Day 2: The adventure begins

Today, Kadra, our maid recommended a place where I could get my hair braided. Wait. Did I forget to mention I have a maid?? She is so sweet and has agreed to help me learn French; one of the many languages she knows. Kadra stated that it would cost me no more than $50 USD since I was providing my own hair. She also insisted that I exchange the money beforehand so they wouldn't rip me off. As if that mattered!! They charged me $70 USD(12000 Djiboutian Francs) for microbraids. No doubt, I love my hair and I know it would have been 3x more in DC for what took two people 8 hours (Yes, they are that small and my head is THAT big), but I was hoping to pay $15 USD like Tricy told me she paid when she went to Tanzania. *sigh*

Needless to say, even after we exchanged my money, I still didn't have the money to pay the braider. They didn't accept credit cards and wouldn't accept anything less for all the time they spent. I can't say I blame them, but Kadra was belligerent. I am not sure what she was saying to the braider, but the body language told me that she wasn't using any words that could be found in the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

All I kept thinking was, I am about to be in Djibouti jail for not having money for services and then I would have to stay there because I couldn't speak their language so they wouldn't be able to understand me when I requested my one phone call. Then who was I going to call, because my parents don't pick up their phone... The bright side was my mug shot would be cute since my hair was freshly done. Yes, ALL this ran through my mind in this one moment.

Finally, the braider agreed to let me write them a check. Even still, Kadra and the hair braider continued arguing. Not sure why, but I guess Kadra was slightly embarassed because she was my translator/guide and recommended this lady. After all, everything I did at this point was with 100% trust in her since I haven't mastered the translation of money nor the language. I felt helpless, but as long as the end resulted in my hair being fixed, I didn't care much.

When I got home at 3 am, I found a lizard in my shoes! I was so proud of myself for not yelling and instead I just jumped on the bed until I gained my composure. I chuckled as I thought of all that I went through today. I didn't even tell you about me tripping down the stairs in my villa. But it never fails, if there are stairs, I will fall down or UP them.

And I failed to mention that I had a taste of Djibouti water. Kadra made me take a sip while I was getting my hair braided and I was so hungry and thirsty that I briefly lost my mind. But that one sip brought me back to my senses. The water was so heavy and salty and plain ol' disgusting! It even smelt bad! It took me forever to swallow the sip and everyone in the shop kept staring at me as if I was the one with a problem. Please...

I was originally supposed to get a cell phone today, but once Kadra promised me a hair appointment everything else went out the window, including unpacking. Let's see what tomorrow brings.

The Financial FOUR

Is this the week of a full moon? I am not sure that the last week has really been weird. I think that is the only word that is appropriate. In the last seven days, I have had four requests asking for financial assistance.

The first text message was for help with a down payment for a car. She stated that she would pay me back next week when she got paid. Later, I found out that she was purchased an Acura TSX.
I have been burned by this statement before so I hold no truth to this. I responded with a very polite no.

The next day, the second request came as a text message and this friend asked to borrow (an undisclosed amount) money since she just moved back to the area from North Carolina and funds were night. As before, I didn’t respond because I have a hard core rule about asking for money via text. See Texting Etiquette. However, this situation disturbed me slightly because I offered HER a FREE place to reside while she got on her feet and she denied me because she said I lived too far. I get it..ok. But I offered you what I could AFFORD at the time--stability (a roof over your head, running water, and electricity) not financial assistance.

Two days later, I receive a text message from a family relative in South Carolina asking to borrow $50 until next week (See a pattern?). Staying true to my rule I didn’t respond, but I wondered 1) Was I supposed to wire her this money? 2) When she paid me back, was she going to include the wire charge? I am confident that I know the answer to these questions.

Immediately, I began to pray. I wondered what type of test/challenge was God preparing me for. If you read my blog regularly, you understand that I am a cheap skate and very frugal with my money. I am thankful for what I have but I strive to be wise in my financial decisions. Apparently, those on the outside take this as a front and do not believe that I am financially strapped when I say that I am.

In the past, I often commented that no one ever asked me for money. I assumed that meant that everyone understood I was in this struggle with them and did not have much disposable income. Sheesh! That theory went right out the door with spandex jeans.

So if you are keeping up, you realize that I only mentioned three so far. My fourth, and I pray my last, encounter came from an old colleague of mine. She actually CALLED! I don’t speak to her often so when she called my house phone, cell phone, house phone, and cell phone (in that order) , I knew that she wanted SOMETHING. A woman’s intuition is seldom wrong. She proceeded to give me a sob story about her cable and then closed with “So can I borrow $178 until...(you fill in the blank)?”. Yep, that’s right, NEXT WEEK!!!

All I could do at this point was chuckle. I explained to her that I wasn’t laughing at her struggle but I was really beginning to believe that this was my test. God, why me? Seriously, why?

I don’t wish to turn my friends down when they are in need, but money for a cable bill is just taking our friendship for granted. Do you know how long I went without cable in my life?? Cable is NOT a necessity. EVER!

You must agree, last week I entered the Twilight Zone...