Pegs, taxis & dentists

A while ago I needed to buy some clothes pegs, but had no idea where in the market to find them. Going to the market always gives me the chance I need to practice Dioula so I decided to combine my 2 needs. I greeted a lady who was selling bananas, & asked her how much they were. She answered me in Dioula (naturally) so I needed a minute to work it out. (When talking about money, they talk about how many 5 franc coins are needed, based on an old system, so everything has to be multiplied or divided by 5). While I was still thinking about it, a lady nearby told me the price in French and so the 3 of us had a laugh as they could tell I was just a beginner. Having bought the bananas I asked the 2nd lady if she could tell me where I could buy pegs. She didn't know, but motioned for me to follow her. As we weaved our way through the market she called out to various vendors that she knew, asking them where to find pegs. None of them knew either, but they spread the message to all their neighbours so soon lots & lots of people knew that I was looking for pegs! And it wasn't long before we came across a guy who sold pegs so the deal was done. Just like that!

By the way - no photos this time sorry: I couldn't upload them for some annoying and unknown technical reason.

My orientation to my team mates and their towns continues, and I spent an enjoyable 5 days in Batié, which is about 70km south of where I'm staying in Gaoua. Sjon & Peggy (Dutch) have lived there for 11 years, and run a library, youth meetings, and an English club (among other stuff). Actually my stay was mostly enjoyable - apart from a tooth ache. I decided that I should get it checked out sooner rather than later, so asked around for a dentist. To be sure of getting a good one (you know, someone who sterilises the instruments between patients), it meant I had to go to Ouagadougou (5 hours drive) or Bobo-Dioulasso (3 hours drive). I ended up choosing the latter, and had just 1 night back in Gaoua after my trip to Batié. Travelling is tiring here, so even though they were short trips they were pretty taxing. The VERY bumpy dirt roads are full of pot holes and the busses always play loud music. This time though, the music wasn't so loud that it distorted so that was a nice change. While I was getting off the bus in Bobo, a guy asked me if I needed a taxi, which I did. All the taxis that I've seen here are old Peugeouts and the colour of this font. None of them would ever pass a warrant - I haven't yet seen a taxi whose 4 doors still open & close properly, and they are all very tired looking. The taxi driver's young mate got in the front beside him, and soon asked if I minded if he smoked. I said that'd be OK I'll just wind down the windows - then I saw that both handles in the back had broken off. Fortunately he didn't light up cos I can't stand the smell of smoke. Then he asked me if I would marry him! I'd been warned to expect proposals so I knew exactly what to do - laugh out loud. I did that, but it didn't seem to deter him at all. Not to worry, I had other cards to play: I asked him how old he was. He told me 22, so I again laughed at him and told him that I was FAR too old for him because I'm 36. Then he pulled out his identity card to show me that he is in fact 29. So then I told him that he smokes and he lies and since I don't like either of those things we DEFINITELY couldn't get married. He still went on (persistent eh!) so then I told him that my dad would ask FAR TOO MUCH for a bride price and he could never afford it so that was that. Fortunately by then we'd arrived at where I was staying so I paid the driver and got out. While I was walking away the other one asked me for my cell phone number! I told him "no sorry" and then ignored him as I walked away, glad that was over.

The next day I went to the dentist and was pleased to see things like gloves, disposable cups, and a clean and tidy room. It was way flasher than I'd expected - he took an Xray which instantly showed up on a monitor that I could see. And the good news was that the pain was caused by a gum infection not a cavity. No worries - mouth wash for a few days and it's all honky-dorey. And all up it was not even $20 so I was very pleased. While in the big smoke (Bobo is the 2nd biggest city in BF) I checked out the market. It is HUGE! Unbelievable how many boutiques there were selling anything and everything. They're very good salesmen, and I had to be very firm not to yield to them other than buying a cool pair of earrings.