| That the dirtiest, tiny shower stall in the world, with cold water, would make you feel so delicious and clean. So, define dirtiest. At least there wasn't poo from some PC trainee. Still, it looked yucky. Yucky . . . that's a universally understood adjective, right? That you can learn to wash clothes, many while they're still on your body, in the dirtiest shower in the world. That the dirtiest-appearing water (things clearly floating in it) would become potable. So how do we make drinking water? It's a very simple process. Set-up the filter-unit, which contains an inside-the-top-unit paper-type filter (think air-filter for a car) . . . through which water flows into the bottom carbon-type filter (think aquarium), through which the water again flows out into its permanent receptacle. Add bleach – about three drops per litre. It's all quite easy providing (wait for it) . . . providing there's any water of any type, from any source, to place into the filter. Did I mention that the device isn't really attractive. Picture white 5-gallon pickle bucket*. Surely there's a way to turn the white-white device into art. Stacey? Rusty? Sally? Anyone? Help me out here. Becky, can you delegate this art-transformation request to someone? *On a more positive note, the device has (figuratively) fermentation unit written all over it. So, drinking water versus cider? Hmmm. Verdict is still out. That you could willingly, voluntarily, without remuneration reside in a land where there are more internal parasites and worms that you can shake a stick at. Go ahead, I dare you . . . read-up on the Guinea Worm. That there exists gorgeous Gorgonzola, 1664 beer, cold Perrier, and gourmet jams in Burkina Faso. All that, and beautiful endive. Oranges that are the color orange (what a concept). It's nothing that about $50 US won't buy. I'd heard the rumor . . . thought it was a myth perpetuated by PCVs about to end their service. Nope. It was real. So we journeyed to a place called the Marina Market in the nation's capital of Ouogadougou. Three stories tall. It's ex-pat Disneyland where Snow White's castle is a food market on par with Central Market. Epcot Center is the kitchen gadgetry level (modern devices from around the world). And the Mad Hatter's Tea Party is the home furnishings floor where you'll believe, without a doubt, that you must have dropped a few hits of microdot. Put down the hookah. Was Tim Burton was hired to be the new West African IKEA designer? I declare, it's Edward Scissorhands in A Clockwork Orange. Milkbar meets Versailles. In any event, the furniture is bizarre with a capital B. I'm talking complete living room and bedroom suites (a la IKEA), but with over-the-top colors and contours. Indescribable. And we're looking around like newlyweds, giggling . . . Honey, do you like this? How would this set look in our mud hut? Here's the best part. We spy the Hippocampus mattress. That's no joke. It's called the Hippocampus mattress. It's big, easily king-size, and it's protected on all sides with a thick layer of clear plastic. Obviously this is something wonderful and very valuable. A mattress to be coveted by those fortunate few who can afford it. We lean back and plop onto the Hippocampus. Weel, suffice it to say, we might as well have plopped onto a concrete slab. Surely there is a misunderstanding. The real mattress must be in the back of the warehouse, right?. This hippocampus mattress was merely the demo . . . like fake sushi in the restaurant window. A mattress done-up by some fake-hippocampus mattress-stylist, right? Then why wrap it so carefully in plastic? In truth, it was the real-McCoy Hippocampus. What is up with that? Is the Hippocampus mattress named after the concrete-lined play-pool for zoo-kept hippopotami, and as such has a rock-hard feel? Or is the mattress named after the part of your brain? The hard-as-a-rock part. The, Kathy, you've got rocks in your head part? Is the hypothalamus mattress the soft version? So how about the frontal cortex mattress pad? How soft is that?! Who has the answers to these questions? We can only speculate. |
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