Ivory Coast: It's Shawarma Time!

My friend, Florent, and I share a shawarma salad (with the Arabic bread on the side) with an old fashioned glass-bottle Coke.


I didn't mention this earlier but there is a fast-food culture here that does differ from the traditional Ivorian "fast-food" and it can be found in the numerous Lebanese restaurants. While shawarma Lebanese restaurants in CI vary in their offerings, most of them will have shawarma as an option. They also typically have items such as burgers, pizza, and french fries. A shawarma is a sort of Arabic sandwich which consists of flatbread, meat, and vegetables. The meat choices at the local shawarma joints in Daloa vary from chicken to beef to meatballs to -----COW BRAIN! (and I kid you not!) There's also kidneys and liver available for your shawarma too :)

My first experience with shawarmas was when I was living in France but I must say that I have not really tasted another shawarma like a Jordanian shawarma. So anyway, here in CI, when I want to grab a bite to eat quickly, I'll go to one of these shawarma joints and order one up - but, erhmm, beef or chicken only please!

Ivory Coast: Oasis

When a friend suggested to take me swimming at a nearby military police school, I only expected a regular swimming pool. Nothing special aside from the rampancy of athletic looking young men I was sure to see.

What reality greeted me with was an oasis! When we arrived, the military students were doing chores around the campus, away from the pool, so we were welcomed by a mildly relaxing ambiance. There was a small bar with a television displaying an alternation of sports and music videos. At any rate, the swimming pool area was beautiful (aside from the woodsy construction area) and I couldn't believe that I was still in my city of Daloa. For me, it was like a pool lifted up from Maui or Miami. Perhaps I felt this corner of recreation was like an oasis because the normally brilliant sapphire Ivorian skies seemed to gleam just a bit more than usual or maybe it is because the clear, sparkling pool water set off the panoramic green landscape oh so perfectly....

I had a great day swimming until the sun almost set. Perhaps, it's good that I didn't stick around for the celestial event or else I might not have left this blue haven.

Traditional Clothing for Mature Women

Here is one of my colleagues, Madame Koné (right) with her friend. I thought the colors they were wearing were lively so I asked them to pose for me - they did so gladly. The outfits they are wearing are typical of the clothing style here for mature women.

Obama, Obama, O---bama!

When I first arrived in Côte d'Ivoire, I was so amazed by the myriad of Obama representations I saw everywhere. Now, I am used to it but it is still quite a wonder! I have eaten Obama cookies, smelled Obama cologne, seen an Obama printing shop, passed by an Obama apartment hunting business, wanted to purchase an Obama toothbrush (regret that I didn't) and have ridden in an Obama taxi! Oh, and did I mention my Barack Obama flashlight? I hope President Obama knows how much he is revered in this country!




Can you see President Obama in the faded poster to the right? It's an advertisement for green cards to the US? In this regard,I guess Obama is rightfully represented. Today, his face must be the strongest representation of the United States in Côte d'Ivoire and perhaps in the rest of the world.

Feeling So Alive

What a beautiful morning! My cup of tea and French baguette are hot. Lots of work to do today!

Oh yeah, check me out in my traditional African bou bou.

Braids, Finally!

I cannot believe that I have been in West Africa for almost 9 months now and I am just now getting my hair braided! I mean, after all, isn't that one of the things that I should have just been dying to do - getting braided up in the MOtherland? I mean, I seriously asked myself yesterday as I was sitting in the hair salon (at the outdoor flea-like market), "what took you so long?" But as the girl proceeded to tear out my hair with the small toothed comb in order to make her job of braiding my thick hair easier, I remembered why I had been reluctant about letting someone in CI do my hair.

As mentioned in a previous post, relaxers are more common amongst adult women than natural hair so in general stylists, like in the US, are most accustomed to working with relaxed hair. I really made a sacrifice in getting my hair braided yesterday. It was like I decided to lose at least 2 inches of hair (with all of the pulling). Was it worth it? Hmmm....well I like the change of style with my hair but I really wish that I had detangled my own hair. I sat there as the girl tugged, pulled, and snatched. I tried coaching her but I saw that she really didn't have a sense (or didn't care to have one) of treating hair delicately in order to prevent unnecessary breakage. However, I have noticed that here in CI, there seems to be a hair culture of sacrificing healthy hair for beautiful hair. I have seen the most women in my life plagued by alopecia due to excessive weave wearing.

Anyway, at the end of it all, I am happy to have gotten my hair braided and will most likely do it once more before leaving, but this time, I will come ready with my own wide tooth comb!

