Hi Lindy, let me tell you a little about Africa. Specifically, the Nations of Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon, Ghana, Sao Tome and Principe and Equatorial Guinea. These nations form the nexus of what is called the "Gulf of Guinea" nations.
For the first time since I've left the states, I feel like I've visited the "third world". What strikes you first about this area of Africa is the heat and humidity. It's about 85 every day with 100% humidity. I'll bet I drink 5 gallons of water a day just to feel normal, quite amazing how the heat sucks the energy right out of you in a few hours of walking around.
The next thing that hits you is the smells. They come from every direction and fill every area of your senses when you walk around. From the fishy odors of the wharf, to the open air cooking, to the stagnant air shops and sweating people, it's quite unusual.
My first visit was to Cameroon, a rather large city called Douala. The people were very nice, went out of their way to greet you when they realized you were an America. They speak mostly French in Cameroon, with English as a second language along with their local dialect.
The place really makes you appreciate what we have in America. We are so spoiled as a society it’s incredible. A bunch of us helped repair a local grade school. Fixed the walls, desks, painted, and patched holes in the ceiling etc. It was a VERY rewarding experience. The kids all lined up and sang us a song. Made you want to cry seeing little kids singing with such joy in such a run down place. There were none of the typical pictures on the wall you would see in an America school, just the most basic of desks, with cracking walls, barely functioning chalkboard with the floor and ceiling riddled with holes.
Also spent some time walking around the city peeking into the out of the way local places in order to get a feel of the place. It's an industrial town, run down, everyone seems to be hurting for money. And no one seems to paint the buildings once they are built. I felt really safe though, and the people were very nice and gracious wherever I went. They like Americans and found me to be a genuine oddity that deserved to be followed and taken care of.
The merchants are very aggressive though, so if you really don't want to buy something you better walk away fast. They try to corner you in their shops, and hand you everything really fast under the assumption it will work to get you to buy the product. Fortunately, I'm a pretty strong inner city kind of guy who knows how to handle situations which would make some people feel uneasy. I went with it, and played along for a bit with some of the merchants just to see how low they would go in the capitalist dog-fight. They were good, but I managed to haggle just about everything I wanted down 75% from the opening price. Their capitalistic instincts would indicate a promising future if the government would ever get their act together.
The prices were actually pretty high considering how destitude the people seem. Can't figure that one out. I suppose it relates to being so isolated, yet Ghana is just the opposite.
I'll try and type a few lines on the other countries soon.
Have a great one!
Mike |
