A day in Abidjan

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  Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire
Thursday, September 20, 2007

Today I took care of a few errands, did more office work and had a walk around this part of Abidjan.  I needed to send the sermon CDs to Mr. Fiaboé for the Festival site in Togo.  I asked at the hotel front desk if there was a DHL office nearby.  There was, I was told, and the employee provided some general directions.  I took my shoulder bag along so I could pick up some bottles of water and soft drinks to avoid paying the hotel prices.
 
It was dry when I left the hotel, but as I was a few blocks away from the hotel, a heavy rain began.  I was fairly wet by the time I got to an office building overhang and took refuge with many other pedestrians.  Taxi drivers looked at me hopeful as they drove by, but I decided to wait it out and walk.  There was an occasional westerner on the street, but not many.  People noticed me but didn't stare.  After a few minutes the rain let up and we all started out again in our various directions.  I'm confident that I have the "feel" of most of the African countries I visit, so I'd have some warning if something was amiss. But Côte d'Ivoire changes all the time, almost every time I come, because of their mercurial political and military situation.  I feel like it is necessary to take the measure of Abidjan every time I come.
 
I didn't feel uncomfortable at all making my way around, through normal precautions were observed: standing with my back to the wall when I had to get out of the rain so as to frustrate pickpockets, looking behind me once in while as I walked, and walking at a brisk pace at all times.  After getting inaccurate directions once, I found the DHL office, took care of the paperwork and sent the small package off to Togo:  $100 please - ouch!  It was expensive, but the only way to make sure that they would have their sermon CDs and DVD in time for the Feast of Tabernacles.
 
I asked direction to a supermarket and found there was one around the corner and down the street.  After making the purchases I headed back to the hotel, walking up several hills I hadn't noticed walking down, but now I had a backpack full of water.  I was wet with both rain and sweat when I reached the hotel shortly before lunchtime.
 
I tried to call Paul Tia on his cell phone, but he had apparently changed numbers, the fellow who answered was very polite but it wasn't Paul and he didn't know him.  I called his brother, Felix's, number and he answered straightaway.  I let them know I was in town early and where they could reach me.  Paul, it turned out, was already on his way to Abidjan to meet me tomorrow morning; Felix would contact Paul and let him know where I was.  He had changed cell phone companies from MTN, a South African system, to Orange, the French system, because it had better coverage at La Mé.
 
After lunch I worked on translating the transcript of this year's festival video into French, so I could record it.  The translation work never ends.  It's twenty pages long and is taking quite a bit of time to finish, but I think it is very well done.  Since French Europe is featured this year along with the Italian and German speaking reagion, the francophone church members will be especially interested. 
 Around 5:00 pm Paul came to the hotel with his son Christian.  We had a soft drink in the bar and talked for an hour catching up on news and planning for the next days.  Our accents in French are different enough that we don't always understand each other the first time around.  When Paul asked what time they should come in the morning to pick me up with a taxi, thinking of some work yet to do, I said, "any time after 9:00."  To which Paul replied "Very well, then we shall come between 8:00 and 8:30."  Rather than discuss accent problems, I decided just to be ready an hour earlier than originally planned.  We left it at that.

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