It’s no use
talking about my internet connection and/or computer issues. You may as well
just assume prolonged absence equals one or both of the above. In the meantime, I’ve been collecting ideas.
Here are 10 random observations/experiences from life in Abidjan (trying to get
back my “stranger’s eyes” to present things that might be different- or yet the
same- about life in Africa.)
- · I leave my house at 6:50 every morning. What I notice most are the women sweeping. As I make my way through the neighborhood, they are everywhere- in front of every house with their small bundle of sticks tied together to form that traditional broom, sweeping up the garbage left by passersby from the night before. Lately I have been seeing an older man walking with a hand crutch. He is getting faster and I can tell he is trying to recover movement from some injury or illness. He is faithful in his routine and determined in his stride. Noticing his perseverance is enough to inspire gratefulness in me. I walk easily and quickly to my destination. Something to be thankful for.
- · When I return the sweepers have morphed into sellers and they sit at their tables under umbrellas offering fruit, attieke, alloco (fried plantains) and soups or sauces they have prepared. I might pass any number of men praying outside their storefronts and it reminds me that Abidjan is (currently) a mix of peaceful religions. It’s something I like, all the churches and mosques which seem in equal abundance.
- · One morning as I was walking along lost in thought, 3 white people came around the corner. I was surprised by the sight of them- found them foreign actually and wondered what they were doing there. It took me a few minutes to realize that I probably look just like them. I spend my time looking out from behind my eyes and rarely at my own skin that I forget my otherness. It reminded me of a time when I was in Guinea and saw some Peace Corps workers coming up off the beach. They looked pale and ghostly, even ill to my eyes which had grown accustomed to rich brown skin with its dark, healthy sheen. There is a poem about that- about us being trapped within ourselves and only looking out. I remember it from 5th grade, something about someone with an ugly face that didn’t really bother him or her because they could never actually see it. It used this word ‘ajar’ which I’ve never forgotten, though I haven’t been able to find the poem again. (I think I’ve written of this before. After 7 years of blogging, it might be inevitable that I begin to repeat myself. Forgive me, or rather, indulge me.)
- · When I arrive at the corner, I search for a yellow taxi to take me up the hill. This past week they have been waiting, empty or half- filled and I have only to hop in. Other weeks, they are hard to come by and lines of people push and shove to get a space. I can’t find any rhythm to the lack or abundance, except it seems one week of scarcity is usually followed by a week of abundance. The week before last I actually ended up walking all the way to school which made me 20 minutes late and left me drenched in sweat.
- · I used to think of the yellow taxis as a kind of cavalry arriving to gallantly bring the masses to their duties. I had patience in waiting for them to come swooping down the hill, sometimes in twos or threes- just the perfect number to accommodate everyone at once. A few experiences since then have changed my analogy. The first- that long, hot walk to work. The second – the negotiations. Because it is morning and demand is high, some of the drivers only accept 150 to go up the hill, when the usual price is 100. Most never have change and so people who are looking for monnae are out of luck. There is a bit of a monopoly on transportation and so we passengers have no choice but to find the extra 50 franc and come with exact change. One orange taxi driver tried to raise the price because I didn’t have exact change. “Change costs money in Abidjan,” he told me. “But only the Christians do that, non?” I threw the religion card because in Islam-maybe all religions?- usury (using money to make money such as interest in repaying debts) is forbidden. For good reason I think. He had no response and we agreed on the regular price, my lack of change no longer a problem.
- · I have noticed, on those busy weeks when taxis are short and crowds are full, a sneak attack. It looks like this: The taxi pulls up and the jostling begins as people surge forward. Some lean in to talk to the driver (a sure way to lose a spot. While you are discussing destination or change, someone leaps in and takes your spot. But that is not the sneak attack.) While everyone is trying to get in the door, some clever (or devious) person will run around to the other side (or sometimes even come from across the street, recklessly launching himself into traffic in hopes of securing a seat.) They open the door and squeeze into the left hand side (safety generally assumes right side entry and exit.) This sneak attack works just as often as it doesn’t. Sometimes the people who had assumed they had the three spots in back angrily push back and the sneak attacker is forced back out the way he had come. Other times, the person is able to hop in and securely claim their space. It’s a little bit of action adventure (and sometimes comedy) entertainment in my morning.
- · While I am at school I observe the children running around at recess. I love to watch their made up games, their devilish smiles and the intense concentration they put into sports. I’ve come to recognize most of the kids who play in my area since they seem to choose the same games and stick to something of a routine. There are quite a few kids with body burns and large scars. One boy in particular has noticeable head wounds, healed but no hair will grow there. Several have arm burns. I don’t know the story behind any of them or why there seems to be an abundance of this, but I notice it. I wonder if the other kids make fun of them- I’ve never seen or heard it in my short half hour outside with them. What I see, however, with my mother’s eyes, are children that are graced to be here. Their struggle with death is evident and I imagine the family- the mother, the father, the aunts and uncles- who are feeling grateful to have their child still among the living. When I see these children running and playing happily, I look at them and think of how they must be loved.
- · My neighbor, the screenwriter, has visited me and invited me to the casting of her script next Saturday. She’s assured me she will give me a preview of the lines I am to read and tell me a bit about what to expect there (beaucoup de gens, is what she said. Exactly what I am afraid of. ) I’ve been trying to determine if I am trying out for my role or if it is assured. I get the sense it is assured, being that it is a small part and requires a white woman. But surely, Abidjan is plein des etrangers and I am not the only white woman here. She’s also looking for a biracial 17 year old, if you know anyone. She had her eye on Mohamed for a minute but he is too young. It turns out the TV series might not be my debut on Ivorian TV as my class was filmed last Friday for a documentary-like presentation on French schools in Africa and the use of technology. I prepared a SMARTBoard lesson and we suffered through it while they filmed us. To be certain, the kids were quiet and deathly calm, not at all like their usually lively selves. The film crew visited three classes at our school and in the end will compile a 2 minute clip of us- so we may or may not make the montage. But as a trial run, being in front of the camera was not too disturbing. I could make a career out of it yet.
- · I’ve come to realize that teaching English, or teaching in English, is not so much about the learning but the unlearning. I hadn’t before fully grasped that the biggest challenge is undoing the bad habits my students have picked up and helping them form new ones. I know I struggle with this in my own language learning- and certainly just in the name of habits in general. Breaking bad habits is no easy task, establishing new ones always a challenge. Another of those teacher talents we must develop in order to achieve success.
- · The happiest news is that I have finally found a dance class- live drums, students of all ages and races and a price I can afford. Surely there will be a full length post about dance in Ivory Coast once I get a few classes under my belt. I am so excited about this possibility. Dance was one of those strong motivating factors for coming here and it has been hard having patience these last eight months.
So there it is, 10 random things that have been
filling my mind these past few weeks. I’m off to snap some photos of the
building methods- fascinating and eye pleasing feats of architecture rampant
around town. Stay tuned…….
