When I first found out that I’d be living in a village without electricity, the theme song from Gilligan’s Island immediately started playing in my head…
“No lights, no phone, no motor cars. Not a single luxury.
Like Robinson Caruso, it’s as primitive as can be…”
(Luckily I like that show and song, because it has been on repeat ever since.)
And while I don’t have lights or opportunity to charge my phone, computer, or Kindle, I have been able to redefine what “luxury” looks like in my life.
Luxuries in Dzoole (“zol-A”) Village, Malawi are:
– ability to see even the faintest of stars at night.
– a tin-roofed house during five days of rain storms instead of a roof made with sticks.
– cement floors instead of dirt.
– a well-crafted squatty instead of just a hole in the ground.
– 2-ply toilet paper.
– safe drinking water from a well.
– afternoons of “UNO” and playing cards.
– enough food to satisfy, even if it’s the same 4-5 items every meal.
– evening prayer walks through a village with beautiful mountain vistas.
– verbal Valentine’s from the only teammate to remember the holiday.
– porridge for preschoolers.
– moments of silence in a house with an abundance of kids under the age of 10.
– water for bucket showers that has been heated over a fire.
– little children who run to you and grab your hand while walking.
– new potatoes, homemade peanut butter, and banana fritters.
– secluded coffee shops that have enough outlets for everyone to charge multiple devices at once.
