of kerosene and kouran

Gen kouran!  The power's back on! 

And there was much rejoicing.



Kerosene lamps are very useful!

  We said Evening Prayer by flashlight and candle light - and the power came on before the end.  Then it went out again. Then it came back on. Then it went out.  We said Compline early around the table by the light of a kerosene lamp, and I headed off to shower and bed.  Shower by kerosene lamp and flashlight.  Then, as I came out, I saw that the stairwell light was on.  Gen kouran?  Wi! 

Wi, by the way, is Oui (Kreyol and French, respectively), pronounced "we."  And it means "yes," not "wii" or "wi-fi" - while we have the latter, I don't yet know the word for it. More vocabulary to learn...

Important phrases in my life now include:

Gen kouran?  - Do we have power? (question asked every time we come home at night as we peer around the neighborhood on our way in)

Pa gen dlo. - We don't have water. (i.e. the water in the chateau d'eau - water tank - on top of the house has run out.  One hopes that this happens at a time when more water can be pumped up.  Sometimes it happens while you're trying to shower - but since we're prepared with buckets of treated water, it's not quite the comedy it has the potential to be.  I wonder if I should say that out loud...)

Ann nou prie. - Let's pray.  (Let us pray?  At some point perhaps I should also learn "May the Force be with you.")

Thanks be to God for power, water, and prayer, not necessarily in that order.