Sunday, June 16, 2013

first day

So today was my first full day in Africa! What a busy day it was!

Diane and I woke up at about 9 this morning. When I went out into the living room of the guest house I met Sherri, one of the other missionaries and nurses who works at the hospital in Ferke. She was staying in the guest house with us last night but our flight got in so late that she was already asleep when we got in! So Diane, Sherri and I all sat down at the table, talked and ate some banana bread.

We decided that we would all get ready and then go eat brunch at this place called Pako. We all got ready then called a taxi to pick us up from the house. This is where I experienced my first taxi ride in Abidjan. It was crazy! People pretty much just do whatever they want to do. But don't worry, we made it to Pako in one piece. We walked into the tiny little restaurant and it smelled SO good. There we fresh croissants, pain au chocolate and so many other little pastries and desserts. When we sat down at our table and looked at them menu I started to get real nervous and wished I would have paid more attention in French class freshmen year of high school when we pretend ordered food. But thankfully, Sherri guided me and I successfully ordered all my food! We all got the breakfast special which included a glass of jus d'orange, un croissant, un pain au chocolat, thé, and une omelette du fromage. Check out that French! It was so much food but it was so so good. Especially the pain au chocolat!!

From there we went to the Abidjan "mall". It looked pretty much like an American mall, with just way more people in it. We stopped and picked up some books in the bookstore and then went to the supermarket which was also in the mall. We mainly got food that isn't available up north in Ferke, including cheese, jelly, tuna and chocolate.

After we got back to the guest house, a missionary couple named Glen and Linn said they wanted to stop by and pick me up so I can do a cultural orientation with other short term three girls. Glen and Linn are in Abidjan for a couple of days living in another house. They came down to pick everyone up from the airport. The other three short term girls who are here for the month are staying in the house in Abdijan with Glen and Linn before we all go up north.

Linn really wanted to teach us about the culture we are going to be living in the for the next month. She had this whole typed up packet ready for us. It was really really awesome. We learned so much about the culture, how they view elders, how to greet people, how to dress, different mannerisms, different sayings and a lot more! It was incredibly helpful.  And Glen and Linn's friend Abdu came and helped us with the cultural orientation. He is really funny! When I told him that me name is Kim he said, "Ahhhh, Kimmy!" I loved it!

Then we all sat down and ate dinner. We had this stuff that looked like bread crumbs (I can't remember what it was called), with chicken and chopped up onions, cucumbers and tomatoes all on top. And the funny thing is that you just eat it with your hands. Literally, you take your hand grab a handful of the food and squeeze it into a ball and then eat it. AND get this. You aren't supposed to eat with your left hand. And since I am left handed this was quite the experience for me. Imagine how funny I looked. It was great. We were all laughing because the other three girls and me were making such a mess trying to eat!

Glen and Linn are so awesome. I got to talk with them about their story, how they met and how they got here. Linn directs the Bible Translation Project for the Nyarafolo people group. They are the least evangelized people group of northern Cote d'Ivoire. Hearing her talk about the Nyarafolo people was absolutely incredible. She has spent most of her life reaching these people and working on getting the Bible in their language. Ah! It was so awesome to get to talk to her and pick her brain about all this stuff! I will definitely be writing more about this later!

Tomorrow morning we are leaving the guest house at 6 a.m. to make the 10 hour drive north to Ferke where I will be living for the rest of my time here! I can't wait!

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