Okay I know I started off this post with a dramatic title, and you're probably expecting me to follow up with an equally dramatic piece. Sorry, but this is going to be a rant about the problems regarding electricity in this part of Indonesia.
A few days ago, I was having a really good nap at about 5pm when the electricity shut down and I woke up in a really sweaty and shitty mood tangled up in my blankets. I'm a medical student. Nap times are a rare luxury. And yet the universe had the AUDACITY to play this trick on me. I thought of going back to sleep, but the heat evidently thought otherwise. It was then when I checked my phone and *insert dramatic gasp here* I had only about 30% battery left. And no way to charge it. That was when I realised I was doomed.
Since the sun was already going down and I didn't fancy taking a shower in the dark - too many horror movies, and I'm deathly afraid of creepy-crawlies - I decided to shower right then. And after a perilous shower involving a rogue insect and nearly falling and dying in the bathroom - I was wrong, the bathroom was already dark - I was already thinking of an escape plan while waiting for the electricity to turn back on. Here's the thing. Firstly, the entire city was in blackout (street lamps, hospitals, office buildings, you name it) and normally my hostel has a generator as a backup plan. But as it turns out, the generator was out that day. Yay me.
I grabbed my phone and as if on cue, Ying sent me a message saying that her room was basically a sauna and could we please go somewhere where it didn't feel like we were sitting in hell. Vejitha, Jessica and I were equally desperate and sure enough, within half an hour we were all gathered downstairs waiting for the cab to spirit us away to Dunkin Donuts. By the way, Dunkin Donuts was also running on a generator and there was no air conditioning. That's Palembang for you.
There have been quite a number of times when I was in the mall or cinema and all of a sudden there would be a blackout and we would be sitting like jackasses in the dark waiting for it to turn back on. I remember this one time when we were sitting in a donut shop and there was a blackout, and a waiter frantically rushed to our table with a flashlight. No, not to make sure we were okay, but to make sure we remembered to pay the check. Because heaven forbid we made a dash for it in the dark. What do we look like, donut kidnappers?
There was also the time when we were watching American Sniper (great movie by the way, you should definitely see it if you haven't) and halfway throughout the movie the entire cinema went pitch black. And apparently people here are so used to these happenings (and I suspect some were a little dazed and figured the movie was over) that some started leaving the cinema and others began eating what appeared to be a full-course meal (like really rice and vegetables, I am NOT kidding). The movie resumed in about 5 minutes, but for someone who had never experienced such a thing, I was well and truly flabbergasted.
Less humorous moments would be times when we had urgent assignments to complete or we needed to wake up early for lectures and there wouldn't be electricity. Or worse, the electricity would fluctuate, causing a real-life Paranormal Activity situation with the lights flickering and the fan switching on and off. I've had times where I stayed awake til 5am and slept for an hour, waking up to go for class at 7.30am. Needless to say my puffy eyes rivaled Kermit the Frog and my skin pallor made me look like an Indian vampire.
So future students, here's my advice. Palembang is hot, hot, hot and the heat can shrivel you up to a husk. Invest in a battery-operated fan and a good torchlight. And while we're on the subject of heat, really, think about an umbrella. I'm not a fan of umbrellas and people do mock you for carrying one, but honestly a little bit of mocking is better than melanoma. And if all else fails, I have no choice but to tell you to suck it up. Simply because that's all we can do. At least I've never experienced a water shortage before *knock on wood*. Now THAT would be the height of disaster.
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