My dad grew up in western Kansas, where the Volga German Catholics all ended up a few generations earlier. There were still second generation old men when he was a kid who didn't speak a lick of English, or spoke English with a heavy accent and German sentence structure.

"To town we go!"

When next to town you go, see if there are any grounded lamp/Christmas light timers at the whatever-mart. If you can convince your SE to be at the "It is now safe to shut down your Mac," screen when the power cuts out and start back up when the power comes back, you'll be golden.