Can You Guess...?

 

Before my arrival in Cameroon last week, I made sure I would have wheels to get around. I wrote ahead to the mechanics that maintain the vehicles for our mission community and had them get my 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado ready. They took it down off the blocks, put the battery back in it, checked the A/C and did some minor repairs. 

Big Blue in a cleaner-than-usual state

When I picked up “Big Blue,” as our lead mechanic Jean-René and myself call it, I had a bit of a giggle when I opened up the back. It struck me that sometimes you can learn a bit about someone or maybe the nature of their work by what you find in the trunk, or boot, of their car. It’s just the same as if you look at someone’s dress and can tell their occupation or glance at someone’s bookshelf and know what their college major was. So, what was in the back of Big Blue? 

Four things, mostly incongruous, were right inside the rear door and together, they visually gave a glimpse my life as an Ethnoarts consultant in Central Africa. There was a high-lift jack, specifically designed for off-road vehicles that have lifted suspensions. Somewhat related but still a bit curious for the back of one’s vehicle was a spare shock absorber – and a very large, heavy duty one at that. I’ve broken one of these before. Having a spare seems reasonable to me. The third item was a machete. I’ve rarely used this tool, but it’s nice to have…not to use as a weapon as some might think, but as a useful tool in case I’m ever broken down someplace remote. The final item was a music stand. Actually, I don’t use this item in the same way that I used to as a performing musician, where I was reading from a musical score while playing my instrument. Even so, I frequently use a music stand when recording local musicians to hold my notes and smaller pieces of electronic equipment. 

Some of the tools of an Ethnoarts Consultant in Africa

I love this job and I love its peculiarities. Opening the rear door of Big Blue was just a quick reminder of how odd and how interesting it still is to me.