I'm the first Guatemalan you've ever met

I know it is not true for my friends and family from Guatemala. But outside the  country I hear it quite  often: "You are the first Guatemalan I've ever met". I have to admit that it makes me feel special. But at the same time is kind of sad. The world is missing to get to know all these amazing Guatemalan people,  and at the same time Guatemalan people are missing to see the world. 

Africa was the continent were less people knew about Guatemala. I was confused with the Thai princess in an Embassy in Kenya and asked if Guatemala was an island near China in Senegal. It's sad that they don't know Guatemala. But I feel glad that at least I can show something new  to the people I met when I travel. In India was a little bit weird since Indians confuse Guatemala with Guantanamo. Was I a political prisoner? Or when I say Guatemala is in America they think it is in the USA. I already know the speech on how to explain that America is a continent and not a country.

Since we tend to create stereotypes in our minds, I believe that is a responsibility to show the people I meet how nice Guatemalans are. Usually people that have heard about Guatemala just know about it because of the news about the violence and dangers of our country. I've met a lot of travelers in hostels that tell me they have heard Guatemala is beautiful,  but they haven't dared to  visit it because it's dangerous.  I have to be honest and admit that our country is not the safest one, but I still encourage them to visit it telling them which are the safest areas.  I love to tell them about how beautiful Guatemala is. I enjoy describing the ruins of Tikal and the beauty of the volcanoes around Atitlan lake. I think I have convinced at least a couple.

I have to make up their mids not just regarding the beauty of our country. But also how kind, hard working and trustworthy we Guatemalans are.  I do my best to be sharp, polite (sometimes they  make fun of me because I'm TOO polite), and always smiley. I met a  Polish  girl that told me: "Just seeing you so happy makes me want to go to Guatemala". I always tell them that even we are in the top countries in criminality and poverty, ironically, we are also in the top countries of happiness.

I strongly believe that we Guatemalans have to go out there and show the world how beautiful people we are. We have to promote our country. The world is missing us and we are missing  the world.
  

The best plan is to don't have a plan

When I started traveling and not just following a tourist group I used to plan my trips for weeks in advance. I spent hours reading about what to do, how to do it and when. I remember a friend of mine even used to create an excel sheet with all the previewed expenses. All these creates many expectations,  so when the place is not as you imagined or the plan doesn't work as you want, it can be very disappointing.

When I decided to go to India, I remember I met a Swedish couple that have been there and asked them for some advice. The girl just answered:  "I don't know if I should tell you, since I don't want to create any idea or fear. I can only say: everything is just unexpected". I think that was the best advice I had. Other people I asked about India filled my mind with so many warnings and fears that I was crying in the plane before landing in Delhi.  And it was incredible! India was, just as she said: unexpected! And I loved it.

Traveling in southern Asian countries for example,  you realise that deals, times and distances have different meanings.  These make making plans almost impossible. They tell you, "five minutes", that can be half an hour. And you need two hours to travel 50 km.  Once in India I took a bus to Manali that arrived to its destination 13 hours late. Therefore, you develop a capacity to deal with frustration and to overcome the habit of controlling things. You realise that you can't change the way they think or live, so or  you change your ways or you will be angry your whole trip. Besides, it pushes you to be  creative  and find fast solutions to the always arising problems. Once I was dropped in the middle of the highway, 20 km from Pushkar at 1 am. I had to call a  random hotel to see if someone could pick me up, so the owner of the hotel arrived on his motorcycle and drove me there.

Now I spend less  time planning and more time traveling. I decide where  to go on the way. I read less travel guides and trust more other travellers to chose my next step. I'm not afraid of changing my plans because I barely have them. And I realized that when you don't expect anything about a place, magical things can happen. For my tip to Myanmar and Vietnam I just had some flight tickets, I didn't have a clue on what to do until I arrived to each country. On Myanmar, I was planning to go to Mandalay, but a Tulsa minute I decided to go on a three day trek to Inle Lake that ended up being a four day trek because we wanted to stay for a funeral festival in one of the villages. This week I was quite sure I was going to Hue for a tour to the Demilitarized zone in Vietnam, but I met an Italian guy who told me about some National Park and ended in the most amazing caves near Dong Hoi. Life has many surprises prepared, but is up to us to be ready to change our plans and be surprised.

