con artist

10/9/2001:
this young man introduced himself to me yesterday (quite bluntly, i may add): “Mark,” he said as he pointed at himself, “i’m an artist.” “of course,” i thought, “aren’t we all?” anywho... he’s Francophone. says he works in Bamenda. also says he’s been around and that he has an “American babe.”

right... so he came around again today (as promised) to show me his work. “Jesus on the cross” on a T-shirt. nice image actually. quite cubist. cheap T-shirt. was trying to sell it for 5000cfa. instead i brought a bracelet and necklace off him for 2000cfa.

he wanted to sell anything and i wanted him to leave. so we really didn’t bargain. i’m an artist, too... art of tasreef [over-spending] is what i’m working on. but as the jewlery i bought was/is totally not worth 2000cfa i guess Mark’s the better artist for now... con artist.

i let him know, not in so many words, that i was too busy to entertain him so he left right after the transaction. it rained, heavily, shortly thereafter. maybe he got wet??? cruel to think so. maybe i’m bitter??? just was not interested in humoring him any longer. i'm sure he won't be the last "artist" i meet here.

oh... got my 1st bill today! from SNEC [water company] for 2,210cfa. thats approximately 1 bracelet, 1 necklace, a door-to-door ride from home to work and one of those long, rolled-up groundnut things! but who's counting???