Before I arrived in the Congo, my colleagues came across a table in the office cafeteria selling arts and crafts, and liked a pair of handmade slippers. None available was in their size and so the seller took their foot measurements to make them each a pair. They paid their $20 and left.
Coming back a week later, we went to pick up their slippers.
There was a long moment of silence as my colleagues looked at the slippers.
“What’s wrong with it?,” I asked.
“It’s not the same colour,” they said.
Huh?
“I wanted the yellow one that they had the first time. ”
Oh ok. Guess she didn’t specify that she wanted the same yellow ones.
“Ok. So what about these? You don’t like them?” I asked.
“No! They don’t even match!”
Oh. Not seeing the original pair, I thought that was how they were sold and worn … Green for the left foot, red for the right foot. Oohkkaaayy.
I looked at the rest of the items on the table. Yes, they do make slippers that match.
Note to self: when ordering something custom-made, be very specific as to what you want. The same yellow pair, if you have them. If not, a pair in the same colour. Got it.
They asked to make another pair for them, this time in the same colours. They haven’t got it yet, so we’ll see if the colours match this time.
Stay tuned ….
A little bit of this and that ... 