Power Issues

I’ve now gone through two power strips. One was a surge protector I had in the States that my mom sent over, the other I bought locally. You’d think something designed to prevent electrical hiccups would hold true to its word. Not in Rwanda. That’s why I am left only with the outlet that brought about their untimely demises. The first one sparked, started smoking, smelled like burnt marshmallows (this one I still maintain could be construed as a positive), and shorted the electricity in my house for a few minutes. The second, as pictured below, felt the need to go a subtler route. It started smoking, but kept it to such a low level that it was undetectable until it was too late. Within a span of seconds I watched the cord go from the normal untainted parts you see below to the burned globby mess you see in the first picture.