La Moto

The motorcycle

In retrospect, I made gut decisions which were kind of stupid, but I made it home safely!
To alleviate some of the homesickness I'd been having recently, I decided to get out of our little compound and do some city exploring last weekend. Some of us explored new restaurants, went through the markets, went to an English club, etc. On Sunday I decided I would be productive, so I went to an internet cafe (which was not like an internet cafe in the European sense, obviously) I was happy to catch a ride there from our neighbor, and not have to get in a taxi -which is only 40 cents per ride by the way. The internet cafe proved not to be conducive to writing a paper though, because the keyboard was in french format and it took me an hour to type anything.. It was hot, cramped, and I was sitting on an uncomfortable stool, But I didn't stay through my full two hour session anyway, because the power was cut before it was finished. So I left hot and slightly disgruntled.

I probably walked around the roundpoint in the sun for about 20 minutes trying to catch a taxi. Some passed, but none were going in my direction, which is how they do things here. So I start talking to a local, who tries to help me find one, walk down another road, catch one finally -who starts taking me in the wrong direction! Kicks me out (didn't pay of course) and now I'm back at the game of trying to find someone going towards Chateau 1 or Indrap. End up walking all the way back to where I started, with a young boy named Nu who also tried helping me.. No use.. I finally decide to just start walking back home until something else comes up. The road I went down to avoid the unsafe route proved to be backed up with traffic... That explained the power outtage.. The president was passing. Military personell were everywhere and the streets were congested but quiet. I didn't realize at first what was going on, and was instructed by the gendarmes to run across the road! I laughed at my misery.. lost, sweating profusively and the police were making me look like an idiot anasara running through a military blockade. (Locals were actually saying, HEY ANASARA -the term for white foreigner.. sometimes I get HEY CHINOIS too) Well seconds later I heard sirens and saw the presidential entourage speed by. All the roads were literally grid lock and I lost any hope of getting back in a timely manor.

Then, a friend of the program said hello, and I hopped on his moto and we took a tour of the city to avoid the traffic! Front door service and my first time ever on a bike... I sort of got scolded for getting on a motorcycle in Niamey, which is understandably unsafe, BUT I was soo flustered! And it was really my best option, the two possible walking routes pass by the two parts of town we are specifically informed not to go to: The Kennedy Bridge is notorious for petty theives and roberies, and La Cloche is a brothel where 2 students here were mugged last week!

I have just realized I have no creativity for writing right now, and those adventures were much more exciting to recap before this blog entry! .. I'm in the middle of doing the descriptive paper I had intended to do last Sunday at the cyber cafe, and thus am all typed out. It's hot too. I even notice that Nigeriens are sweating now, which means that the season is starting! It gets up to 110 already.. and even though it cools off in the night, our rooms stay a toasty temperature. I wake up often to a pillow and matress soaked with sweat.. The worst is when the power goes out - if that happens in the middle of the night and our ceiling fans go off everyone immediately wakes up.. it's unbearable already. Lately I've been seeing friends' pictures of Europe and Australia, and I start to think I chose the wrong region of the world to study abroad in! I have discovered the French Cultural Center's air conditioned library though, and am going to spend as much time there as possible once it "actually" gets hot...

Speaking of French Cultural Center, I was there yesterday talking to a guy who I always see at the museum, a major Nigerien sculptor. He introduced me to the cultural center's graphic designer, who co-runs a culture and arts NGO here, which I hope to start doing another community placement with.. so more on that later.. but I literally met one guy to another, and even got to introduce myself to Moustaffa, the animator who I watched a documentary on at Fespaco.

I'm quitting this blog now though for a lunch break. Then back to my paper, and then out for a friend's 21st birthday tonight! The heat and the many languages I'm trying to concentrate on really don't do much for my english grammar and style.. I've realized this in the difficulty I'm having doing this formal paper! So I'm signing off on a very scatter brained note.