Now that the evenings are getting cooler here in Phoenix (below 100 yeah!) I was reminded of the evenings in Tala, Kenya. Not because of the temperatures, which are quite similar this time of year, but being outside and trying to see the stars night. We have a difficult time seeing them clearly because of our light pollution here. In Tala they have no street lights, no yard lights, no businesses open 24 hours it is simply DARK at night!
We have electricity at our home in Tala but it is very sporadic and unreliable so we use torches (flashlights) and candles frequently. I could not believe how dark it was until we experienced our first black-out. Chuck and I had to walk from Gideon’s to our home, which is about 50 feet away, during a black-out. We didn’t have our torch because the electricity was on when we went over for dinner and while we were walking back Chuck walked into me because you literally could not see your hand in front of your face!
Kilonzo, our guard at the compound, gave us quite a shock that night also. We stopped walking (that’s when Chuck walked into me) to let our eyes adjust, which they didn’t because it was just so DARK, and Chuck asked “I wonder where Kilonzo is?” So he whispered “Kilonzo” and Kilonzo spoke up from a kneeling position right next to Chuck – “I am here”. We both jumped and could not believe he had been right next to us and we didn’t see or hear him until he spoke.
Another night we were saying goodbye to the kids at Mercy and they were all dancing in front of us but we couldn’t see anyone! Even though we could hear them laughing and talking right in front of us. They thought that was quite funny 🙂
It’s so hard to explain just how dark it was and it from then on I began calling the nighttime – crazy dark!