We landed in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire on 1/8/19, meaning we’ve been here a total of 5 days now so here’s some thoughts I’ve had so far in these first days (In no particular order)!
• Ivorians are welcoming beyond comprehension. Once you earn their trust, they will so gladly share their all with you – their house, their meals, their kids. They may not have many possessions, but they absolutely make up for that with what they have in heart.
• There is nothing that will make you learn a language quicker than being surrounded by people that you so desperately want to be able to share your love and communicate with. Less than a week in and I can probably recite more words/phrases in French than I could ever have after a whole year in a foreign language class. Endlessly thankful for our teammates, Alyssa and Jess, for translating for us and being so patient in teaching us as we go. I actually literally have no idea where we would be without them bc we are all currently clueless otherwise 100% of the time.
• Even in the midst of poverty so harsh it takes our breath away, when asked “who feels happy today” – every single one of the kids will eagerly raise their hand. What a living lesson on choosing joy these kids continue to be every day.
• Drinking the water is a no go for foreigners. We either have to buy it bottled from the store or boil/filter it ourselves. The locals, though, will often be seen drinking it out of what almost looks like ziploc bags sold from street vendors that they just bite the corner off of to drink out of.
• Sugar comes in cubes and milk comes in a powder (that tastes much more like chalky water with a slight milk aftertaste – but isn’t terrible in cereal)
• There don’t seem to be any traffic laws/signals/lanes, everyone just sort of does what they please (including going over curbs and doing u-turns in the middle of the street). 6 laned traffic 4 way stops are terrifying.
• You can buy almost anything you could ever need from the window of a taxi ride (bobble heads/phone cords/water/trash cans/ jewelry/ Kleenex/etc) bc its totally normal for shopkeepers to just stand in the middle of the streets selling items as cars swerve every which way all around them
• I get referred to as “blanc” (white) more often than I do my actual name, but the tiny little people chasing after us shouting it out to get our attention so they can say bonjour are so sweet they steal your heart away in seconds and make you forget that you ever even cared that you had a real name
• Authentic Ivorian food is amazing (and we pick up fresh veggies and loaves of bread for our meals from the street market daily, which I love)
• There is almost nowhere that will exchange American dollars for CFA (the currency here) or provide smaller bills in order to have exact change for taxis – this has been our biggest ongoing logistical struggle so far
• Taking off your shoes before entering a home/school is customary almost everywhere we’ve visited
• Kids here choose school freely and intentionally. There’s not doors, and rarely walls to contain them. Yet the seats are full every session. With every question a room full of hands goes up and verses are memorized with little reward. Knowledge and growth, a privilege we take such huge advantage of, bring them so much boundless joy – yet another thing we have so much to learn from them about.
•The heat is no joke and A/C is basically nonexistent (especially in taxis). This, paired with customary ankle length pants/skirts, means we’re soaked in sweat often
• The pricing difference between items is wild. Taxi rides are rarely more than $2.50 and a package of cookies will cost you about $0.09 but a small slice of pizza might cost you $8.. and let’s not even talk about the price of cheese.
• Life is infinitely slower here (unless you’re in a taxi). We walk almost everywhere, taking time to journal/read/nap after meals or any type of activity/outing is highly encouraged, and if someone says they will be there to pick you up at 9, there’s about a 90% chance they won’t be there til at least 9:30, because “Africa Time” is absolutely a real thing. And I love it all!