The Night I Almost Slept with a Mouse

It is almost midnight and I just swept my entire apartment and cleaned the floors with bleach. Only moments ago, I felt icky, disgusting….my skin quivered.

An hour and a half ago, I arrived at my apartment after a long day out. I left the house around 8:30am this morning and stayed out all day –working, taking care of errands, and spending time with friends. Since I didn’t sleep very long last night and I must get up early tomorrow morning, I was looking forward to a nice evening of sleep.

When I came home at 10:45pm tonight, I started my normal routine of undressing and getting ready to go to sleep. Around 15 minutes after my arrival, I noticed a wet spot in my bed. My mattress is violet and so when it is wet, the moistened area darkens and is noticeable. I wondered to myself, now what did I do to make a wet stain on the bed as I didn’t remember being anywhere near the bed in my 15 minutes of being at home. It was strange. I started thinking about the steps I had taken since my arrival. I touched the wet spot with my fingers to ensure that it was really wet and not just a dark area – a sign that perhaps I’d soiled it earlier. No, it was definitely wet. Actually there were two stains, a small one and a large one. I had not yet even touched water since being at home – that was the baffling part. I don’t remember what thought I had next; I only remember what I did. I pulled back my covers and something moved quickly and immediately, I knew what that something was - a MOUSE! { My skin is chilled just thinking about it.} I shrieked and it started moving everywhere in my bed - in my bed! It was looking for a way out but could not find it thanks to my mosquito net which totally encloses the bed. It got stuck in one corner and stayed there --- looking at me at the corner of its eye, scared. I was scared and so was it. We stayed there, staring at one another with fear making us both frozen into place. I called a friend and asked him what to do. He told me to push him out of the bed with a broom. I didn’t want to gently coax the thing out. I wanted to beat him…kill him. After all, he was in my bed! But for that very reason, I could not hurt him. Imagine mouse remains scattered in my bed at midnight. I mean really, could I ever really sleep in that bed again? And I have no sofa alternative so that wouldn’t have been a good move. I got my broom and a can of roach spray. I then widened the opening of the mosquito net so that the mouse would have sufficient room to get out. I sprayed him first so that he’d be irritated and move. He did. Instead of jumping through the entrance, out of my bed, and out of the open door onto the terrace, he ran to the corner of the bed where I lay my head. My head I said! I figured that this night was screwed. I mean, what if he decided to stay there with his long body and tail, next to my pillow? I would not sleep the entire night, that’s evident. I sprayed some more and opened mosquito net exit further. Finally he hopped out of the bed, fearing for his life dare I say it. And then ran out of the apartment into the night.

So it is now almost 30 minutes past midnight and I am here in my bleach fragranced apartment hoping that I have cleaned up enough to erase the events of tonight’s nightmares from my head. I have thrown my covers into the hamper and I have cleaned the wet spot (which I now realize is mouse pee) with antibacterial spray, soap, and water. I am waiting for it to dry. Since I must be awake in six hours, I will try my best to put my horror to rest and as well as my body and proceed as if I did not almost sleep with a mouse!

Fast Food in Côte d'Ivoire

So....there's no culture of drive-thrus as you might have imagined. However, you can pull up (or walk up to) just about any curb and order a variety of meals to go. For example, in this photo, this woman whose business is to sell fried fish and attieké (which is a starch dish made from manioc; can be substituted for rice in many instances).

How does curbside ordering work in Côte d'Ivoire? : You walk up and tell the seller how much fish you want (for example, you can say that you want to pay for 50 cents worth or a dollar worth). She gives you the fish and attieké in a small sack and adds oils, peppers, and other seasonings to make it taste yummy. Joints like these are practically everywhere. The other day, I paid for lunch at one of these curb sides next to my house. I got two pieces of fish and attieké all for 50 cents. Yep, not like our fast food in the US huh? Here, the fast food is arguably healthier and cheaper - but I must say the USA wins hands down on the fastness of the food! At any rate, can you see why I am not particularly missing McDonald's!? Although a Big Mac with fries and a Coke will be on my agenda of purchases upon my arrival on US soil! LOL

Other foods that are available at curbside: grilled chicken, smoked sausage, beef, and sheep, grilled fish, etc.

There are also always littlee "nic naks" available on corners such as fresh fruit and vegetables, peanuts (raw and cooked), small cakes, cookies, fried chips, grilled corn on the cob, grilled bananas, etc.

