Speaking of challenges

Finally in Maroua and settling in at the university at the Ecole Normale Supérieure (Higher Teachers’ Training College). Perhaps the first challenge to speak of is not having been able to access the Internet to update my blog. There is so much happening here and everyone is doing their best but sometimes the network is down and at others, technicians have been working on it to strengthen the signal. So, I’ll update the blog when I can. Still trying to get some sort of routine established and with unexpected happenings being more the norm than otherwise, this is a little more difficult than you would expect.

Maroua is a good place to be. Some say it’s more like a big village than a city. It’s flat, dusty and spread out but not so big that you can’t walk the major part in an hour or two. There are no high rise to mar the horizon, no supermarkets, in fact, nothing much that reminds one of the packaged, commercially driven pace of what so many elsewhere take for granted. The buildings are concrete and many of the small dwellings of mud brick. The back laneways lead to a labyrinth of courtyards, dwellings and shelters where people live. All is dust and dirt and the depth of the gutters along the main sealed road shows the volume of water that flows when it does rain. But that’s a way off yet and until it does, it’s dust and sometimes a breeze which although pleasant, in town raises the dust.

I’m still at the Baptist Mission where I’ve been lodged since arriving in Maroua. All are very friendly and helpful there and I’m able to prepare a simple meal, hostel style. My stay there has been extended waiting for more permanent accommodation to come available. With the opening of the university, Maroua has suddenly become a university town with the concomitant needs that that implies. Within the past year, there have been 10,000 more people to accommodate, students and university staff, and this pressure has put housing at a premium. So with much patience, we will see what comes about.

Before ending, let me tell you about the ‘moto taxis’ or motorbike taxis that take everyone everywhere. There’s a plethora of them, mostly Chinese the low cost of which has seen ever so many on the roads. Observance of road rules seems sometimes non-existent and pedestrians have to learn to dash and dart in between these two-wheeled movers to cross the road. Even cars have to toot to show they’re there and get the bikes to move to one side. I’ve been fortunate to date to have had most considerate motorbike taxi drivers and when you consider the number of bikes around and potholes in the roads, the calm and reflective riding of your taxi man is all important. The other day, I was taken by bike to see the local tannery on the other side of the (dry) river – two on the bike plus driver. This is not unusual. You even see a child seated in front of the rider and another in front of a female passenger behind. If it’s not a child, you may see a goat – now that really looks like a happy family.