… was what a very well-meaning bus driver shouted to me from his window when I was running after a rainstorm. Back in Karonga (after 2 days in Kayelekera and Bwiliro, near the mine), I am reminded to be surprised to find internet cafes and ox carts on the same street. That very nice stranger might have misspoken when he said “sewage water,” but he was not inaccurate. Stepping in the puddles swollen with last night’s rain is like stepping into a fecal coliform melting pot, where Ox meets Dog meets Chicken meets Human versions (or are they all the same, regardless of species?)

Karonga does, in fact, have internet. And running water. And electricity. But never all three at the same time. …