Sunday January 18h, 2004
I still have no fridge. Izzy ran out of gas, and Alex has to go back up to Abong M’bang and get more. Apparenly there were some leaks in the pipes, and Izzy had to start over. Sigh. I’m never going to get a working fridge here again. I do make light of it, but it is a real problem. Nothing here is built for single people (not single as in not married, but as in sole, alone, not part of a larger family). The fridge is the great equalizer. It allows me to cook enough for days at a time, shop for days at a time, and keep enough variety in my diet so I don’t get ill. I have been without for a month now, and my diet is clearly not as good as it was when I had the fridge. Hopefully, Alex and Izzy will figure it out, but I am not tremendously hopeful. The problem is, they have both made it a matter of pride… and so, it is hard for me to take it away from them. Well, not them, but Izzy.
There are some Chinese merchants in town. The have a big car, and fill it full of stuff, and drive down the road selling things until they run out, or hit the end. It is a collection of the worst quality crap available. Alex found some picture frames he wants. I am going to loan him enough to buy some. He wants to sell the framed pictures at a premium.. and he even has a few buyers (I verified this myself before agreeing). I helped him negotiate the price down, and now he has a business of his own. Not a chance I’ll see the money again, but I do want to support his efforts at being responsible. Funny thing. Chinese people are white here as well… so he wanted me to negotiate with my brothers to get a better price. I didn’t, but I gave him a few tips on negotiation with merchants from the rest of the world… like the idea of a quantity discount.