Two White Girls and the Internet

I want you to know that the internet you are currently using to read this blog is entirely taken for granted. Let me tell you a story that happened in a far away land, not too long ago. The story is about two white girls and the internet and it goes like this…

In a small clearing in the jungle live a hearty group of individuals. They really appreciate their little haven, it is so quiet and peaceful, so far removed from the busy cities and noise. But as much as these people love their little fellowship in the clearing, they also look forward with much expectancy to the days when they can travel down river to the larger village that has a precious commodity; a small room, with two computers that have a lovely little invention called “the internet.” Two white girls from the group are especially excited about the prospects of using this invention, but little do they know the adventure that is in store for them.

Our story begins on a Sunday afternoon after lunch. The group of 8 people from this clearing excitedly board the mule (4x4 type, not the animal) and drive down the jungle trail to the river. They load the boat with themselves and some empty gas containers to refill in the village down river, and away they go. Arriving in the village at about 3pm the group convenes for a short meeting to establish their time of departure back home. The time is set for 6:30, since a few of the small company need to take a taxi about 25 minutes into the next town for various reasons. Everyone agrees to return to the dock at the specified time, and away everyone scurries.

The two white girls decide between themselves to obtain the items on their meager shopping list first, since on Sunday one never knows when the shop owners will decide they feel like going home for the day. So away they trek to the shop, talking amongst themselves about how long they have to get everything done, and that it couldn’t possibly take them that long to accomplish their purposes. Soon they arrive at the shop and make their purchases, then its off to the object of their mission: the internet.

A short walk down the street they arrive at the internet café and find the doors shut up tight, so that the wild cats and the snakes wouldn’t get in and do the computers any harm. But all is not lost, Jenny the owner lives up the street and is always willing to open the café when asked since the store hours are advertised as being open on Sunday, so off they go to Jenny’s. They knock on her door, ring her bell, and ask her neighbors if they have seen her, to no avail. They are informed that Jenny is gone, and no one seems to know when she might return. This brings the two white girls happy plans to a screeching halt, no internet? What ever would they do? Again they put their heads together and decide to take a taxi up the road to Suddi, a town neither one of them had yet been to, in an attempt to locate an internet café that they are not sure even exists.

They walk back to the taxi driver assembly area and acquire a ride. Their taxi driver assures them before departure that he knows of an internet café, so off they go down the road. The taxi stops to pick up another passenger and the taxi driver begins to casually question him about whether he knows of any internet café in Suddi, not a good sign. Several ideas are suggested, and the taxi stops at a little shop, goes inside, then quickly emerges and tells the two white girls that this shop has internet. Happily the girls pay the fare, amounting to one US dollar each for a 15 mile ride, and head into the shop.

Their hopes are again dashed, they are informed that what the shop has is an internet phone, not actually internet access. The shop owner assures them that “down the road” there is an internet café, so the two white girls decide to begin walking and wave down another taxi when one passes. About a mile down the road a taxi stops and tells them that he is sure there is an internet café in the market place in Suddi, so they ride the last 3 miles into Suddi, only to find that there really is no such thing.

Their taxi driver does not run past Suddi so he finds another driver who says that there is an internet café about 3 miles down the road and he will take them there for 100 dollars for two of them, which is 50 cents US. The two girls look at each other, not sure if they believe the promise, but finally agree that they have come this far so they may as well go three more miles and see if there really is internet as promised. With that they get into the taxi and head up the road.

The driver stops on the side of the road in front of a house that advertises “internet café” and surprisingly the sign proclaims OPEN. The two white girls jump out and head up to the house, trying not to get their hopes up too high. They are happy to find that there is in fact internet access; a single computer that they soon finds moves so slowly it would make a turtle look speedy, but internet none-the-less. Mission accomplished. The story is not over however. The two white girls decide on 30 minutes each, and look at the clock; it is almost 5pm by now!

By the time the two white girls each take their half-hour of internet, the sun is setting. Now they have to catch a taxi back to the river village in time to meet the group at 6:30. This is easier said than done it seems, the two girls stand outside the house waiting for a taxi, and quickly find that all the taxis are going to other direction, and the few that are traveling the direction they need to go area already full. After nearly 20 minutes of waiting, a taxi finally stops, and the girls get in. The taxi driver only goes to Suddi, but thankfully agrees to go further to the river village since it is dark now and he tells the girls they may have a hard time finding another taxi. The two girls profusely thank the man, and send up a thank-you prayer to God.

The two white girls get back to the dock 15 minutes after they were supposed to arrive and find everyone in their group half worried about then, and half annoyed that they are late. Quickly everything is loaded into the boat and the group begins the trip back up river, with one white girl sitting in the bow of the boat shining her flashlight to watch for logs in the darkness.

It seems that the simple task of using the internet proved to be much more difficult than originally imagined, but the two girls are thankful to have been able to use what they found. This day has been quite the adventure for them, further proof that you never know what to expect in the mission field. It is not a day that will soon be forgotten, in hindsight it seems a bit humorous, but both girls arrived back in the clearing feeling very tired and looking forward to fellowship with their respective pillows. Hopefully their next trek to the internet café will not prove to be quite so exciting.


The End