What the...?
August 24, 2005
Upon accepting this position, we were given information about things we would need. One of the things on the list was a microwave oven. Before we left NYC we went to Fordham Road and bought a reconditioned microwave and a reconditioned stereo system. The stereo has a three disk changer and separate speakers. It’s nothing fancy, just something we could play our music on.
Since we arrived five days ago we have made several trips to the mine office to inquire about the details of getting settled in. One of the details is an inventory sheet that lists everything that should be in the house. I have been told that this sheet is a must have. I spoke to the man in charge of such things (his name is Coulibaly (Coollee-ballee)). He was very gracious and insisted that the sheet would be sent right over along with some gardening tools because those are the things we really need. Today I emailed him to remind him. He promised he would come by this afternoon.
Some fellows just dropped by. They delivered a microwave, a boom box, a DVD player, a vacuum cleaner, and a clothes dryer (all brand new, still in the box). The DVD player has no connecting cables and no English instructions. Okay – a vacuum cleaner? We have no carpet!! The floors are linoleum and are easily swept. The biggest “What the fuck?!” though is the clothes dryer. We have a clothes dryer…in the Sahara Desert! I have been told that Kayes is the hottest population center on Earth. It can reach 125 degrees…what the fuck do we need a clothes dryer for? We have been hanging our laundry outside and it dries within an hour which is certainly no slower than a dryer. The washing machine is in the kitchen, right next to an outside door. The enclosed area outside that door is gravel and has a clothes line. One need only to pull the clothes from the washer, walk ten feet and hang the clothes to dry in the desert sun. The only space for the dryer is on the back porch. From the washer, one would have to walk through the kitchen and living room (the length of the house), through the sliding glass door, and around the corner of the house to the dryer. This distance is easily 75 feet. The Malians are starving, beans cost $4 a can, and they bring us a dryer! We still don’t have gardening equipment or the inventory sheet, but we have a dryer and a vacuum.
Upon accepting this position, we were given information about things we would need. One of the things on the list was a microwave oven. Before we left NYC we went to Fordham Road and bought a reconditioned microwave and a reconditioned stereo system. The stereo has a three disk changer and separate speakers. It’s nothing fancy, just something we could play our music on.
Since we arrived five days ago we have made several trips to the mine office to inquire about the details of getting settled in. One of the details is an inventory sheet that lists everything that should be in the house. I have been told that this sheet is a must have. I spoke to the man in charge of such things (his name is Coulibaly (Coollee-ballee)). He was very gracious and insisted that the sheet would be sent right over along with some gardening tools because those are the things we really need. Today I emailed him to remind him. He promised he would come by this afternoon.
Some fellows just dropped by. They delivered a microwave, a boom box, a DVD player, a vacuum cleaner, and a clothes dryer (all brand new, still in the box). The DVD player has no connecting cables and no English instructions. Okay – a vacuum cleaner? We have no carpet!! The floors are linoleum and are easily swept. The biggest “What the fuck?!” though is the clothes dryer. We have a clothes dryer…in the Sahara Desert! I have been told that Kayes is the hottest population center on Earth. It can reach 125 degrees…what the fuck do we need a clothes dryer for? We have been hanging our laundry outside and it dries within an hour which is certainly no slower than a dryer. The washing machine is in the kitchen, right next to an outside door. The enclosed area outside that door is gravel and has a clothes line. One need only to pull the clothes from the washer, walk ten feet and hang the clothes to dry in the desert sun. The only space for the dryer is on the back porch. From the washer, one would have to walk through the kitchen and living room (the length of the house), through the sliding glass door, and around the corner of the house to the dryer. This distance is easily 75 feet. The Malians are starving, beans cost $4 a can, and they bring us a dryer! We still don’t have gardening equipment or the inventory sheet, but we have a dryer and a vacuum.
posted by Bronx to Timbuktu at 4:48 PM
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