People that know me for years might think this is not me. Two years ago, I always had a plan for what to do next and I was eager to make my plans happen as expected.  But as a fortune teller in Khajuraho told me once: I was not this happy two years ago. Being more prone to be surprised has made my life way more exciting. Now I just know I have to be somewhere at a certain time and date, what happens in between I'm not sure. The same way, I know what I want from my life, how I get it and at when I don't know yet, but I'm figuring out on the way. 

Be a traveler, not a tourist

Two weeks ago I went for a very short trip to Nepal. In many ways it changed my way of thinking and made me realise how much I enjoy being a traveler and not  just a tourist.

When I was a little girl, me and my family traveled several times with those huge tourist group packages. I remember being to Disney World following a red sign and a bunch of people. We  were going where they wanted us to and when they wanted us to. We were  just seeing what  they wanted us to see. Years after I went to Miami for shopping without even seeing the beach. And even went to the typical summer break to Cancun. It was good and I enjoyed all these trips. But it was because I didn't know what was it like to be a traveler and not a tourist.

What's the difference? You must be wondering. Being a tourist is going where they are telling you to go, being carried around to and site seeing museums and the must-see landmarks of each city. It is spending heaps of money in fancy hotels  and drinks on the beach.  I'm not saying that's not fun or that I don't like it. I think this is just the perfect vacation. But it is not the way to really know a place and its people. It just depends on what are you traveling for.  I travel to see smiles, I travel  to see people, I travel to see moments.

And all these just strike me in Nepal. Realising that I enjoy way more seeing people than places. I did everything as the locals do. As they say: while in Rome, do like the Romans. I met my American friend Daniel and started our trip walking to the Kathmandu's bus station and  buying a ticket to Pokhara in a public bus for that evening. Then it became more interesting, when we decided to go to Baktarpur in a public bus. It cost less than half a euro,  but it took us 2 hours to travel 30 km. The bus was stopping every 100 meters; picking up and letting people  out. The bus  was packed. It was quite nice to see the faces of people smiling at me and some expressions of amusement. The fact that I have small eyes and dark skin, but don't dress like them nor speak their language always makes them wonder where I am from. Usually that's what triggers the conversation. And if they can't speak  English they try with gestures. I love to say that I'm from Guatemala because everyone always say I'm he first Guatemalan  they have ever met. This  makes me feel special.

Baktarpur  was quite interesting. It seems like the town is frozen on time. We saw many interesting sacrifices due to the  festival of Durja Puja. On the way back we took the  wrong  bus, and reached a different bus station. We could have just hired a taxi and reach the other station, but we wanted to do it the hard way! That's  what makes the trip interesting! That's the  adrenaline, that's the challenge! We had to walk for some blocks because no bus wanted to take us there. Finally we got into a public tuk-tuk. These are bigger tuk-tuks that resemble trucks on the back and can carry up to ten people. This one was driven by a lady, which  was  extraordinary. She took us to a  place where we could take a bus to reach the station. All the trip cost less than one euro and took more than an hour.

In the station we went to have some momos. The other customers were looking at us as if we were Martians. They are no used to see foreigners  eating in local restaurants. Anyway, I had the greasiest and most delicious momos ever.  Sometimes the locals don't let you experience their life. If you ask them about places to eat or visit,  they mention the typical tourist places. It's not because they don't want  to share, its because they expect you  to be more comfortable doing the usual  tourist trips. For example, if I get on a bus, they sit me on special seats near the driver, probably because they see I'm a girl traveling alone. And if I ask for a train they send me to the most fancy cabin, sometimes at the same rate. Until you gain their trust and show them that what you want is a recommendation  based on  what they do, they share the most secret and amazing places. Just  this week I met Koko the guardian of one of the temples in Bagan, Myanmar. We became friends and he took  me  to the ruins  of a monastery. I had the best view of the city from there. Koko even told me I was the first person he had taken there.

I strongly believe that the best way to  know about a country is to hear the story from its people and to try to see and experience their lives. It shows you the same scene from another point  of view. Besides, until  you meet the locals  you are able to destroy stereotypes.

I love to find new paths, not just the one the map shows. I travel to see people, to  see smiles, to see moments. Because those can't be captured on a  photograph or be found  on  Google images. Being a traveler you realise that even the most stunning landscape is not complete without a personal story. 

