back home for a week or so. had my specs repaired so i had to go without them for twenty-four hours; it was a good exercise to develop empathy towards the visually impaired. i could read - barely - when the page was open 5cm away from my face. even then i got a headache after a few minutes. i typed with my nose nearly touching the keyboard (still can't touch-type after all these years). while roasting chicken i had to get a second opinion on whether it had browned enough. television was only good for the sound; might as well turned on the radio. for 24 hours i couldn't do anything useful; i'm sure learning to play songs by ear on the guitar did not count as useful work.
that's for the indoors, where i spent most of my time. with worse than 6/100 vision anyone should stay indoors in a city with such haphazard traffic. as a pedestrian you should always watch out for potholes, ditches, ruts, puddles and the rest of their extended family. never trust planks or boards laid across as a bridge to safety, if possible always let someone else use it first and see what happens. on dirt roads, watch out for loose stones. better wear an ankle guard to be on the safe side. on busy streets don't even consider the pavements safe for there are a hundred and one other uses for them other than being a convenient surface for you to stroll on. be especially careful not to stumble across babies left out there to beg for loose change. these are non-traffic-related precautions. if i get started on the traffic i won't finish my admonitions until next morning.
no matter what a mess my hometown is - high unemployment rate, lousy infrastructure, poor maintenance, corruption from top to toe - every time i come home i fall in love with it all over again. people are generally friendly and helpful, creative and resourceful. there is relatively low crime rate - people still dare open their car windows while waiting for the light to turn green at intersections. and the buskers, they must be one of the first things a visitor will notice. in one trip downtown i heard at least five different instruments and songs that varies from traditional stringed instrument to a saxophone. add to that the fact that these buskers have to approach cars at the intersection, play music and pass a can around while watching for oncoming traffic out of the corner of their eyes. the ultimate multitasking indeed.
