Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Batik Saga

We have a cool three-papasan (bowl chair) set on our balcony.  However, the fabric covering the cushions is horrid.  So I'd been on the lookout for a nice batik fabric so our curtain designer could make cushion covers for us.  He told us he'd need 18 yards.

I passed by a little batik stall on Oxford Street and asked the woman if she could get 18 yards of fabric made in a certain pattern that struck me.  After some arguing, she got me to pay in full up-front, because she was a "good Christian" and promised she "is not cheating me."  The cost she gave me was 5.50 cedis per yard.  This was a Thursday and she said it'd be ready next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Tuesday morning came and she called me, informing me she had been sick recently and hadn't been able to go to her batik maker.  The fabric should be ready on Friday.

Friday comes.  Monday comes.  No word.  Tuesday I call her.

She tells me, "Yes, it's ready."  So I come to get it.

When I arrive, 14 yards are waiting for me.  I ask where the other four yards are.  She said, "O, there were extra costs for the dye and the fabric- because this is a special order.  I didn't know if I should use my own money to get the 18 yards."

Yes, she should have.  I didn't order 18 yards in the expectation I'd be getting 14.  And I would have told her that, if she'd called me when she learned the news.

As I looked around the stall, I saw she had two other 2-yard pieces which had same pattern as the 14 yards, so I bought them and left.  I wasn't at home when the designer came to get the fabric, but Jens was.  And the two men agreed that the 14-yards of fabric and the 4-yards of fabric were too noticeably different.

Thursday I called the batik lady again to let her know she needed to go back and get four more yards identical to the fourteen.  And she needed a piece of the 14-yards of fabric so her batik maker could copy it.  I spent half an hour with her hashing out the costs she expected.  How much are the dyes, and how much does fabric cost per yard?  There was also the workmanship fee.  I took away from that cost what I'd already paid for the 4 yards of different fabric.  And I made it clear she should call me if ANY issue came up.  This happened Thursday evening and she said it'd be done by Tuesday or Wednesday.

The next Thursday (this is three weeks after the original "it'll be done in five days") I come to her.  She gives me the four yards.  Then she tells me a story.

She had to travel to the batik maker's house by herself.  She went to the batik maker's shop, but he was in the hospital.  So she had to travel to his house, with his brother, in a taxi.  It was in the north and she didn't know how far it was or how much she should pay for the taxi.  So along with the costs of the fabric, she needed an extra 16 cedis for her transportation.

I paid her just to have this whole gong show ended.  And then I gave the fabric to the designer, feeling that for a cheap batik pattern, it really wasn't worth it at all.  I would have gotten a better deal going to a big fabric store and paying 8 or 9 cedis per yard, when they would have had the entire quantity I needed at once.  And it would have been better quality, too.

We get back from our trip to Zanzibar and the designer brings over the cushion covers.  When he gets to our balcony he seems surprised.  He tells me he thought we had two large papasans and two small.  We only have one large, and two small.  So now we have two covers for the one big cushion.

I'm sure if the designer had had the right numbers, I wouldn't have needed those extra 4 yards at all.

Total cost: 99 cedis originally plus 3 cedis transportation the first time she went to see him; 22 for the extra but different four yards.  Another 16 for the extra four yards.  16 for transportation.  And three weeks of time.  Then 50 for the designer plus another two and a half weeks.  What a nightmare... although pretty benign, all things considered.

But it's over.  We have batik cushion covers for our papasans.  And when those wear out, I'll go and buy the next batch of fabric from a big fabric store.  No question about that.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Responsibility is a Hot Potato

Tossing around the blame is a big, big thing here.  As a Westerner it's hard to come to terms with it: a person believes they are absolved if they are able to explain away their involvement in something not-ideal.  All over the place it happens.  "Madame, it is not my fault o!"  And they think that forgives them.  I was talking to my family about culture and how it probably does mean something here - but I wonder, then... do they ever try to pursue the blame to its root and punish the original sinner?  Or is it enough for everyone involved in the last step to shrug off the guilt?

There are many viruses floating around the technology here.  When a friend at CEPEHRG asked me to give him some files on his USB stick, my anti-virus popped up as soon as I plugged it into my computer and informed me there were two viruses on it.  "It's not from me!" he cried, shocked.  "Those are from THAT machine!" and he pointed to a colleague's laptop.  To which I replied, "It's also not your fault if you have HIV, but that doesn't mean I'll take the risk with you!"

At the seamstress (yes, I've had two dresses made) last week, I overheard an interview on the radio.  It was the chief of the local waste-removal company, and the interviewer asked him, "So, why has rubbish been piling up on all the street corners?  Why are the trucks not running?"
The Zoomlion executive answered, "Well, the Environmental Protection Agency has closed two of our three dump sites.  So there's no place to bring the waste, and trucks find it hard to dump their waste when the landfill is already full.  You see, it is impossible when we only have one dump site."
A Westerner would have at least assured the audience that they were working on a solution.
Then another waste-related executive spoke up.  "We are trying to implement recycling and composting programs.  We think they are the future.  However, it's very very expensive and we won't be able to do it without a lot of external help."
You could have read his comment two ways, so it was either "We have hope, as long as some other countries can help us out...." or else, "We have this plan, but it's impossible.  So that's why we're not implementing it at all."

Is this a culture clash?  Should it be okay for people to write off absences, failures, missed deadlines, and lack of effort to external factors?  Traffic, rain, illness (is it me, or do a lot of people take sick days here?)

Is this the inner American-workaholic in me shining through?  The accountability-holic?

I had an interview for a job on Wednesday, and while I'd appreciate y'all keeping your fingers crossed for me, I don't want to share more for fear I'll jinx it.  I believe it went well but I am not sure.  If anyone is available to help me beef up an application for USAID which is due on Thursday, let me know.  I'm still sticking with the "reach" jobs for now, but am happy that I've found the drive to be looking.


I should also mention, we have our own PO box now, rather than sharing with Jens's boss's mother!  A PO box is hard to get because numbers are so limited.  I was lucky to pass by our local post office at the right moment and see a sign advertising reallocated PO boxes.   

If anyone wants to send letters or packages, address them to P.O. Box OS 2755, Osu, Accra, Ghana.