Friday, December 14, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
lessons learned...
I wrote bits and pieces of the following entry throughout the night last night...happy reading:
Greetings from Niamey, the dusty capital city of Niger in West Africa. Our adventure thus far has been a roller coaster of uncertainty--unplanned voyages, encounters, and needs. To be honest, we got exactly what we wanted and asked for--but just as none of us knew what awaited us as we travelled north, none of us fully realized how high the stakes were and how far we could possibly fall. Now we are here, alive and drinking cokes for 350CFA a pop at a restaurant across the street from our hotel having survived the shock of a first encounter with our vulnerability...
Our travels throughout West Africa have taught me lessons I wish I didn't have to learn the hard way...throughout all of the good times and the bad in these dusty towns I have learned that we are not alone and can never survive by ourselves--self sufficiency is a mere illusion, a lie Western culture tries to feed us. But when you get to the real world (where life isn't as simple as it is at home and something like getting to an Internet may take several hours) you realize how fragile our lives can be--how our very existence, our survival often depends on the kindness of a stranger. Life no longer seems simple, no longer seems easy and I now realise that we must often depend on our loved ones to wire us money or a stranger to help us find a hotel, an Internet cafe, or merely translate the language we speak into the native tongue.
People are simply people everywhere you go...it seems silly to put it that way, but it is so true. People are decent and indecent, hard working and lazy, poor and rich, honest and scams. They have kids they must feed, brothers and sisters to look after, and parents to depend upon. Humanity is the basic commonality among us all and sometimes sheer humanity is what compels us to help one another. I've often felt antagonized in Ghana, it seems like everyone wants to get their own share, wants a piece of me that I don't want to offer...but what I have realized is that I am everyone--we all want what we think we are owed, what we think is ours to get. Sheer humanity ties us together--we aren't alone, aren't self sufficient...humanity has woven us into an intricate web of co dependence. I used to think I was quite independent in many ways, but the last few days have made me realize how utterly dependent I am. It is a humbling reality to face...to realise that if it had not been for African hospitality, my parents' support, and all the people we have asked for help (whether strangers or not)--we would not survive. Presently, I wouldn't be able to leave this city if it wasn't for my mother and father (who so lovingly bailed me out of a tight money situation) and for the six different French speaking African men I had to ask to find this Internet cafe. I wouldn't have even gotten here if it weren't for Lucien (a stranger we met in Ouagadougou) who drove us around the city the greater part of a day helping us look for a ForEx, bus tickets, a hotel...and he even took us to his home where we were fed and given drink. My biggest lesson thus far has been: we are all so very codependent...now I just have to figure out how I fit into this maze-like web of co dependence called humanity.
Some other lessons we have learned during our trip to the north:
Lesson: Take advantage of opportunities as they come to you...don't wait till later and expect these opportunities (no matter how common you think they aught to be) to present themselves again. The story behind this one...we got to Ouagadougou with hundreds of dollars worth of GhanaCedi's on us thinking we could change the currency at the banks in the city only to find out that we should have changed it with the street vendors at the boarder of Ghana...apparently nobody will change GhanaCedi's to CFA (the currency in Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, and Togo) in Ouagadougou.
Lesson: Sometimes you get more than what you bargained for. When in a foreign country, where you don't speak the language, you might think you are ordered two chicken kabobs and some fries...don't be entirely surprised when you actually end up with a plate of fries and two entire chickens...these things are common mistakes with language barriers.
Overall, I've really enjoyed the trip thus far. We have sat on buses for many many hours and have many more to go, but its been worth the journey. Niamey is a wonderful city, the people here are fantastic.
Our travels throughout West Africa have taught me lessons I wish I didn't have to learn the hard way...throughout all of the good times and the bad in these dusty towns I have learned that we are not alone and can never survive by ourselves--self sufficiency is a mere illusion, a lie Western culture tries to feed us. But when you get to the real world (where life isn't as simple as it is at home and something like getting to an Internet may take several hours) you realize how fragile our lives can be--how our very existence, our survival often depends on the kindness of a stranger. Life no longer seems simple, no longer seems easy and I now realise that we must often depend on our loved ones to wire us money or a stranger to help us find a hotel, an Internet cafe, or merely translate the language we speak into the native tongue.
People are simply people everywhere you go...it seems silly to put it that way, but it is so true. People are decent and indecent, hard working and lazy, poor and rich, honest and scams. They have kids they must feed, brothers and sisters to look after, and parents to depend upon. Humanity is the basic commonality among us all and sometimes sheer humanity is what compels us to help one another. I've often felt antagonized in Ghana, it seems like everyone wants to get their own share, wants a piece of me that I don't want to offer...but what I have realized is that I am everyone--we all want what we think we are owed, what we think is ours to get. Sheer humanity ties us together--we aren't alone, aren't self sufficient...humanity has woven us into an intricate web of co dependence. I used to think I was quite independent in many ways, but the last few days have made me realize how utterly dependent I am. It is a humbling reality to face...to realise that if it had not been for African hospitality, my parents' support, and all the people we have asked for help (whether strangers or not)--we would not survive. Presently, I wouldn't be able to leave this city if it wasn't for my mother and father (who so lovingly bailed me out of a tight money situation) and for the six different French speaking African men I had to ask to find this Internet cafe. I wouldn't have even gotten here if it weren't for Lucien (a stranger we met in Ouagadougou) who drove us around the city the greater part of a day helping us look for a ForEx, bus tickets, a hotel...and he even took us to his home where we were fed and given drink. My biggest lesson thus far has been: we are all so very codependent...now I just have to figure out how I fit into this maze-like web of co dependence called humanity.
Some other lessons we have learned during our trip to the north:
Lesson: Take advantage of opportunities as they come to you...don't wait till later and expect these opportunities (no matter how common you think they aught to be) to present themselves again. The story behind this one...we got to Ouagadougou with hundreds of dollars worth of GhanaCedi's on us thinking we could change the currency at the banks in the city only to find out that we should have changed it with the street vendors at the boarder of Ghana...apparently nobody will change GhanaCedi's to CFA (the currency in Burkina Faso, Niger, Benin, and Togo) in Ouagadougou.
Lesson: Sometimes you get more than what you bargained for. When in a foreign country, where you don't speak the language, you might think you are ordered two chicken kabobs and some fries...don't be entirely surprised when you actually end up with a plate of fries and two entire chickens...these things are common mistakes with language barriers.
Overall, I've really enjoyed the trip thus far. We have sat on buses for many many hours and have many more to go, but its been worth the journey. Niamey is a wonderful city, the people here are fantastic.
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