A flash and the lights are out again.

The little tell-tale flashing of the lights seems to be the split-second warning you get before everything suddenly goes quiet here at work.

Your computer screen flashes that awry diamond in your face, the fan above your head starts decelerating, and everything around is suddenly in darkness. Such is the scour of an office without windows, in a place without a stable electricity supply.
No matter how many times it happens, it always comes as an irritation, being torn away from your work like that. I have learnt by now, to pick up a book, my palmpilot,  or some other form of entertainment, and step outside onto the balcony for the duration of the black-out. It is in these moments, with my trusty palmpilot and fold-out keyboard, that most of my writing is done. Outside. On the balcony.
It takes only a split second without the fan before the room is simply too hot and stuffy for my western sensibilities.

Outside, on the other hand, perched as we are on the side of a hill overlooking much of what is north-western accra, there is a refreshing breeze in the air. I can see the Ocean about a kilometer to the south, the western hills are straight ahead, and if I go onto the roof, or crane my neck around the corner, I can look out over most of Accra. It's not a bad pass-time for those almost daily power outages, but still I wish I could get on with my work here instead.

Since finding the time to teach anyone, and finding anyone to teach here, is continuously difficult, I have given myself the task of creating an on-line resource with links to various sites that carry information on the different subjects I am supposed to teach. I have made up a lessonplan with one subject for each day I am here. And although we are already a week behind before even starting, with a bit of time-compression, hard work, and fortune, I could even get through most of the important subjects in the about 4 weeks left to me. I am no longer naive enough to think that this is going to happen, or that there will be anyone here to teach. Or anyone who wants to learn and has time, but having a plan shoved into their faces may force them into doing something.

In the meantime, I have decided to write brief descriptions of each subject, and add links to other on-line resources to it. Maybe it can be the start of a simple web tutorial? Given some time, and some design help, maybe I can turn it into a one-stop information shopping site for Internet businesses in the developing world who are in WAY above their heads, knowledge wise? Maybe it will just sit on a server here at AfricaExpress, unused and unwanted, and I will have wasted precious time and resources in creating something that already exists a thousand times over. I don't know, but maybe time will tell.

At least it's an occupation, and hopefully it is a better long-term investment of my time than running around installing microwave equipment for a company that has no chance of maintaining that equipment once I leave.

I know it's a long shot, but at least it's on the pitch.