transportation

Well, I can hardly believe 3 days have gone by since my last entry.

Most of our time has been spent continuing negotiations for the houses. Most require some repair & cleaning before we can move in. And there is always lots of negotiations about the terms of the leases here. But I think things are coming together with my own house (I’ve more or less decided to live on my own) – the one with the mango tree. I may be the first to be able to move in. My garden will need some serious work once I move in – right now, the only living plant is the mango tree. I want to try to have some tomato, lettuce, herb plants as well as decorative things like hibiscus and bougainvillea. I’ll be hiring a gardener to help that get established!

Transport is going to be a challenge, as I will be living 4km from the hospital – that’s a long walk! And I’m not sure how easy the taxi will be; though its cheap – only 200CFA (about USD$0.40) for a ride within town on a shared taxi. Today will be our first trial with that, as we had to give back our rental car this morning.

In fact, 2-wheeled vehicles are much more common here than 4-wheeled. The roads are filled with scooters, mopeds and bicycles – and the occasional donkey cart! – with relatively few cars. I think it will be much safer on bikes here than, say, Baltimore. I sort of wish I had brought my bike – but it didn’t seem sensible to pay $250USD bring a 15 year old, beat up bike that is worth 1/10th of that amount. So, once I’ve paid my rent & deposit if I have money left, that will be one of my first major purchases.

Yesterday we went to look at the future site of the COE (Center of Excellence); it currently is not so dusty as in the first photos we saw and has a pond, with cows wandering through (will attach photos a different day – when internet is not so painfully slow).

Dana, Allison & I went to the market yesterday to get some pots. With only 3 of us, we were virtually ignored – which was really nice! The market is like a series of rabbit warrens, with everything imaginable for sale. And I’m learning to bargain – a necessary skill here!

There has been almost no rain in a week; some of the surrounding farming areas are already concerned about losing their crops. In this subsistence agriculture-based economy, a drought now can mean famine next year at this time. This morning it looked like in might rain, and it was so cool I needed a sweater, which was actually kind of nice. But only a few sprinkles fell, not even enough to dampen the ground.

I just received word that my Aunt Marj in Ontario is gravely ill; its hard to when those things happen when one is so far away. I am thankful that I was able to see her for a visit at Easter when I was last in Toronto. My thoughts and prayers go out to Marj, her family including my dad & his sister.