Hey everyone!
I’ve been in Côte D’Ivoire for a week now. It definitely has not been what I expected at all and it even reminds me a little of when I used to live in Puerto Rico. So let me tell you a little about Côte D’Ivoire.
The primary language spoken here is French. I practiced a little bit of French before arriving but my French is at a beginner level. It’s been fun practicing and realizing I knew a little more than I thought. One of my team members, Alyssa, speaks a good amount of French and that has been so super helpful. She translates a lot for us.
Our host told us that whenever we pass people in the morning we should say “Bonjour” and in the afternoon “Bonsoir”. In the morning it feels like the song Belle (Little Town) from Beauty and the Beast where there are a lot of people saying “Bonjour, bonjour, bonjour bonjour bonjour“ haha. People will often say, “Ça va?” (Pronounced sah-vah) Which means “How is it going?” And then we reply “Ça va bien.” Sometimes they will say “Bon arrive” (not 100% sure that’s spelled right) which means “Welcome.” I wonder how they know we aren’t from around here? XP
It is funny how sometimes children will yell out “Le blanche!” when we pass by (that means “the white”). Someone here asked me if I was Mexican. I told her I was Puerto Rican. “Ah,” she said, “Like Jennifer López, right?”
Every street we walk down there are people selling fruits, vegetables, phone service, meat, fish, purses and clothing among a ton of other things. These are all small, outdoor stands. And if you are driving there are people walking in the road selling anything from bobble heads to Kleenex to large calculators.
Speaking of driving, it’s basically a free for all. There are no rules, just suggestions. People cut each other off all the time. You have to fight your way through if you are trying to turn when there is oncoming traffic. The 4 way intersections with three to four lanes each way are pretty terrifying (I say terrifying but while I’m in the taxi I’m laughing because it seems so absurd). We definitely wouldn’t drive ourselves here, so we travel by taxi quite often.
A difficulty is presented almost every time we pay for taxis because when you withdraw money, you receive bills that are either 5,000 or 10,000 CFAs (8.73 USD and 17.50 USD respectively). No one seems to ever have change for those bills because they are too large! I usually can only get change at the supermarket, and even then they sometimes round up or down.
We are helping with children’s ministry this month, along with some evangelism at a port, distributing tracts and going on prayer walks. Every Wednesday and Saturday there are children’s clubs in a few different towns where kids are taught lessons from the Bible and are given verses to memorize. This week they were reviewing what they learned in the previous weeks. The kids were so excited to come and answer questions and some of them were reciting memory verses like it was nothing.
The conditions have varied a lot here. The place where we are staying is rather spacious and cool (which great because it is SO hot and the heat is super draining and exhausting) and has indoor plumbing, a gas oven and a fridge. From Training Camp I was immediately expecting bucket showers, outhouses and tiny living quarters. I know all our months won’t be as nice as this so I almost feel spoiled. I mean, Training Camp was so much worse haha.
We’ve eaten great meals so far too. Our hosts have made us dinner a few times and they are even going to teach us to prepare African dishes before we leave. So far there hasn’t been any weird foods that we’ve eaten. We’ve had a lot of veggies, this banana mush with fish in a slightly spicy sauce, fried bananas (like sweet plantains), beef stew, crepes and something like pound cake.
There is a big difference in the places where we have children’s ministry. One club is in a school. The other was in a community where there is trash and sewage everywhere (along with tons of chickens running around) and some of the kids are sick or not well clothed. It’s sad to see that the things that we would think are the basics (food, shelter, clothing, clean water) are the things that many are doing without here.
The people here have been very welcoming and our hosts have been so amazing. They have cooked meals and had dinner with us, taken us to different places to shop for food, taught us phrases in French and practiced their English with us.
Sometimes people will stare as we pass by and then we say “Bonjour” and they break out into smiles and ask how we are doing. When we went to church almost everyone came to welcome us and shake our hands. I’ve only been here one week and I feel like at some point in my life I have to come back to Côte D’Ivoire and visit with the people I’ve met here.
Well that’s how my first week on the World Race has been so far! I hope to post a video and some pictures soon.
Jessica
