It's 4.30 pm, the Muezzin calls for an early prayer. It wakes me up regularly, and I lie quietly in bed and listen to that mix of religion and the sound of the fan which allows me to sleep in the heat. My room has no windows, so 95F is not uncommon when I go to bed at around 2am usually, not before having discussed the business day with my friend and partner. These discussions often end up with lively debates about societies, cultures, philosophies and the differences between our cultures.
More often that not I have to admit that we Westerners are on the wrong track with our superficial consumer attitude where "esprit et conscience" are on the losing side.
Around 10am la bonne (the maid) shows up with le petit dejeuner (breakfast), and we sit on the carpet in the living room enjoying fried eggs, bread and butter, and coffee - no, not local brew, but that damn Nescafe.....before you complain about having a maid, that this would be slavery, be reminded that this is a paid job here, and a lot of young women wouldn't have one if it weren't for this.
Now, before the heat reaches 110F, we take a car to town to meet people, or do some shopping. We don't have malls where you find everything in one place, so you're driving around half of the day from shop to shop, take in some healthy exhaust fumes, add some Sahara dust to it and at night you sure know why you cough.
Yesterday we had to repair a Sony Xperia which was considered being completely done in Switzerland. Here the thing was fixed in one hour for US$ 10. Mind you, it did cost US$ 300 two years ago....these people can fix literally everything, I tell you.
Then I got my new tailored suit, which did cost US$ 100, and finally we got home at 3pm - just in time for lunch - rice and fish and hot spices, 6 people around a big plate, and since I'm the veggie lover people shoved all their veggies over to me ;-)
The habitude of letting the TV run all day also exists here, and when my partner's wife is around, telenovelas run through, Nollywood, Indian crap and Top Models until you like to puke. Just like back home. Women are the same all over, really. And when CSI is on, I'm taking a chair outside, sit in front of the house, watch the kids play soccer on the street and listen to some good old Progressive Metal. One can sit outside all night here, temperature drops sharply, and the only disturbing thing are mosquitoes. Yes, we have malaria here, but no worries. They have drugs, 3 tablets in 2 days, and you're up and running again.
We're living in a part of town which is considered "grand standing", means everyone has his own house, the environment is spacy, and there's no crime, not even muggings or verbal aggressions. After almost 4 weeks, people know the "toubab", the White guy living here. And they are very friendly. We sit together at night and drink Arab tea (you know, the small glasses), it's a come-and-go, since everyone knows Alioune, my partner, and his family.
Really, life here is very slow and full of social life. Internet is also slow, if available, but who cares ? We don't need the net here to fill empty hours. We got better things to do - and when we've had it with meetings, we drive the 45 miles to the beach and get a healthy sunburn :-)
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I spent time is East Africa (Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia) when I was in the Army and there are clear similarities.
Kenya and Djibouti had Souks, market places, sometimes open air (or, often in Kenya, enclosed), where you could get almost anything.
Kenya, because it was English speaking, seemed to LOVE South African soap operas and British sit-coms.
The commercials for the laundry detergents were odd, as in the states, they would have an attractive young matron with a number of telegenic kids . . . but instead of washing the husband and kids' clothes in a machine, she would be seen using the detergent outside in a wash tub,
Kenya had morning-drive-time Talk Radio similar to what we have in the states: local politics; celebrity gossip; and "life-style" hints.
In Ethiopia and Kenya it was odd where the all-weather roads were, as opposed to dirt roads, not where you would think.
In the parts of Ethiopia where we had people, if you knew who had the Coca-Cola franchise, you knew who had "pull" or "juice" locally. I was in another part of the country on an evaluation job and the same was true of the Pepsi-franchise.
I suspect Africa will be to this century what Asia was to the 20th.
Come down. We have a neat little hotel in Niangal called Da Paulo. Suite is CFA 25'000 a day (US$ 50), and you can pack 4 people in two rooms :-)
Yep. This week will be decisive....
Thanks for the update on East Africa - never been there yet. But I guess it must be the same only more drunks on the road (no Muslims except in Djibouti I guess) and therefore more aggression at night ;-)
Muslim-Christian friction is a BIG part of the history of Ethiopia and it (really Muslim-Christian/Animist friction) lead to the break-up of Sudan in the last10 or 12 years
From Switzerland to Dakar and back is a 500 US$, used to be double. Fares are expensive december 10 to january 10 if not it's ok. You won't pay hotel :)
Same as CI, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon etc. There's an invisible line in between across Africa dividing countries in Muslim (north) and Christian (south).