There are no accidents

      And two years after, I finished my Masters. I never expected it to happen this way, but now I can’t imagine it happening in any other way. These two years have taught me the most, they taught me to believe, enjoy, thank and let go. I’ve learned to trust God, who always knows the perfect time and way, and to trust everyone, remembering that no one is perfect. I’ve learned to enjoy and be amazed by every single small detail, every moment, every random smile and even every mistake. I’ve learned to thank every day for being alive and because I have way more than I deserve. I’ve learned to let go, because nothing is forever and it is needed to move on to see the next adventure that God has prepared.   

      They had given me the most amazing experiences, but they also took away what I’ve loved the most. They brought me to places I’ve never imagined, but also to face my biggest fears. They showed me that family will always be my safety net and there is no failure that can’t be overcome by their love, their words of hope and their trust. Home will always be home.  I can go back whenever I want and I can take it with me wherever I go. I’ve learned that real friends are few and that time and distance just make real friendships stronger. Friends come in different sizes and colors, and you will never know where you can find them. I’ve seen that there is a big world outside my small mind that I never imagined. There are so many thoughts, religions, cultures and ideas that sometimes are hard to believe and impossible to understand.  

     I’ve learned that most of the time I’m wrong, and that is right because that’s the way I’m learning.  I’ve found out that I can be right and wrong at the same time, because everything is relative and I’ve been enjoying getting to know the various unimaginable right thoughts. I’ve learned that failing and being alone is not as bad as they say, and those experiences made me love me more. I’ve learned that there is no pain or trouble that lasts forever; looking back and realizing what you just overcame makes you appreciate how stronger you have become.  I’ve learned that saying good-bye is just a part of life and it teaches you to love when you are and where you are, because you don’t know when it is going to be over.

        I’ve learned that there are no rules to follow, just my own, the ones that lead me to happiness. During these two years I’ve figure out what I want from my life: I want to be happy and make my life useful to people around me. I don’t have a plan on how to get it, but I’m enjoying being bubbly and sharing smiles, cheering up people and keeping up a good mood.  I know I’m getting close because I’m happier than I’ve ever been, and each day is getting better! =)

     There are no accidents: a phrase from a children’s movie that a good friend told me during one of my most painful disappointments and a phrase that reminded me that I’m not walking lost and alone, but there is purpose in my life. Every failure, every tear, every farewell is taking me closer. Closer to life, to happiness, to God, to my destiny, however you want to call it…

New start: New Delhi

Delhi's airport

I arrived at Delhi's airport at noon, with the sadness of a lost, the fear to the unknown and the hope of finding something new. At least this time, I didn't have to make a two-hour queue to go through the migration process. I had in mind that the first thing to do was to get my luggage, the one that was left in Miami and was supposed to arrive at this airport. It took me some time to fight against the bureaucracy of the Indian security officers, until I could arrive at the airline desktop to ask for my bag. 

They made me wait for more than an hour and I left without my luggage and without a clue of where it was. I was super hungry and went to a small kiosk just outside the airport, where my first "What am I doing here?" came to my mind. Everything on that kiosk was vegetarian, or vegetarian and spicy. It took me sometime to find something that looked like a hamburger and it turned out, that it was potato, not meat. Disappointed, I called for a taxi. It was a small (the smallest I've ever seen) van, super narrow. I get on it, and the second "what am I doing here?" pop into my mind, accompanied by a " I'm going to die".  The old man drove like crazy, with that narrow car, he was getting between two other cars, making four lines in a three lanes street. He was accelerating and hitting the brakes every 10 seconds. After five minutes, I decided just to calm down and trust on him, I thought that that should be the way they drive here, so he should know better. 

The monkey on my balcony

I felt it was a long drive, and I was just waiting for the landscape to change, from the small apartment buildings that were almost falling apart, to nice big buildings. It never happened and when I noticed, we were stopping in a super crowded street, with small, old, dirty houses.  The third "What am I doing here?" came to my mind, this was my block.  I walked slowly towards the entry of the gated community. I saw some ladies, wearing their saris, kids playing on a dry dirty park. I started looking for the number of the house, when I saw three monkeys jumping from one house to the other. It was outrageous! I even had monkeys on my block! Finally I found the house and the apartment, it wasn't as nice as I have pictured it. It was messy and dirty and with a continuous dripping from the shower that was driving me crazy. I put my things on place and went to buy some food.  

