Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Once again this post has been delayed due to internet connectivity issues. But hopefully you enjoy all the same. :)
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So turns out that I left out quite a few important details in my last post so here is a quick summary of the things that I know that you just really wanted to know. :)
I forgot to let everyone know about my local celebrity status, I'm quite famous in my office now since I was sent to a meeting during my third week here in Gabon and was on the national television news that night. Who would have thought right? One guy said that he had lived in Gabon most of his life and hadn't made it on the national news yet so he couldn't understand how I was that lucky after only three weeks in-country. :) I also forgot to point out that when I visited the African market in the middle of the street that believe it or not the roadway was actually open to vehicles. Yes that's right, so basically every ten minutes or so the merchandise sellers would have to clear out to let a slow moving vehicle through. As you can imagine that was not the most enjoyable experience for pedestrians and customers. The locals were unperturbed of course, I guess they are used to the arrangement.
This one isn't exactly an update per se since it's new information for me, but it relates to a previous post so I will go ahead and add it in here. The picture below should look familiar since a random person walking through a neighborhood carrying a sewing machine really shouldn't be a common occurrence yet every Saturday without fail while I am out doing engineers without borders I see this guy walking by with a sewing machine on his shoulder. Silly me, but my first my thought was that the neighborhood had a sophisticated sewing machine rental service complete with a delivery service comprised of this one guy (or maybe series of guys). Let's be honest I thought it was a one guy delivery service. :) Turns out that I have an overactive imagination and this guy below is known as the little tailor (le petit tailleur). He and all the other guys with sewing machines on their shoulders are of Ghanaian descent and are very talented tailors and displace to customers homes whenever they are called to repair clothing, fix hems and the like. I've never seen them in my neighborhood but I have a pair of pants with a failing hem and I'm taking them with me to Engineers Without Borders this coming weekend. One of the locals has promised to get me an "appointment" for Saturday morning sometime. :)
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| Little Neighborhood Tailor (Le petit tailleur) |
As promised I am including countless photos as there are so many things to see here and I get the feeling that if I don't post pictures no one would believe me when I share stories or describe experiences. So the picture below was taken at the Loupe Nature Reserve. I can't take credit for it since unfortunately I have not made the trek out there yet although it is high on my list of things that I want to do here. My coworker Celine shared this picture with me and wanted me to be sure to give photo credit to her husband. No, he is not a brilliant local photography but yes he does take beautiful pictures although in all honesty it can't be that difficult with such a beautiful and inspiring landscape. :)
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| Loupe Nature Reserve -- Courtesy of NDONG ONDO Parfait |
So for the last few days I have been doing field reconnaissance for a new project that I'm starting soon. This has been a great opportunity to get to know Libreville. Every morning my boss' driver takes me and the two local engineers out to look at existing infrastructure so we can document condition, size and other properties. I was out at the National Assembly building today and unfortunately because of excessive rain the last two days there is a huge "swimming pool" in the street adjacent to the building. There was also a make shift internet café with locals trying to use the government's wifi.
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| "Internet Café" |
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| DSW - Gabon Style |
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| Sidewalk Art |
I attended the Gabonese Annual Agricultural Fair recently. As of right now, my theory is that the Gabonese don't like natural local foods so unfortunately despite living in the tropics right at the Equator in fact, I can't seem to find a lot of the things that I had in St Lucia. Pretty sad. I was really excited by this agricultural fair and was hoping that there would be tons of foods to sample but alas I was very disappointed. I've included random photos that I took. Since I wanted to honestly be able to check the box on the US immigration form that says that I have not had access to any agricultural farms, I did not touch any of the animals. My only interaction was capturing them in the photos included below. :)
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| Poster Showing Projects by a non-profit |
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| Rabbits at the Agricultural Fair |
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| Goats at the Agricultural Fair |
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| Chicks |
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| First and only breadfruit sighting in Gabon |
Totally random, but the sunsets here are just so amazingly beautiful that I had to include this one. Got it through the bus window on my phone on my way home last week.
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| Beautiful Sunset |
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| Happy Halloween - just a few weeks late |
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| There are/were Texans in Gabon - saw this in my apartment complex |
So it is Thursday night November 13th and I'm finalizing this blog to post it and the power goes out. Ironically my internet connection is on fire tonight, I think I might just be able to post after all. I do however have to find the one candle that made the trip from Annapolis (thanks for my awesome handmade colorful lavender candle, ... you know who you are :) ) so I don't burn my dinner which is still cooking on the stove. :)
As promised here is the baboon from a recent sighting in a neighborhood in Libreville. I also saw a goat walk by a restaurant when I was having lunch one day - see photo below. :)
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| Real Live "pet/guard" Baboon |
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| Goat having a stroll through the city during lunch time |
