Day 23(05.08.17) Saturday

Earlier in the week, I discussed with one of the conductors (therapist) in Nimmy’s class where I could buy some of the equipment they used for therapy. She advised me to buy some of the parts that may be difficult to get. She advised I check two shops in the same axis. OBI and Praktiker. When I got to the location, Praktiker was right in front of the train. It had a lot of household things, including wood parts. It was a builder’s super-mart. I got some rollers (small tires) believing that our carpenters back home would be able to complete the remaining part of the improvised equipment.

After buying some things at Praktiker I wanted to check out OBI before leaving. I walked up to a lady sitting behind a desk to ask for direction but the language barrier made it impossible so I walked out trying to locate the store. I saw a little sign post that read OBI, 600m with a symbol of an n and an arrow pointing downwards attached to one end of the n (if you can picture what I have just said otherwise pardon me, I couldn’t find a symbol that best described it on my Microsoft word.) so I kept walking and stopped when I saw another sign post that said OBI 800m. I saw some men sitting in front of a big mall; luckily one of them could speak a little English but he didn’t know where OBI was. I crossed back to the road and turned right then I saw another sign post that said OBI 800m. The sun was so hot and biting, it could not only fry an egg but roast a game. I decided to go home.

When I got to the train station I met two drunks at the station; they also looked weird. The woman had lost most of her teeth; her skin looked like she had spent most of her life in the sun and didn’t take good care of herself. Although she was drunk, she still had a beer can in her hand. The man next to her was harassing her. At a point, he hit her on her back and she cringed in fear. I was seated at their back with a partition separating us. When the guy got up from his seat I immediately got up from mine. I didn’t know what to expect as the guy looked and sounded dangerous. Luckily his train arrived and he enterd, or so I thought but it seemed he only escorted the woman onboard and came down again. Well, I had nothing to fear because when he stepped down the train he started walking down the road. As he walked along he hit his hand on a pole with so much anger. I thought to myself, what could have happened to turn a guy into a wounded animal.

While waiting endlessly for the train to arrive, I decided to ask a young man (who sat beside me when the cranky man left) whether he could show me how to get to OBI. My usual question of ‘do you speak English?’ was answered in the affirmative. The man said no but he decided to check google map. The map said the shop was facing us but the guy and I didn’t see any building and I wasn’t in the mood to venture out in the sun.

Then the guy asked me what country I was from to which I answered, Nigeria. He said, ‘really? You have a nice accent.’ I laughed; little does a white man know that he also has an accent. I mean, who determines whose accent is nice or not? Such ignorance. Anyway, my thoughts did not show on my face, as I kept smiling.

Finally, my train arrived and I went back to Corvin hotel.

Like this article?

Share on facebook
Share on Facebook
Share on twitter
Share on Twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on Linkdin
Share on whatsapp
Share on WhatsApp

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.