Meet an Ivoirian: Dabré Zakaria

Zakaria lives in one of the villages that I work in called Scierie (Belleville). He is a student in one of the literacy classes that we have established there. His elders say he is brilliant and learns quicker than lightning. He is studying to become literate, something that half of the population of Côte d'Ivoire has not yet mastered. Get this....Zakaria is blind. And no, he's not learning Braille, a reading system designed for blind persons. He is taking his literacy course with persons who see "normally". When I heard this story, I felt it was an inspiration to share. Zakaria is looking for information on how he get a free eye analysis which will permit him to see if his condition can be fixed. If you know of any organizations that might assist him, let me know!

Women Business Owners in CI: Training in Microfinance and Enterprise

I spent three days last week (June 16-18) assisting one of my colleagues with a microfinance seminar for women business owners from a local village. It was an awesome training! In three days, the women learned the importance of investing, saving, and enlarging their enterprises. They all received a small stipend to make their businesses stronger after the 3-day training. I am shown in the photo with Teresa (far left), Rachel (in orange), and three other women from Zoukougbeu village. We'd just finished a team exercise outside.

The Value of Literacy

A literacy student reads, for the first time, a short paragraph that she's composed while her friend looks on.

Father's Day 2010 | A Father's Love in AfRiCa

I love this photo!
Taken on Father's Day in Scierie, Belleville, Côte d'Ivoire.

"Obama Spotting" | 4 Carrefour

I was working in the village of 4 Carrefour on Sunday and this cutie came along and I couldn't resist taking his photo. Poor thing, he had no idea what he was modeling for! He is too cute.

A Day of Bigs

Big Slingshot | This is one serious slingshot! It belongs to one of the tutors of our literacy program. He is a planter, as all of our tutors are, and he uses the slingshot to scare off birds that try to eat the rice crops. I am sure if you used it on a person, it'd knock him/her out!



Big Tree | Okay, so I realized after the fact that I should have gotten out of the car to stand by the tree so that you could see exactly how huge this tree is. But all is not lost...Take a look at the bottom of the pic and you'll find where the road is. That should give you a better idea of the immensity of this tree! I have passed this tree many times on my way into the village of Belleville to work but each time I'd forget to get a photo. Got it this time!

Bananas in the Raw

Ever seen bananas growing from the tree? In CI, there is a vast variety of bananas. The type shown in this photo is a type I call mini-banana because they stay small, as shown in the photo. I love how I am forced to come in contact with nature in Côte d'Ivoire -- well, sometimes!

Millepates | One Thousand Feet

This worm has to be the first sign that I was really no longer in "Kansas". I remember back in November when I saw this creature for the first time. I was like, "What in the heck?!?" I got creepy crawly feelings all over! Now when I see "millepates" which means "one thousand feet" in French, I still get creepy feelings but nothing like before. One could say I've become used to seeing them now but I still am amazed at their body structure and size. Check him out! :)

Bye-Bye CAFOPeans: End of the Year Ball at the Teachers' College

This year has been amazing working at the CAFOP. The CAFOP is what the Ivoirian government calls the college where people enroll to become primary teachers. My office is located in the library of the local CAFOP here in Daloa. For the last six months, I have made friendships and bonded with many of the students and professors. Now that today was the big finale - graduation!- we celebrated well but I will miss them! Congratulations to the Class of 2010 CAFOPeans!

Here is a photo of one of the professors and me posing with our 2010 uniforms last night! Every student and professor purchased the same fabric and had it tailored to their preferred design.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

There are many things that separate Côte d’Ivoire from the United States. One of them is the culture of litter. In the United States, before littering became illegal, more people threw their undesirables out the window without a second thought. Nowadays, because we care about the safety of our environment, want to preserve the beauty of our landscapes, and are frightened of fines, Americans, in general, avoid littering. (If you have lived in a city like NY however, you understand why I emphasized in general).

In Côte d’Ivoire however, there is no such culture (or law, as far as I know) against littering. In fact, I remember during my first month in the country, I asked someone where the trashcan was. I had finished downing a cup of Yoplait yogurt and wanted to dispose of the container. The guy I asked kind of chuckled and pointed to the ground. After I refused to throw it away Ivoirian style (you often realize how culturally programmed you are once you leave your homeland), he later told me to give him the container and that he’d take care of it for me. He walked away with the Yoplait cup and I felt grateful that he did me this favor. Later on, one of my colleagues told me that she saw him throw it away alright – on the ground.

Heaven on My Terrace

I am so lucky. I almost feel like I am living on the first floor of heaven. This is a photo of a typical sunny day with almost perfect clouds taken from my terrace. I look at the Ivoirian beautiful sky often!