Third World Stuff

In many of our conversations you will here someone say, "third world stuff".  This can mean many things, so let me try to explain. 

I went to Mache Tabarre (an open market) for a few things I needed for the house.  I needed things that I would have never needed in the States.  I think I can safely say that most things I needed have to do with "third world plumbing" i.e. tubs for the kitchen sink because too much water will cause sewer problems, basins for the showers just in case we need to bucket flush or take cup showers, funnels for water filter systems and so on.  I had made a few purchases at the market dealing with all that goes with being the only white person in a sea of Haitians.  I was home and happy to have found a small "igloo" type cooler for ice that we don't have, that is now worth the same as gold in my mind.  I had filled this cooler with water to put in the freezer to have cold water on hand.  I quickly picked up the cooler by the handle only to watch it go crashing down on to the floor bouncing up and down, spilling water out all over the floor as I stood holding the handle in my hand.   I picked up the cooler only to find the top was now split down the middle and may or may not really even stay on anymore.  This is what we call "third world stuff".   Stuff that kind of looks like what we have in mind but will never be used for what you purchased it for, at least not more than once or twice.

Another example would be this poor guy who is pulling many times his body weight down the street at a pace that would put any guy in a "strong man competition" to shame.  There is no crowd cheering for him, he is most likely a source of irritation to many for blocking traffic. This man is a "third world" human tow truck.  

My last example, for lack of a better name, is a "third world" Brinks truck.  This I saw, when I was in the back of the "tap-tap".  Our "third world" modern day mass transit system developed from a small pick-up truck painted in many bright colors, creative pictures and writing that has something to do with Jesus or 2Pac and tons of black exhaust pouring out the back.  It is called a "tap-tap" because when you arrive at your destination you simply "tap" so the driver will stop and let you out.  As I made my way home from the grocery store a Toyota pick-up truck came flying down the street honking it's horn.  In the back of the truck you could see about ten guys all in yellow and green uniforms each holding a shot gun facing the street.  The tap-tap was full of chatter as we talked about what this was. I considered being scared until the teenage boy across from me informed me it was "Digicel"!  I laughed - cell phones!!  Again, only in a third world country would you need so much security for cell phones.  Everyone has a cell phone but no one has money to buy the minutes needed to talk on the cell phone. 

Welcome to the third world - our world!