In Kenya, the Swahili Muslims are in the Southeast and the Somali Muslims are to the Northeast, both on the Somali Border.
When you know for sure you will be there in the fall, I will change over my passport and look again at flights because I promised..and because I have always wanted to see Africa.
I have a friend in Italy..All I had to do was pay airfare...and with kids I could never afford taking a trip by myself. I never really wanted to see anything there except Sistine Chapel and a pizza joint he told me about that I would have liked (I dont like pizza). I also dont like a lot of touristy crap. I like the locals version of an area, you see more that way.
If it had not been for my kids, I would have been a missionary, I swear. I travel a lot now..but mostly near home or one day away.
I think the only other thing in Europe I wanted to see was the Gardens at Giverny. My next big planned trip is Alaska before it melts unless I actually come to Africa.
Also one day I would like to see Greenland which is not the EU. I might get to do that...I think its really pretty there at the right time of year, since I do photography..its a dream for me.
Africa would be the same.
You really are an asshole. I don't let my articles be ruined by a creep like you and I delete EVERY insult.
As said you're most welcome. I'll be here for sure from November to....open :)
Must be a tea society ? otherwise they would have decent coffee.
Sounds like some of my first trips to the west cost of Costa Rica way back when. Most of the day we just sat around, after a couple of weeks we thought we were "busy" with the daily routine, waiting for those few moments when some work would get done.
I bet you got lots of stories there :) Always wanted to work on a ship and see the world this way too but never made it. Just not enough physical power LOL
Yep it's a tea society but not Lipton :) Mind you, when it's 110F outside between 12am and 5pm nobody works outside if possible.
We usually work between 5pm and 2-3 am. First the meetings mostly for supper, then at home on documents and mails.
Hey Stone..do you have a coffee pot, to brew coffee, like if I sent you some or is it the coffee pot you need?
I dont think any human should be without god coffee or liquor . One to wake you up the other to knock you out.
There might be good coffee here, but it's not THAT important, thanks anyway :-) BTW: Michael just insulted Africans as a whole as it is his specialty to insult and wish death to everybody/everything he doesn't understand....
The only thing cool about social media and computers is talking to people from other countries, like yourself.
I suppose air conditioning is rare there, do any of the living quarters have it, or you have to have your own generator to get AC ? is it a dry heat so you can use the swamp coolers we used in New Mexico, or you would need real AC ?
Same here. I like to chat with the world and then go there if possible!
Tap water is ok to drink but not as tasty and fresh as in rural Cameroon. In cities I don't drink tap water rather beer. Once in a while I go to Dakar to drink but usually only on weekends. Here in Thies I live in a Muslim household, alcohol would be inappropriate.
I hate AC never had it, makes me sick. I prefer a simple fan on high speed :)
In Houston I keep the temp set to about 27-28 C for the air conditioner so its not as cold as some places like the mall where you need a jacket lol. Here it is 35C and humid during the day, in summer, which is pretty tough without the AC.
Sounds like Cameroon. Never seen those coolers in Africa though. However I prefer 45° dry heat to 35° humid heat...
Try that "unclothed" here LOL We have lots of visitors and people just show up unplanned, which is usual here...;)
I know. :)
That said our staff are here all day and several friends, deliverymen and occasional technicians from the building are in and out all day too. We also have bilingual notices on the outer and inner sets of entrance doors for those who haven't delivered/worked before.
One assumes Thais are easier going about it than are those in your neck of the woods.
The reason I know this is because we're about to finally get our first naturist resort on the beach here.
Nudist beach ... when I was in Aussie and France I practised that too with the result of a burned ass I couldn't sit on for days.....
....ouch! Those places that have never been exposed need to have serious sunblock. I have a friend currently recuperating with sunburned labia. Not fun.
That's fairly easy to do :-) I found that out long ago, when I arrived the first time in Mali 1993. Kind of when I lost my heart to Africa. Nobody can do business here when he's not able to be patient and slow down. On the other hand the probability to get a heart attack is almost nil ;-)
It had been leaked by the producer in advance of the hard release knowing he would have an injunction against him for release. IT was cool he leaked it. Most of it is just Prince doing riffs..but the last song is pretty funky.
Hearing his stuff was great, but sad just the same. Just an FYI..
Oh shit.....would have liked to hear that one :-(