gentleman gave me the thumbs up and headed home. I did the same but realized we must have been living in a different neighborhood as everything remained off in the apartment. I decided to spend the rest of the day at a nearby shopping mall, selecting my lunch place based on the location of the electrical outlets. I had a very slow lunch, in sync with the recharging of the phone rather than the posted hours of the lunch place, to the barely visible annoyance of the wait staff. I left a very generous tip.

Not wanting to go home quite yet I decided to go see a movie (Woody Allen’s Rome) in a near empty cinema (so-so). I drove home before the sun set to make sure I could find my way into the apartment, expecting the worst, but found the refrigerator humming and the lights on.

Now everything is charged again and I am back on the grid, watching TV to see what happened in the world while I was away. Nothing good.