Thanksgiving in Abidjan
11.26.01
Well, maybe it's best to start before Thanksgiving. On Sunday before Thanksgiving, all the volunteers in Cote d'Ivoire arrived at a conference center for our annual All Volunteer (All Vol) training. There are 122 of us in Cote d'Ivoire right now. It was great fun to get to see and talk to everyone, especially those from my training class who I had not seen in three months. Everyone seems to be enjoying their sites and there are lots of great challenging projects out there. And our French is really improving!!
The All Vol was at a conference center just east of Abidjan, near the beach. Unfortunately, it was about three miles from the beach, so we never got a chance to enjoy the sand and surf. But, the conference center was really wonderful! We had single, air conditioned rooms, and every two rooms shared a bathroom complete with hot water. Paradise!
The All Vol focused on AIDS in Cote d'Ivoire and what sorts of projects we could do to help the situation. As I've written before, the situation is terrible. About 10% of people in Cote d'Ivoire are infected. 80% of prostitutes are infected. One teacher dies each day from AIDS. If nothing else, that creates a huge void in the educational system. Since there's no medical insurance, medicine is too expensive for most people to afford.
For prevention, we are urged to talk about monogamy, abstinence, and condom use. We were each given a gift bag to take back to our villages with lots of condoms and a wooden penis to do condom demonstrations. I'm not sure I'm up to that sort of work, but I hope to find a nurse that I can give the gift bag to, and let her lead the condom demonstrations!
With my business and computer background, though, I had to laugh at what the purchase order must have looked like:
Product # - 144532 Description - Penis, wooden, 7 inch Quantity - 150
Ship to - Peace Corps, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
What a riot!
I did get lots of ideas on other work that supports the fight against AIDS, which might be more my speed. For example, teaching nutrition and basic hand washing. If I don't get enough protein, it's not that big of a deal. I can make it up next week. But if someone with AIDS doesn't get the right foods, since their immune system is already depressed, the effects are more severe and immediate. It's the same idea with hand washing. Most families eat dinner out of a communal bowl without utensils - eating with their hands. If my hands are dirty, you might get diarrhea if you share a bowl with me. If you have AIDS, your diarrhea might cause your death since your body cannot fight off what mine fights off.
Like I said, those projects are more up my alley, and I'm looking forward to teaching others in Taabo what I learned.
After the conference we were urged to sign up to spend Thanksgiving with families from the American Embassy here. I thought it was so generous that families were willing to take in Peace Corps volunteers to make sure we weren't lonely for Thanksgiving. A friend and I signed up to be hosted by a man who is in the Army - a Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO). We had dinner with a group of others at his Colonel's house. The company was very nice, and the Colonel and his wife were so kind. We had turkey with all the trimmings!! Let me tell you - the people who work for the embassy here are not having the same West African experience that I'm having!!! They had a lovely house with all American furnishings, including cable TV!
The Army man who was our host (Scott) invited us to spend the weekend at his apartment. Since the Peace Corps hostel has been so full, we were thrilled to have a chance to stay elsewhere. Scott, and the other Army FAO, Steve, were wonderful hosts. They have armed forces cable TV, so I watched the Today Show, Survivor, and some Thanksgiving football games. They also have a DVD player, and I watched two movies. Add to that a comfortable bed, washer and dryer, and a computer, and I felt like I was a princess! It's definitely a LONG way from Taabo! While I'm glad our gover nment (and our tax dollars) are supporting the embassy employees here in Abidjan, I did do a lot of thinking about the difference between their lifestyles and mine!
And I am so thankful to the Colonel, his family, Scott, and Steve for sharing their Thanksgiving with me. Merci bien!
I have been in Abidjan 10 days this trip, between the All Vol, Thanksgiving, and some work I'm trying to get done. I really miss Taabo - my house, my friends, and my nice quiet village. I think I've turned into an African villager at heart!!
I hope you and yours enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving, and are planning for a wonderful Christmas.
Love, Kate