Market cafe

Internet in the market? You’ve got to be kidding!

I found an internet café in our local market area. The sign post was my only hope that I was not hallucinating. Passed the tomato and matooke stalls, down a dusty path, opposite the charcoal sellers and in a corner - there it is! I was curious and skeptic all at once; the prices were fair for starters. The connections are slower than a sick snail but it’s busy. I strictly check mail. One can spend an entire day there, in an attempt to surf in its true form. Majority of the clientele are passionate face-book teens. However slow the system is, they hang on, to send the next message or update their profiles.

My market café even has webcams, cool ainit?! Today I sat next to a girl who had jazzed up her looks for some web talk. I was minding my own business (for the most part) but how the eyes love to wonder. She was on a chat site scanning the profiles of bazungu men. I thought it was silly; first the page takes forever to open, then it’s distorted, then it takes a minute before you send or receive a response, then time runs out. You must be desperate or something to go through such pains. But thinking back now, I’m more concerned about her ending up with some serial killer who lures her. We might end up with the headline “Ugandan girl found dead in Boston Hotel”.