January 8, 2019
Downtown…wherever that is
Yesterday we went downtown but I’m not sure what that means
since I don’t exactly know where I am in relation to everything else. We went to a Wazungu store to get such things
as huge jugs of water, some plastic stuff and a plunger so I can do laundry. As
we were leaving the store, Ray, our trusty taxi driver, was waiting with a man named
George. George works for a company called SMILE which sells gizmos that allows
one to connect to the internet with 4G. Apparently, he just walks around and
people approach him to buy gizmos or purchase more time and data or
whatever. He was very nice but has an
interesting scar that started at the top of his ear and circled over the top of
his head at the hairline—like someone tried to scalp him. So, there we were in
the parking lot, making the deal, exchanging money and getting the goods.
Sweet! Now I can at least post on the blog.
We also got phones which you get at one shop; a sim card
which you get at another shop; and minutes which you can get at another shop—or
on the street from folks, like George, who walk around looking to make a deal.
As we were driving to wherever we went, we darted in and out
of cars and motor bikes. The motor bikes
are called pikipiki or boruboru. They
are like taxis but everyone has warned me to never take one. I know why since they don’t really follow the
rules of the road. Stop lights, traffic lanes,
pedestrians and other vehicles don’t mean much to them. They just go. The most
interesting thing we saw was a boruboru in front of us which had a driver and a passenger. The passenger was holding up
a windshield. Yes, a car
windshield. It was standing up
vertically, kind of wedged between her and the driver. That was a sight.
Oh, dear. My phone
just rang but I don’t know how to answer it so I better get this posted and
read the manual. The things one must learn in a new country. Today, I’m working
on counting to 5 in Swahili. But the phone is important too.....
