As I woke up yesterday morning, I was greeted by a horrid stench. I wouldn’t say the overall smell is generally pleasant, but this odor was particularly bad. I remember my first thought was if I had maybe pooped myself (keep in mind I was just waking up, so I wasn’t thinking too clearly!). Then it went to a more realistic idea that maybe my toilet had backed up or something. I searched around but couldn’t find any issues. Then I decided it must just be a really strong smell drifting through my open window from outside. It was still pitch black outside at the time, so I wasn’t able to peek out and investigate the mystery.
I went on with my morning; I did some stretching, got dressed, and had breakfast and by the time I was leaving for work, I had forgotten all about the smell.
On leaving the hotel compound, I found the source of the mysterious stench. Just outside the gate was a pile of burning refuse, including what seemed to be diapers and animal hides (well, what was surely animal hides—the diapers I’m not too sure about, but I am certain some other species of stink was mixing and mingling with the scent of burning hair and skin). It didn’t have much of an effect of me while I could see and understand it, the wind was also favorable—I imagine it felt bad was giving me some relief after providing such a foul morning breeze. Anyways, I was just happy to have figured out what had earlier given me so much anxiety.
Work, like usual, was pretty boring and uneventful. However, I was grateful when my rowdy coworkers decided to take the bold step of simply leaving work after lunch, rather than hanging around and lighting up the whole office with boredom induced clamor. Unfortunately, I still wasn’t the most productive. I chatted with my desk mate for a while, which led me to leave some things incomplete. At least our conversation was an on topic subject—we debated whether AI has any proper use in the field of community health (I said no, she said “of course”). But that’s whatever, I’ve still got today!
Looking back on the whole of yesterday, it was only two very small events (ones that have been in the making for some time) that lead me to feel extremely lucky. I think I had mentioned it in a previous blog post, but this Saturday I was planning to attend a wedding in Arusha of a friend from the school. All week I had been urging my traveling buddy, a coworker who just so happened to be going to Arusha over the weekend because his wife and kids are there, to take me with him to purchase bus tickets. Last Saturday even, he said we could go to the ticket office, but the weekend came and went and so did my texts and calls. He wrote it off as not having left his house and therefore having no need to look at his phone, but I was suspicious. Throughout the first three days of the week I would see him in the morning, confirm we were going to get the tickets after work, and then be left bewildered to find his chair empty come time to leave work—as if he had snuck off early and purposefully avoided seeing me. Yesterday, the pieces came together in a most fortuitous way.
Picture this. The clock strikes noon. The office suddenly erupts in noisy excitement. My desk mate explains to me that it’s payday and the paychecks have just hit the accounts. I get a text from my friend in Arusha. I see my traveling buddy slinking out of the office. I call to him, he says he’ll come right back to talk to me. I read the text—a confirmation that I’m going to the wedding which is to be held on the 25th of July. I reread the text. I rereread the text. I become flustered. I spend a few minutes reconfirming and rereconfirming with my friend what he has just said. I go to look for my friend, ready to forgive, thank and praise him for his dodgy procrastination. Is he anywhere to be found?—No! I call him. Like usual, no answer. I get nervous that maybe he had gone to buy the tickets without me. I have my desk mate call him. He is at the ticket office, seconds away from buying my bus fare.
I don’t know how or why, but everything worked out perfectly, and I even benefited from the situation. This weekend there are two possible events in Shinyanga (a wedding and a movie night) that I was bummed I might have to miss. Anyways, I think it is quite amazing how my ignorance and stupid were able to combine with my traveling partner’s bankruptness to create a perfectly pleasant outcome. There’s got to be a word for this positive synergistic relationship between two independently negative events—but I can’t seem to figure it out.
I was very upbeat the rest of the day, and going home I felt a lot lighter. I think even just having precarious plans for planning the travel and undetermined travel plans had been making me nervous, so once all was figured out (even though it was a wholly unexpected outcome) I was extremely relieved.