The market was just in front of my block. It had mostly restaurants, a lot of food that I have never seen in my life. I managed to find some food and decided to get a SIM card. I needed a copy of my passport, some pictures and to give the number of a reference person, as if I was applying for another visa. I went to get the copy of my passport and the old man who attended me didn't have change for my 10 rupees note, and he told me "bring it later!".  I was impressed, he didn't even know me, that was something that hadn't happened for me in a while. I managed to get my SIM card, the man on the store filled all the forms for me. Then I wanted to pay the man for the photocopies, but still didn't have change, so I asked someone on a store. He told me "I don't have change, but I can get it for you". So the man left his store and went to a near restaurant to get me the change. 

Riding the rickshaw

I went back home, met my new flatmate (an awesome, super friendly guy) and went to sleep. Before sleeping I was thinking on how lucky I was to have found a flat so close to the place I am working on and with so nice people, how lucky i was to get a SIM card activated on the same day, while it usually takes two, even for the locals. The next day I woke up with a renewed attitude, went to work on a rickshaw and realized that without knowing, I chose the perfect place to work on, doing exactly what I love. I have been here just for a few days, but I am starting to understand why am I here: I am here for the thrill, for the adventure; I am here for the smiles, for the kindness: I am here to challenge myself: I am here for something different, to see that the world is much more than what I am used to. I still don't know the whole reason, but at the moment I just feel is just right. I am just in the place I am supposed to be, that's why everything has worked out so perfectly. 

Safari at Sweetwaters

       We were ready for a three days trip outside the city visiting some solar projects and working.  At the last moment, on Thursday night, our contact person for visiting the sites told us that we couldn’t go.  So, we decided to visit more of the country and travel anyway.  The next morning, we woke up and spent some time deciding what to do.  Finally, we decided to go to Nanyuki and go on Safari.  I was super excited.  I didn’t imagine I would have the opportunity to do it. So we boarded a bus to the city centre and there we would find a matatu that would take us to Nanyuki. 

   A matatu is a small bus, a minivan of approximately 12 seats that makes long trips to different cities inside the country.  They are all parked in a spot in the city center, waiting to be filled.  You have to try to find a matatu that is almost full, because otherwise you will wait like 4 hours until it is full and departs.  When we arrived in the city center, we came down the bus and we just saw many people walking towards us, covering their faces. We didn’t pay attention and keep on walking, when suddenly a horrible smell, like if someone was frying onions came to us.  That’s when we realize that we were walking in tear gas.  Apparently the police wanted to move some vendors from the street and they use the teargas to move them.  We took another route and reach the matatu station. There were a lot of matatus, and a lot of people asking us where we were going and trying to make us chose their matatu, but we wanted and almost full one. Finally, we found one and started our journey to Nanyuki. 

     It took us like 6 hours to get to Nanyuki, it was a small city with mall in the middle. We found something to eat and then we looked for a hostel. At night we went to the supermarket and in the surroundings we found an English man that start talking to us and end up helping us to find a car and a guide for the Safari. The next morning, at 6 am, we were ready for Safari. But, our Kenyan driver wasn’t there.  We were worried, because they say that you can spot more animals in the morning that is when they go for food, at midday they try to hide from the sun. Our driver arrived 30 minutes late and we started our trip. 

    We arrived at Sweet waters park at 7 am and start our Safari.

  The first animal we say where zebras, apparently they are very common and you see them everywhere. Then we saw some Baboons, they were so nice passing in front of our car.  I loved to see the moms carrying the small babies on their backs.   Impalas are also very common and we saw a lot of them.  But we were looking for the “big five”.  The “big five” are animals that are rare and Kenyan people were always trying to find and hunt since they are very precious and they are very difficult to spot on foot.  

     We kept on driving and we saw some giraffes, I was so excited, since I like them a lot. Sadly, we just saw them from far. But, suddenly, we saw our first one of the “big five”: a buffalo.  

     We saw it from far, they are huge animals and very dangerous, so we tried to stay far. We went to a Chimpanzee rescue center.  Chimpanzees are not original from Kenya, but they have been brought here, since in their native countries they are captivated and sold. So in this place, they try to simulate their normal environment and keep them safe.  Chimpanzees are the most similar animals to humans, our DNA is 98% the same, so it was very interesting to see them.  We heard many sad stories of how they were treated before they got there; some of them cannot even stand properly since they had been for years inside in small cages.   

      After the rescue center we saw our second one of the “big five”: an elephant. This was an interesting elephant, since they are usually in group, and this one was alone.  They say he was expelled from the group and since then they always see him alone. Elephants are very territorial, and while we were taking pictures of it, unexpectedly we saw it coming towards us. It was quite scary to see such a huge animal walking towards us.  So we just moved from its territory and it calm down. 

