Welcome to Abidjan

Well I finally made it to Abidjan !  Two days before I left I had my backpack style purse picked somewhere in Paris. I suspect it was when I was going from pharmacy to pharmacy looking for an inexpensive elastic knee brace, which I never found.  About EUR200 in cash and my French bank card were stolen and, after reporting the theft to my bank, I walked to the local police station to file a report. THAT was an experience--it took me about a 3 hour wait.  It is difficult doing this long distance since, but I had reported the card missing as soon as I became aware of it and most of the money has been restored.  I'm a little unclear on the process and the banking technology and methodology is unfamiliar to me but I will settle things when I return to France in March.  My bank counselor is aware that I am away for an extended time.

 

 

The flight to Abidjan was crowded and the procedures upon arrival were slow and time consuming.  I was fortunate to have two colleagues pick me up because taking a cab to the SIL facility in the dark was not something I was looking forward to.  But I am here now, and staying with JeDene in the spare room of her apartment as the center was completely booked for the month of January.  I ran into Martin and Silke during the break and they have invited me over for Sunday lunch, which is nice.

 
 

Views from my window

The person who has the spare key to the library is away this weekend.  The young Ivorian woman, Orphée, who has been working there is expecting a child any moment, so it looks like I will not be giving her any additional training this time around... I understand that there will be two new couples coming from the United States in April or May, both with young children, and both wives have indicated interest in working in the library.  Unfortunately it will be too late for me to train them in person so I will have to rely on Laurel to do that.

I did bring with me a new QWERTY keyboard and mouse which I am donating, but will definitely put to good use while I am here.  I have never succeeded in adapting to the French AZERTY keyboard. The library also desperately needs a new computer because the aging laptop currently in the library is painfully slow--I feel like I'm back in the 1990s as far as the speed goes...

 

 According to the box [above], this new keyboard is impervious to coffee and wine spills ... LOL 

I have since visited my favorite grocery store within walking distance, a French one called Casino, and this morning, went with JeDene "the long way" to the other nearby French grocery store called Leader Price. I believe I have mentioned them before.  At any rate, neither time did I buy very much, as it meant carrying my purchases all the way home.  Of course there are taxis around, always looking for customers like me, but I need the exercise as I only go outside walking early in the morning or in the late afternoon/evening when it is cooler...

 

 

 

Here we pass a field where a man is mowing the grass.  In doing so something must be getting shaken up because these cattle egrets have descended and are now finding something interesting to eat...

I'm not sure who put this sign there and how it is enforced... [No peeing allowed.  Fine: 5000 F]  LOL

Here JeDene turns into Leader Price.

These are Abido brand spices from Lebanon.  I have mentioned earlier that there seem to be many imports from Lebanon in West Africa.  What I am not sure about is what "spices for Philadephia" means.  It is next to a package of "spices for biryani" and one of "spices for falafel."  I did learn, however, that it is a mixture of paprika, rosemary, oregano, onion, garlic, crushed black pepper and mustard seeds." Although Leader Price is a French chain, owned by Casino [!] there are a lot of mystery products available...

As it was Saturday, JeDene and I decided to go out for pizza in the evening and walked through the nice area of huge houses concealed behind walls where the well-heeled people live. The SIL Center is located in the wealthy Riviera Golf area near embassies and the Abidjan Golf Course. It is a residentially mixed area as there are high rise apartments nearby where those of more modest means live, and this provides an often a stark contrast between rich and poor. While there are trash dumpsters visible along the streets, the plastic trash by-product of modern living is ever present. The area where we were walking, however, was well-paved and fairly tidy, and we continued on to a little place called Guido's. I had eaten there last year with the German couple, the Sauers.  Hidden from the street, all that is visible is a tiny entrance to the restaurant, leading you to believe it is much smaller than it is. Actually the place is cavernous on the inside and probably hosts large groups of people from time to time.  We were there early when it was practically empty.

Here we walk along a nicely paved road with large walled villas on either side.  Some may actually be businesses, but we see very little from the street level.

Bougainvillea  flourishes here

 

 

 The wall of this house had painted trees

This one had interesting metal sculptures 

Another had two little cattle egret statues in a gravel garden

The inside of the restaurant had mural paintings all relating to Italy and the Italian countryside

And the interior of the restaurant was cavernous with some outdoor seating in the back

This gave us a view of a highway below

which had a very different atmosphere at night