Let me tell you about our little independent streak: We walked the 25mins to the Cyber Café in the blistering hot early morning sun. We did our thing there, communicating with the outside world….and checking the Olympic updates! After this we headed back towards our apartment, stopping to buy pineapple from one of the street vendors which line the side of the road. Next on the list were tomatoes, pasta and water. After successfully purchasing all these items we headed home. [I’m pretty sure we got ripped off on the tomatoes – we paid 500cfa for the same amount we bought last week from a different vendor for 200cfa. Too bad I only realized that when we got home.]
Now, there is one other part of this adventure I forgot to mention to you – which was an accomplishment in itself. This accomplishment, which we had to do 4 times by the way, was crossing the street! Okay, stop laughing for a minute and let me explain why this is such a big deal.
Imagine a 2-way street which is constantly flowing with traffic; cars, motorbikes, trucks, vans – you name it and it probably drove by! [We even saw a 4-wheeler on the road once!] So, what you do is watch the traffic nearest you and look for a break and then venture out into the road a few steps. You wait until the next round of motorbikes pass by you so you can take a few more steps and finally reach the middle of the road. Now there is traffic flowing by you on both sides, and no, there is no median or anything like that – you’re just standing there in the middle of the road. Only difference is that in Canada motorists would be honking at you like crazy but here, it’s totally normal seeing people in the middle of the road. Once you see a break in the line of traffic nearest you, you can take a few steps then wait for more motorbikes or cars to pass and slowly make your way to the other side of the road. Also, there are no lanes marked on the road, so vehicles just drive wherever they please! As you can see – this dodging of motorbikes and cars was quite the accomplishment for us Canadians!
I never thought of myself as a person who likes her independence, but I am discovering that I actually do! The last few weeks I have struggled with the feeling of being very dependent on other people – it has made me feel trapped. At first, we could not do anything on our own besides sleep and eat. We did not know where to buy food or water from, how to get to church, where a cyber café was, how to use our stove, how to get around the city and the list goes on! In 3 weeks we have learned a lot and can do all the basic things ourselves now. It is a good feeling! However we do remain very dependent on people as there is much more to learn about life here in Cotonou.
The area that I am most dependent on others is when it comes to communicating with people, as I cannot speak French or Fon. I can communicate some of the basic things with people but I sure can’t get very far on my own. This is hard for me because it keeps me very dependent on others. However, lately I have been learning to view this dependence in a more positive light because I think God is trying to teach me something….something along the lines of being dependent on Him. Perhaps I have become too independent and do not rely on God as much as I should. I’m not sure what He is going to teach me yet, but am more at ease with being dependent on other people, because God is at work in me. God is holding me in the palm of His hand, where I can rest and not worry because I am safe there.
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