     We saw another one of the “big five” on a protected site, the rhino. Rhinos are now endangered, so they are in special areas, with many guards taking care of them. Since their horns are very well pay, many villagers try to catch the rhinos and kill them to get their horns. This rhino was called Baraka and was half blind, that’s why it was very calmed and we could even fed him.                       We also saw some cheetahs playing among them and resting.  It was interesting how the Safari works, when one of the drivers sees one of the “big five” or other rare animal, he calls his friends, so in some minutes there are a lot of cars with people taking pictures. This was a little disappointing for me, because it kills the excitement of going in the wild and finding animals or tracing them. So, when we were looking at the cheetahs, our driver got a call announcing that there was a lion close by. So immediately we went to try to look for it. Sadly we didn’t. On the way we think we saw a leopard, three of us saw a shadow in the woods and told the driver, so we drove towards it.  Apparently it was really a leopard, since there were a lot of baboons nearby and all of them seem alert as is a predator was close.  We stay there for some more minutes, waiting for the leopard but we never saw it again.  At the end, we saw, for sure three of the “big five”, we think we saw four, and for sure we miss one: the lion.

     Other interesting fact of this park is that it is extended over the equator, so you cross the equator many times, to the north and to the south hemisphere while you are driving around.

    I liked the experience a lot. Nevertheless, I was expecting something wilder. I don’t know if it still exists on Earth a virgin place, where these wild animals have never had contact with human beings. The animals in this reserve seem very used to people, with turns it into a show more than a real experience.  

Kenya Experience. First week.

     And back to Africa! After some refreshing holidays in France, is time to go back to work. Now the project is totally different and with different people. This is not about delivering a technical solution but more of a field study. The rest of the team: Till and Judith from Germany, Iliana from Greece and Simone from Italy, came to Nairobi ten days ago, and they have been having different meetings with people from NGO’s and Kenya Power.

     I came on Friday, Till and Iliana went to pick me up at the airport. This is very similar to Dakar, but at the same time very different. It is also kind of dry, the city doesn’t have much infrastructure, there are traffic jams everywhere, and the weather is warm. Nevertheless, here there are no donkeys on the streets and, since Kenya was an English colony, everybody speaks English which makes communication and human relations easier for me. It took us almost 2 hours to get from the airport to our place, what usually takes 15 minutes; the traffic jams are astonishing! I got to the house and I was a little impressed. I’ve been in Senegal in the countryside, so I wasn’t expecting nice houses; but here, we were in the city and we were paying quite some money for this house and it is spacious, but is empty and bad maintained. We stayed there the whole afternoon, I was trying to answer emails and enjoy communication to the world again.

     We live in a so-called Estate, these are groups of houses that look the same, are enclosed and have a group of security people at the entrance. In Guatemala, we called them “Residenciales”, and the fact of being enclosed and having the same house as everybody, impressed my European friends. In front of our Estate there is a market. One of the tailors of the market, Zircali, is our friend; so he called us in the night to go out for a beer. We went to a bar near the market, very small and it looked like the bars in the countryside in Senegal, with wooden and plastic chairs. The music reminded me that I was back to Africa. Zircali calls himself “The government” and tells everybody to call him this way; he knows a lot of people, all of them say that they have a lot of money, show off their cell phones and brag about their houses. After sometimes, the girls and I went to sleep and the boys keep on partying with Zircali and his friends.

     The next day I decided to stay in home and to keep catching up with my work. The girls went hiking and the boys slept until late.  I did my laundry, by hand again; this time I was expecting to have a laundry machine, but no, so it was very disappointing. Then, when I tried to work, there was no internet, so I couldn’t work the whole day. In the afternoon, we went with the boys to look for a swimming pool. The only one we found was in the golf club, but we needed to be members, so we came back. The day went by without internet and not many news; and during the night we had to pack our things, since Till, Judith and me were coming to Lodwar. 

     We had to wake up very early on Sunday to take our plane to Lodwar. I couldn’t sleep very well since our landowner was moving out and went away until 2 am. This time it took us just 15 minutes to reach the airport, so we got earlier than we expected. At the desk of Fly 540, the ladies told us that since we had come early, we could take the first airplane that was supposed to leave at 7 am (by that time it was already 730 am).

