Today was Corey's and my last day in
Bissau and it turned out to be long but not hard. Corey took care of
some minor tasks, finishing connecting power to the guest apartment,
testing and reviewing the battery system one last time, and training
several of the national staff in the operation and maintenance of the
power system. Oh, and Papa, the administrator, asked Corey to look
at a solar powered lantern he'd purchased that wasn't working. You
can always count on one more thing to be added to the list.
I finished fixing the new network
cable to the wall in the guest house (added to the list after we got
to Guinea-Bissau), installing a new network outlet in the
administrative office for any visitors (added to the list just two
days ago), and beginning to make sure that a spare piece of hardware exactly
mirrors the setup of the one that is online right now. A pretty
quiet day, capping off what we feel has been a very successful trip.
For the first time since beginning work
in Bissau, Corey and I felt able to accept an offer to go to a late
lunch (3 pm) with Sarah and Amy, two of the OneStory expats. We
hopped into one of the many taxis (which are entirely and 100% made
up of beat up Mercedes Benz painted blue with white tops) to get to
the restaurant. Afterward we walked to a corner and began another
not-to-be missed Bissau experience, riding a toca-toca (minivan
outfitted with two benches running down the sides and able to
normally carry12 people but sometimes crammed with 20). The taxi
cost 800 cfa (local currency worth about $1.60). The toca-toca cost
600 cfa so the savings aren't the point. It's the fun cramming in
with the locals and making frequent stops as the toca-toca tries to
get more fares.
Estevao and Gloria picked Corey and me
up quite late, after 7 pm. While Corey and I were still stuffed from
the late lunch, there was no stopping Estevao from having dinner.
All I had was a soda.
We ended up leaving Bissau at 8:30 pm
so it was dark. The main road, 3 lanes in each direction, is
swarming with people and therefore taxis and toca-tocas. And this
major road is pitch black which surprises anyone who saw the road
during the day. Every 20 yards or so is a lamppost with two lights
each high and hanging over the road. While some felt the lights were probably installed because the governor's mansion and
other government buildings are located at points along this road, they think the city spent all the money buying and installing the lights
but now can't afford to turn them on.
Which makes people all the harder to
see when you're driving at 45-55 mph.
Another interesting observation is that
there is never any activity (car, person, etc) at the “international
airport” when we drive by it at 9 am every day. What is more
notable is that there was not one single light on inside or outside
the airport as we drove by it tonight at 9 pm. Very interesting
considering that we'll be checking in at this same airport tomorrow
at around that time.
So, Corey and I chatted for about 20
minutes tonight about lessons learned. On my part, much of the
background about Lendem that I had been basing my plans on turned out
to be wrong or incomplete. In Bissau, I had been concerned about
being able to get a key network component in and interfacing with the
Bissau Internet provider and overcoming a language barrier if/when I
met with them. I thank God for the ability to adjust in Lendem and
for quick progress in Bissau.
I am also tremendously thankful that,
despite my inability to pick up the local language, God provided many
people in Guinea-Bissau that extended much grace to me, and some
nationals and expat missionaries who allowed their schedules to be
interrupted to act as interpreters for me. I would have accomplished
so much less and not enjoyed my time nearly as much.
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