I first went to Oasis Jimma Juice Bar with my labmates, on an afternoon after a three hour lab meeting where we shared bagels and lox for breakfast. Lab meeting bagels left us too full for lunch, so smoothies would become a Wednesday afternoon tradition. My labmates explained that if you were lucky, as you waited for your smoothie they would give you samples of other smoothies they had just made. It became my go-to place if I wanted a little something that would leave me particularly energized and clear-headed. The owner would always click through the ‘no tip’ option on his screen, and would sometimes ask me how school was going, or talk to me about the brain. Once, we talked so long I forgot whether I had paid, and when I came back to check, he gave me a hug and a free sambusa. When my father visited, he even tried one of their free samples, which he never does.
I’ve been worried about how Oasis Jimma Juice Bar will weather the coronavirus storm. Sister Claire told me that she is getting gift cards from her favorite places, and that some small businesses have started a “go fund me” campaign. But Oasis has no website, just a phone number. ”Do you want me to call them?” Claire asked, laughing at my nervousness. But I called back twice, waited for the woman to get her sister, who understood English better, and said what Claire told me to say (“What’s the best way to support you now?”). They didn’t have gift cards or “go fund me.” She said it was up to me.
So I picked what I thought was the most appropriate card I had (“you make my tiny patch of world so much better,” from Janine’s Kwohtations online store), added a note and some cash, and sealed the envelope with bird stickers so I wouldn’t have licked it. I wrapped a scarf around my face (improvised PPE), put sandals over my socks (I don’t always follow Claire’s advice), washed my hands one more time, and headed out. I handed the envelope to one of the people I had talked to on the phone, and tried to smile at her through my scarf and thank her for offering me a smoothie to go. I am too paranoid to receive smoothies now, but really hope I will drink them again before too long.