Exam time...

Having completed my first 3 months of studying Dioula, I needed to sit my first exams: written & oral. This meant that I had to go to Bobo-Dioulasso (AKA Bobo) where another missionary, Esther, could supervise my exams. I'd got a ticket for the 8am bus so I could have some time in the afternoon to do some last-minute study, before sitting the exam the next morning. Just a couple of doors from where I live there's a guy who owns a taxi, so the day before leaving I went to see him & asked if he could pick me up at 7.15 the next morning. (It's only 5 - 10 minutes drive to the bus station, but I wanted to allow plenty of time). "No problem," he said, "See you tomorrow." The next morning at 7.20 he still hadn't turned up, so I decided to walk to his place. No taxi.
No man.
Fortunately I had his cell phone number, which I rang. "Oh," he said, "I'm in Ouagadougou." (5 hours away). "But I can get my brother to pick you up, no problem." But yes there was a problem because the I couldn't make out if he'd already told his brother or if I needed to ring him. It was getting complicated! "Don't worry," I said, "I'll ring someone else." Sophie works for Eileen and lives just a couple of minutes away, & although she doesn't start til 8 it was only 7:35. Fortunately she answered her cell phone, so I asked her if she could come quickly because the taxi had let me down. I sat at the bottom of the drive and waited... until she arrived 15 mins later. The busses are known to leave early, so I asked her to go quickly. Her 80cc Yamaha struggled along with the 2 of us, plus my heavy bag. Well, we made with about 90 seconds to spare - whew!
Even better - I passed the exam :) One of the hardest parts was having to recite the names of the months - October is 'Saminyalabankalo'. They're all long names!
This past month I've also been house-hunting in Banfora, where I'll move in a few weeks. I had a look at about 5 houses, and found 1 I liked. It's got 3 bedrooms, a toilet and shower inside, cold running water (bonus!) and a kitchen... which is outside. Since most cooking here is done over wood or charcoal, kitchens are usually a small separate building. But I'll use one of the bedrooms as a kitchen, and keep the external kitchen to store my motorbike.
I've also been driving in the past week or 2, since my International Drivers' Permit FINALLY arrived. It sure is different here - you have to contend with goats, sheep, pigs & dogs wandering on the road, not to mention people who don't indicate much less look before they pull out. And so far I've only been on tar-sealed roads,
whereas most are dirt, with many pot holes. But so far, so good.


On to much more serious matters: the earthquake in Christchurch. Thankfully I was able to ring home and all my family is fine. I'm just waiting to hear from a few more friends. It's just a mess - 75 confirmed dead, and 300 missing.
Sobering stuff. Makes me grateful that I know where I'm spending eternity.