Then I’m lunch just now, this guy comes and sits beside me. This is fairly standard in any restaurant when its busy – someone will just plonk themselves beside you without so much as an “is this seat free” or even a casual head nod or eye contact. But its almost 2:30pm, well off peak time and the canteen is pratically empty. So why has he sat beside me. He looks vaguely familiar, in the way most staff here do, but I don’t really know him…not even his name or in which department he works. He also greets me, which is again non standard. Perhaps he’s a foreigner (ie non Rwandan) or has grown up somewhere more friendly.
But after a brief pause he gets straight to his point.
“How can I get books from America?”
I mention Amazon and he says he has tried but can’t and maybe he needs to have an account or something. I tell him all he needs is access to a credit card. And of course he asks me if I can help him, if he gives me the money. I protest mildly, doesn’t he know anyone else with a credit card he can ask? (besides an almost complete stranger!). So he drops it. I’m quite wary these days of buying anything for people, unless its cash upfront and a little extra added for exchange rate losses. I have yet to hear of anyone getting refunded if they actually bring an item without being paid in full in advance.
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