Things I miss

I’m not writing this to say I wish I has these things here, but I sure would enjoy them if I had them.

1. Shower with water pressure
I realise that I am lucky to have a shower, regular water supply, and a hot water heater. Nevertheless, I’ve been thinking how nice a shower with decent water pressure would feel. That is, water pressure that would easily rinse the shampoo out of my hair and I would come out feeling refreshed and squeaky clean. Someone recently suggested that I sneak into the Inter-Continental hotel to swim, shower, and use their high speed wireless internet. Hmm… this could be a possible adventure for next weekend.

2. Clothes dryer
Washing machines and dryers are modern conveniences that I never fully appreciated. I remember my university days of doing three weeks worth of laundry on one Sunday morning. The industrial sized dryers were incredible. Nowadays, I try to do my laundry once a week. It’s not a lot of clothes since my standards of wearable clothes has drop; I now wear my clothes to the point where it looks visible dirty and would be disgusting to wear it again. It makes me think about all the times that I wore a piece of clothing once and then threw it in the wash. I suppose standards of cleanliness increase because people have the means to stay that clean. Doing laundry by hand and drying them on a line saves on electricity; although, I could probably do better on water consumption. What I do miss is what clothes feel like after they come out of the dryer – soft, nice smelling, and usually wrinkle free. What I miss even more are fluffy towels. One visit to the Inter-Continental could probably satisfy the craving for soft, white, fluffy towels.

3. Anonymity
Some days I just want to be invisible. I miss being able to sit alone in a public place. I’m not sure what exactly is enjoyable about sitting in a café to eat, read, or work, but I would like the chance to do it once in a while. I know that I’m noticeable here, but I wish I was not so noticeable. While waiting to pick up a friend at a bus station, I tucked myself beside a pillar passed the time reading a book. To my amazement, even though I thought I was inconspicuous, a group of taxi drivers formed in front me. I guess they thought I would eventually take a taxi. Funny, I could probably sit alone and undisturbed in the Inter-Continental foyer. There are a number of nice restaurants and cafés in Lusaka, but mostly expats go to them. I want there to be a happy medium of where Zambians and non-Zambians can hang out. The flaw is that rarely do Zambians sit alone, eating, reading, or otherwise. I guess I am hanging onto a Western, urban, somewhat Hollywood idea. I blame Sex and the City (watching an entire season at once has a brainwashing effect).