 So we were happy, maybe we could gain some time. We were in the waiting room and a girl approached to all the people that were supposed to take our flight and told us that the plane was already there, but it was getting fuel. One hour after, we started boarding. So at the end, the first plane that was supposed to be 2 hours before ours, took off just at the time we were supposed to take off: 9 am. It was a scary flight, a small plane that shook a lot.  From the sky we could see how we were approaching the deserted north of Kenya.

After one and a half hours, we arrived in Lodwar. Henry, the manager of the off-grid stations of Kenya Power had arranged our stay, so a Taxi driver went to pick us up and left us in our hotel or, as they call it, guest house. Lodwar is a city, that as Till says, can be much nicer if it was paved. So, it is very dry, dusty and warm. Is like we are in the middle of nowhere. There are just some business, like grocery stores, restaurants, cell phone services and other guest houses. 

There is no much to see or do here, but is interesting to see how other people live. We can see that they eat a lot of meat, especially goat. And they have a lot of food very similar to Guatemalan food: Chapati, that seems a tortilla, Ugali, that is like tamal and they also eat a lot of beans. I enjoy a lot the food here! =)

     On Monday, we decided to go to Elisey Springs, near Turkana Lake.  According to our tourist guide book, there was nothing very interesting to do, but it was a nice place to see.  Our driver picked us up at 8 and we drove for 2 hours. The way was very interesting, just after we left the “city center”, there was nothing, but some trees and dust. Once in a while, we came to see small huts and then everything was a big savanna, just like in The Lion King movie.  We also saw a lot of goats and some people walking. These people were Turkanas, they are the tribu that lives near Turkana Lake, they wear just a piece of cloth to cover their main body and the ladies wear many necklaces that stretch their necks. According to our guidebook, they don’t like to be photographed, so that’s why I don’t have nice pictures of them, even I met some of them. I met a lady, called Maria, she was very nice to me. Most of these people speak English, but is very difficult to understand them, and I think for them is very difficult to understand me, because sometimes they answer something different to what I’m asking. 

     At some point of our trip we found camels! That was amazing, it was the first time in my  life that I saw a camel! And in wildlife! Our driver told us that mainly they exchange them for women. =/

After 2 hours, we got to the place. It was beautiful, it was a lake, but since it was windy it had small waves. Beautiful!

     Even it was a nice beach; we couldn’t got in the water: the guidebook said there are crocodiles. I don’t know if reading that guidebook was a good idea, it made me afraid of doing a lot of things that maybe could have been fun.

I decided to go for a walk. I saw a lot of beautiful birds, but every time I approached to take a picture, they flew away. I met a fisherman that was very nice to me, and told me to not be afraid of the crocodiles, since they just went out during the night. On my way I also met Maria, the Turkana lady and some kids that were asking me to take them some pictures. I really don’t understand if they wanted money for them after that, since just one of them spoke English and not very well. Anyway, I didn’t have money with me, but they didn’t get mad. 

      Then we had swam in a small swimming pool of the resort, had lunch and came back home. The driver was hurry or something, and for a moment I thought we were going to crash. The road is awful, sandy at the beginning and then is full of holes. First, we got stuck in the sand, and then we got a flat tire. The driver changed the tire fast and we continued our way. We got back to Lodwar and Henry came to pick us up to go to the first generation plant I was going to visit. It was a hybrid solar and diesel off-grid power plant that was serving the habitants of Lodwar. We visited the plant, got the specifications of it. It was very interesting that they had tracking and no-tracking systems; they are actually testing them to see what is more cost effective to implement it in their next project, which is way bigger. It is interesting to see that some houses near the power plant are not connected to the grid. Henry said that it was because they can’t afford the connection fee or because they are afraid of having electricity because they thing their huts are going to burn.  It is interesting to see these huts, as the ones we saw in our way to Turkana. The question is: do these people really want electricity? 

They look so peaceful, and like they don’t need anything. Henry says that for these cases, they mostly want to provide lighting; the use of other home appliances is not urgency.  I wonder if not giving them electricity is hinder their development and prevent them from the “luxury” of it, or is just ruining their peace. After my month in Senegal, I realize that being without electricity can be quite fun and you enjoy many things of nature that you are not used to: like the stars.  It can be messy, you are fixing a problem, but maybe you are bringing others. I agree that electricity is needed for development, but in this extreme cases, of these people living so far from this material world, why dragging them? It gave me something to think of.