People watching has long been one of my
favorite sports. I can remember back to my early teens, sitting outside a
grocery store waiting for the bus, watching the people. I love to wonder about
their lives, where they are coming from and where they are going. This quality makes me a definite porch
person, or, until I get a porch or a balcony, a window person.
Now Nabih is not the only one who has
stories to share as we walk to camp each morning. We’ve been thinking up
scenarios to go with the TV People. One of our first nights here, I saw a man
walking down the road with a TV, a heavy looking older model with a large,
awkward bulging back. He was actually carrying it with one hand however, so it appeared
slightly portable- in the loosest sense of the word portable. He was just one of many people walking along
the road that night and caught only my passing interest. The next night however, I saw a boy carrying
a similar looking TV in the opposite direction.
Maybe it was the same TV, gone off for repairs? The mystery really
deepened on the third night, when I saw two men walking by, each carrying their
own TV, again the same bulky model.
We’ve been keeping our eyes open for electronic repair shops in the
neighborhood as we try to determine The
Mystery of the TVs.
Mysteries passing below our windows are
only the beginning of the perks of our new spot. One of the reasons Abidjan made the yes list
for relocation is the well-known soccer opportunities. I’d done some research
about soccer training for Mohamed and had come up with ASEC Mimosas- where many
of Ivory Coast’s talented players begin. Incredibly, the camp for kids,
SolBeni, is just around the corner, nestled in the back of the “village” near
the lagoon. It has vast, beautiful
pitches that Mohamed could barely tear his eyes from. And if I can take a moment to indulge, the
coach noticed him on the first day. Mohamed is that kind of player. While the
soccer camp isn’t as strenuous as Mohamed was hoping, there is a more promising
training program that he will begin soon.
I usually walk the boys over in the
morning. And that’s when I saw the Baby Boat People. Here in what’s called M’Pouto Village the housing is a mix of new
buildings being constructed, apartments and shacks. There are still a few lots full of trees and
greenery. At the end of the road is a large open farming area that resembles
the outskirts of a real village. I spend my time trying to enjoy the scenes
around me without wondering too much about the impact of construction- good for
better quality housing but not so good for the lush green environment
surrounding us.
One of the roads leading to the camp is
lined with “businesses” – wooden stalls that host all manner of items for sale
from bags of charcoal to mangoes and oranges to shoe repair and polishing
services. On our first morning walk to camp, the square wooden tables were
filled with small children sitting on top. Their mothers were busy sweeping the
ground beneath and around the stalls or arranging the endless buckets needed
for daily routines. I looked out across
a sea of babies floating on wooden ‘boats.’ Some held as many as 4 little
cuties in the bow, others hosted one or two, all were sitting fairly still
amusing themselves with a plastic bowl or other small item. No one seemed concerned they might get restless or squrim about and fall off. By the time I made my return, the babies had
been released to the dirt. They were happily running, playing and getting
washed. Though the timing hasn’t been
right for me to encounter the Boat Babies again, it’s a sight not easily
forgotten, a sight that should make it’s way into a picture book perhaps one
day, when I get my balcony and I can spend hours sketching and writing away.
The perks of the neighborhood include the
nearby cyber café, the market- where the women speak French, making it so much
easier for me to talk to them, and the abundance of fruit sellers. The mangoes are huge and cheap; the bananas
are ripe and not too stingy. Unlike the
Kinshasa fruit, here I can almost see the vitamins and goodness bursting from the
juicy pulp. The garbage is collected and
taken away- well, whatever the goats don’t get to first. There is a small family of young goats that
wander around- 7 of them. Two are still babies, two are frisky teenager types
and the other three are somewhere in between.
They provide a brand of entertainment on their own. And the people are mostly friendly.
The boys and I get some stares when we
venture out to the camp or the cafe, but I am thinking that will eventually end as we become just
another part of the routines. Needing to
use a public internet connection has left me realizing just how often I am used
to being connected- and the different types of connecting I tend to do. There
is the finding stuff out connection,
when I ask questions, figure out how to do things, search recipes or read the
news. While we do have TV, I prefer the interactive nature of getting my news
online, where I can follow my interests and find relevant stories. I haven’t
been doing much of this type of connection lately but was happy to hear Meriam
has been released- and apparently rearrested?!! I need more news in
my life. Finding stuff out searching
has been reduced to a bare minimum- only the most important questions warrant
an internet inquiry.
Social
connection including email and Facebook is another
type of connection that has really been trimmed down. When I am there, the
clock is ever ticking, alerting me to just how much time I have left and it
creates a harried sort of experience. Browsing Facebook and trying to update my
page with posts of my thoughts and photos feels so rushed. I may get used to it,
but it could take awhile. Along with that
is collecting books on my kindle. Summer is for reading, right? Something about
the clock ticking makes me feel so un-relaxed, even if I can easily add another
30 minutes.
Random
browsing, which I liken to reading “potato chip”
books or magazines is completely banished. No time or francs for that.
Following little whims and collecting bits and pieces of fascinating but
useless facts does not even make the list of possible things to do (yet. Boredom
may win out and have us all hanging at the café more than we currently
imagine.)
Publishing
ideas to my blog is another reason for connecting.
I usually try to get all my ideas down on my computer at home and then bring a
USB to copy and paste from. It still requires a bit of time to read and reread,
to edit and revise, to add photos and captions. I put this one higher on my
list of priorities only because otherwise the words tumble around in my head,
leaving my thoughts a cluttered, jumbled mess.
But the experience has left me
wondering.
When my class was studying human rights and
global issues, the idea of having access to technology and internet came up- or
rather was one I posed to the students as I’d read of it being proposed as a
global issue. While we had some good discussions, I personally hadn’t reached
any real conclusions. It’s hard to focus on the importance of internet
connection when clean drinking water seems so much more important.
In the end, I don’t think the global issues
are meant to compete with each other. If
there is one clear thing that comes from examining the issues, it’s the idea
that they are all related, tied together so tightly it’s hard to separate one
idea or issue from another. And I can see how technology fits in there. As a
part of education. As a part of knowing. As a part of being part of the larger world and having the same benefits and
advantages that others have. Ben’s group
focuses largely on securing and providing technology and internet access to
students of all ages and that has always made sense to me and seemed like a
worthwhile cause. While I am feeling
fine for now with my intermittent connection abilities, I know it won’t last. I
will want more, crave more information, more understanding, more connection to
the happenings of the world. And so, while I may not be able to concede a
greater importance to internet connection than clean, running water, I can
definitely say I am no longer clouded on the issue.
