1st Moto venture
Algol
Hamish Tait, Robin Hastie & Jim Hepburn
Wed 12 Sep 2007 19:53
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Finally plucked up the courage to take a
ride on a moto (see attached photo - Anne having her first shot). This is
the only means of public transport in Maroua. All you do is hail a guy
(they're always men/boys) preferably wearing a yellow tabard with a clear
number. The same number should be on the front & rear mudguards of the
bike. You tell him where you want to go & it's always 100 francs
(about 10p). We had been warned always to get on & off from the left;
the exhaust pipe is on the right and it's very hot! In fact, it was not
nearly as frightening as we expected, largely thanks to having had a practice
riding pillion back home (thanks to Andy Rae) and we've come to the
conclusion it's safer on the back of a moto than trying to cross the road as
they whiz past! We have come across one petrol station comme chez nous,
but for the most part, they top up from road side traders selling petrol in one
litre plastic bottles! The same kind of container is used by the honey
sellers, so we've been warned to be sure what we're buying. Mind you, we
do feel a bit conspicuous; we stand out like sore thumbs as foreigners (they
shout nassara at us, which means white) and nobody but us and
the Peace Corps people wear crash helmets. We're also targets for beggars:
one even had the cheek to pinch food from Anne's plate when were eating in a
local cafe two nights ago. The waitress said he was mad - I would agree
knowing how Anne feels about her food! Although a bit of a shock at the
time, it hasn't put us off, just made us aware of being careful where we
sit. The standard of living seems pretty poor and poverty rife, as
expected. Suddenly the idea that we could possibly make any kind of
meaningful contribution in the face of such huge problems seems frankly
arrogant.
We have now had two lessons in Fulfulde,
the most commonly used local language, so djabamma to you all
(greetings). It looks realy complicated and the counting system is amazing
- where we have numbers from zero to ten, they only do zero to
five. As if that isn't bad enough, the money counting is even more
confusing! Anne is insisting that I learn the word for sorry as I'll have
to use it so often, so here it is -
yaaffa. Most of the training is done in French
with an unusual accent, which is a real challenge for us both. This
morning, we had a talk on the regional HIV/AIDS programme from one of its
doctors. He seemed quite formidable and his french is VERY fast. Not
sure how I'll cope when I have to participate in AIDS treatment plan
meetings!
We feel really comfortable here in the
Baptist Mission. It is a really
haven of peace & tranquillity, the people are really friendly &
welcoming, it's clean and feels safe. I suspect we'll make frequent use of
it when we visit Maroua. The attached photo is a view of part of the
compound with the church in the background.
Djam waala
(Goodnight)
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