It's Electrifying!

Being American, there are many things that I am accustomed to. From certain brands, ways of living, types of food and so on, there are things that happen in the U.S., and things that don't. One such thing that doesn't happen very regularly in the U.S., for at least the cities I've lived in, is power outages. These happen in big, dramatic events that most doesn't know how to deal with, since they are not a normal part of a middle class American's life. Like the big southern California power outage last year, where schools were cancelled and gas stations were shut down, creating complete chaos for a few hours in our lives. While some relished in the opportunity to make their own adventures, to take advantage of the time off and relax; others turned to freak out mode over their refrigerators and inability to charge their phones/computers. It was the first time I had met my neighbors that night, and luckily for me, I LOVE candles, so besides a lack of communication, I was happy. But the days after the outage, it occurred to me that the power going off was not a normal event, and most dreaded it happening again. On the other side of the world in Beirut, Lebanon, the power being off is one of the most regular things about life. From the first day we were here, until now, almost a month later, the power is off multiple times EVERY DAY. Because of this, everyone has a personal generator. Where we are staying until the renovations are done with the house, there is only six hours of city electricity every day, forcing us to use the generator the other eighteen hours. By now, this is just one of the things that you respond to with, "WELCOME TO LEBANON!" No matter where you go, whether it be a fancy restaurant or to the local cafe next to your building, everyone's power goes off daily. Luckily for us, when we move into the house my stepdad owns with his sisters, we have city electricity twenty-one hours everyday, a rarity in this city. If you would have explained this to me a year ago, I don't know if I would of been to excited about being in Beirut, electricity-less. Living here now, this comical part of life has not phased me at all. Except for the times when, four grocery bags in hand, the power is off and you have to take the stairs, and not the lift(elevator). This is just another of those things that push me to be as adaptable as ever, and to thank God for the things in life that really matter.

P.s., I actually kinda wish the generators were not always coming on when the city power turns off, you miss the excitement of candlelight and the solace of the darkness! But then again, no one wants to eat rotten food and drink warm milk!