One interesting car ride

So its pretty difficult to summarize what went down over the past week, but I will try; only to pay attention to details that matter and paint a picture of life in a West African country.

The week was fairly slow as we were in a lull waiting for the pipes we ordered from Douala to arrive in Kumba, receiving the other four members of the group from UD, and just chillin out before we post up in the village school house for week-long stints during construction.

Tuesday was an interesting day. We are working with the divisional director of rural engineering for the Meme Division (a section of the South West provice where Kumba lies). He was asked to travel to Mbombe, a small village less than an hour from Kumba to check out a water system and town meeting hall the community has initiated. The village is nearly 3,000 people and organized along the road between Douala (major shipping port and commercial center) and Kumba. No running water tho. So he invited me to come and check the place.

We arrived in the car park at around 9am after getting to the hardware store at 7am to purchase and transport cement to the lake side (for the villagers to carry across the lake by canoe-hollowed out tree trunks). That is another story in itself, the fact that we had to pick up the cement at a different location and the seller would not issue a receipt becuase cement is scarce and we purchased each bag at 1.000 cfa (Central African Franc) over the gov't mandated maximum price... Anyways. We arrived at the car park to purchase a ride in a car to Mbombe. While waiting we ate at a small "off license" where I ate an egg, spaghetti, onion, green, and tomato omlette with bread. ((It was bomb, seasoned to perfection))

The I saw the car we were traveling in. 1980-something Toyota corolla hatchback. The odometer had stopped at 278,490 kilometers and nothing on the dash worked. We were ten inside this tiny car, four adults in the back (two babies riding on their mothers laps) and four in the front, the driver sharing his seat with a paying customer. The trunk was filled with goods and atop the car were six plastic oil-drum-size containers attached with rubber twine that we stopped several times because the driver did not properlly attach them. Needless to say, as many people here will tell you, "That's Africa."

We made is to the village in less than an hour and were left to meet with several committees before seeing the community hall and catchment site for the water system. After drinking 2 bottles of warm Mutzig (common courtesy to invite guests to partake in drinking 'mimbo'). We were set to return to Kumba. How would we get back? Sit beside the road and wait for a bus/transport that was not full and could carry us home. Rain soon fell and after waiting for nearly an hour, it so happened that the rented van that was picking up the other students from the airport in Douala passed and picked us up. The immediately noticed my white self standing beside the road and picked us up, giving us a free ride back home. Luck.