Frustration

At first, I didn’t mind that things here moved slower than they did back home. I was the typical Westerner with the romantic notion that Africa would help me to learn patience and not to be so connected. But I’m rapidly entering the hostility phase of my study abroad time after “le voyage de l’enfer” (the trip from hell). I wanted to go with my friends Shelby and Alicia to a bank downtown in order to exchange our traveler’s cheques, which it turns out are NOT accepted everywhere here like the program brochure said they were. We boarded a car rapide (cheap unorganized informal bus system which costs about 100 CFA = $0.20 USD) after the operator assured us he was going downtown. He neglected to mention the long detour to the picturesque village of Ngor – as in the Ngor beach I visited with Shelby and Kalii on Sunday. We decided to disembark and catch a bus, which cost 750 CFA for all three of us – Alicia paid as Shelby and I were short on cash. The bus took us near downtown before it reached the end of its line and pulled into the bus yard. While riding, we had seen a large bank and headed towards it and home. But when we arrived, we saw that the bank was closed due to construction. A nice man selling hats directed us to an ATM, only to find that it was out of order. Exhausted, we decided to walk until we catch a car rapide. Upon entering and looking at the pictures displayed before the driver, I realized that it was the SAME car rapide which we had left two and half hours earlier at Ngor Beach. Thankfully, we were all able to appreciate the irony. I’m typing this post in the school library, which I had been promised was Internet capable with all computers and that cables would be supplied. Guess whose computer didn’t match the cable….

Update: Shelby and I and a classmate named Alix took a taxi downtown on Thursday and were able to exchange traveler’s cheques, buy cell phones, mail postcards and still make it home by lunch. Oh, and that was with being led astray/bullied by some very persistent street vendors.