Journey from South to North

At last I have the energy and time to write another story....it is 3 am and I was awoken by the call from the Imam of a local mosque . The sounds of bats and other forest creatures are giving a nightly concert. Some sound like puppies, other like crickets and yet other like birds....it's an orchestra of diverse sounds that give away the fact that we are definitely not alone!

 Last night we arrived in Nikki, a city in the arrondissement Borgou, not too far from the border with Nigeria and home of the Bariba people. The Bariba is a large ethnic group of the area who in the 19th century held independent states. Currently the Bariba still hold higher positions in the community.

We left Cotonou monday morning at 9 am with our trusted driver Gérard. Gérard is a gentle and soft spoken man who was brilliant in taking us safely to the hospital site of Nikki. In all a 9 hour trip including a few stops on the way. There is an expressway which traverses the country from South to North. There are different types of roads paved and unpaved. Lucky for us it was all paved to our destination. The quality of the road overall was pretty good with some sections that have serious  potholes. It took me a good while to realize that we were on a 2 lane road. Gérard stayed in the middle most of the time frequently passing trucks mopeds and other vehicles. It was after a little while of driving I saw the road markings dividing up the lanes. Everywhere you look you see people on mopeds, sometimes 3 or more people on one. It is the main mode of transport and I must say it is brilliant! Babies on mom's back fast asleep, chickens, huge bags of charcoal...all being transported by a skillful driver on a moped. (Note to self, helmets and seatbelts are overrated when you have driving skills ;) )

It is so amusing to see all of the little shops by the road side! Some selling mopeds, clothing, oils, fresh produce anything and everything...the buildings are not in the best shape, most constructions we see by the side of the busy streets are simple constructions with zink rooftops. Larger buildings are being constructed but seem to be frozen in the process. Many unfinished homes are being used as goods selling points.

In the south you can definitely see the presence of Jesus Christ Lord and saviour. There are many little churches alongside the road. As we get more north churches make way for Mosques and the crescent moon is very present. Even though the difference in religious beliefs is present , it seems to blend perfectly with the colourful, lively and vibrant African culture which makes the transition from Christian south to Islamic north  very smooth. (There are different religions such as Voudoun in Benin but they are not as clearly represented in the streets thus far)

The excitement and wonder I had when noticing the many similarities with the Caribbean slowly made way for disillusion after hours and hours of seeing the same image of people emerging from unfinished homes and unsanitary conditions. The contrast to our home in Belgium is so great that I can't help but start feeling sad and privileged and not in a good way. The voice of my colonial history professor keeps ringing in my ears: "Is the current impoverished state of the African continent a direct result of colonialism?" I am trying to be neutral in my perceptions but it is hard....then I remember my husband Pete (wise man by the way) who always says : who are we to decide who is empoverished? Perception is everything and if an object is not perceived by the subject can it be real? Food for thought....a lot of things went through my mind and emotional body. As a stolen daughter of the continent being here raises a lot of existential questions...what if's....

Sitting in a car for 9 hours leaves a lot of space for the mind to wander hahaha but finally we arrive at the hospital. It is a fairly big compound with several buildings (Pediatric bloc, maternity yay!!, laboratory,....) we are welcomed by the head physician and an anesthesiologist, the compound caretaker and the chief of technical affairs. Everyone is so friendly and extremely welcoming. The program for the next day is explained , we are shown our residence for the next 11 nights and everyone goes back to work....I hadn't heard Seppe speak for hours and the first thing he asked the gérant is: il y a un code Wi-Fi?? Haha no existing without internet I tell yah so yes we got settled in got our Wi-Fi codes from the head physician who by the way didnt know which code would work and we should just try them on all the optional networks. Lol

We received a lovely dinner and dessert which was a pineapple to die for...so sweet and juicy and with a mild  non overpowering pineapple taste loved it. After dinner we decided to take a shower and meet up back in the lounge to hang out a bit. Anyone who knows me knows that I have to mess with my phone at least 30 minutes before I actually get in the shower and so I did. I found some nice music to play while I get refreshed, texted some people on whatsapp and then I was ready to get started. As I got soaped up I saw the light flickering and out went the power! Great haha I guess one can bathe in the dark too. If only I didn't start feeling something creepy crawly on my foot!! I grabbed a flash light and saw a rolled up wormlike creature on me yikes! There is something about darkness that makes everything seem worse.....