August 2009
I'm slowly learning that not everything in Dar is as top-quality as it looks. Last week, I moved my desk in my classroom, where the side promptly split off from the rest of the desk. "Delicious" hot chocolate or brownies look great on the outside - but may leave something to be desired in the end.
This past week has also brought many opportunities to LAUGH!!! I'm remembering how often I've been told that laughter releases endorphins... this must be true, because it's helped me through a lot of otherwise stressful times! I figure I can choose to laugh or cry - this week seems to be a laughing week.
Today brought yet another such lesson on both fronts. Occasionally, the corner of my bed has been collapsing off the frame of my bed. Kind of surprising, but totally doable. At least there is a soft bed mattress to catch whoever the lucky individual is. Soon enough, the entire side of the bed collapsed, and we realized there might be a problem. The flimsy little board with a big knot-hole which had been used to support the entire weight of the board had somehow decided this was the right moment to give way.
This past week has also brought many opportunities to LAUGH!!! I'm remembering how often I've been told that laughter releases endorphins... this must be true, because it's helped me through a lot of otherwise stressful times! I figure I can choose to laugh or cry - this week seems to be a laughing week.
Today brought yet another such lesson on both fronts. Occasionally, the corner of my bed has been collapsing off the frame of my bed. Kind of surprising, but totally doable. At least there is a soft bed mattress to catch whoever the lucky individual is. Soon enough, the entire side of the bed collapsed, and we realized there might be a problem. The flimsy little board with a big knot-hole which had been used to support the entire weight of the board had somehow decided this was the right moment to give way.
Before
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| My bed support from before. Yes, I mean that little puny piece of wood broken in the middle of my frame. |
My roommate Marie and I set out for the market as planned, armed with a note from our guard explaining in Swahili what we wanted. We soon found that perhaps not many women stop by lumberyards on the side of the road at Mwenge... though the men seemed slightly surprised, we were treated well. We explained that we wanted three 1x8 boards, 41 cm long each. He quoted us and we decided it was doable... then sat down at the appointed chair they lent us in the shade. After awhile, I got up to make sure they had understood what we wanted. They assured us they did.
Soon, we heard them discussing a 1x1 square pole. Then came the 10 pieces of 1x8 wood that they checked for knotholes. Much sawing and pounding ensued, and we wandered out to see what was going on.
Aside from the pieces of wood lying on a smoldering charcoal pile, things didn't look too bad. However, they hadn't started on our project, and I was kind of wondering why not. (Ok, I'm still getting used to this whole African timeline thing!) We moved to another location, where the fundi (expert) pushed some other people off a bench for us in the shade. However, I was getting impatient, and wanted to know what was going on. As Marie and I watched, we started realizing the pieces they had cut that were supposedly for us were being built into ... something. A slat of wood connected by 1x1 boards. What happened to our 3 simply cut boards?
By the end, they had a very nice slatted structure of wood - but from my estimations it seemed way too small one way, too long the other... and then they cut the whole thing in half! The fundi really wanted our approval but we had to hold back nervous laughter as we wondered what we would do with this new wooden creation. They offered to bicycle it to our house, but when two guys started arguing over the job, the fundi picked up the big structure and carried it over his head to find us a bajaj (a small vehicle with no doors, much like tuk tuks in India). He got us a fair price, and Marie and I laughed and debated how to turn the structure into a bookshelf all the way home.
After
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| This is the view of the new structure from our new fundi friends. Hooray for a solid bed to sleep on! |
Soon after arriving, our guard helped us to carry the structures into my room. Low and behold, the structure fit into my bed frame almost exactly - with the exception of 1 inch too wide on every board. Our guard grabbed a saw and started sweating as he worked to cut it off for us... then my bed ended up securely back on my frame. It was way more secure and solid than three boards (connected by the original plastic bolts) would ever have been. Once again, a great reminder that God is in charge - though how the fundi knew to ignore my request for three boards is beyond me!
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| A quick view of my room - I am truly blessed! |
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