Ça veut dire quoi?

To re-cap the past few days, Lisa and I went out the Smithsonian camp that is set up to study the area around the proposed new road. It’s about a two and half hour boat/car ride and lordy do they need a road. In order to get in or out, including all goods, they have to cross two rivers (which means they have to put their cars on a ferry, one of which is hand-powered via ropes and pulleys) and a good amount of land that is pure sand and water. Imagine if you attached roller skates to each wheel and then tried to drive. I don’t know if that makes any sense but it’s the closest analogy I can think of. Since the road is so intense, the Smithsonian etc. hires drivers who are really good at driving on it.

Anyways, the Smithsonian was graciously sharing their camp with a group of students and researchers with the Central African Biodiversity Alliance who were getting samples for their study. It’s actually quite amazing what they’re doing. I’ll post about it later (and there are a lot of different aspects to what they’re doing) but the part that I was most interested in was their focus on determining the evolutionary possibilities of organisms to adapt to climate change. This way, after the results and such, governments will be able to focus on minimizing the damage to these ecosystems and species.

On the first day I started getting sick which was sort of phooey. But in general it was incredible to be around so many intelligent and passionate people. It was also really wonderful to talk to the “eco-guides” that were accompanying us. Essentially the researchers hire guides who are Agence Nationale des parcs nationaux, and they go out with the researcher teams. They’re there to basically look out for the team: keep an eye out for elephants and gorillas, tell the team what to do if things go badly, etc. etc. They also looked really cool with their camouflage and machetes. One of them, John Moussavou, seemed to like me a lot and would quiz me on my wildlife knowledge (what do you do when confronted with a gorilla, or hey what kind of animal left this poop? Etc. etc.). But I liked talking to them because they took a lot of pride in their work, in knowing the plants and animals of the area, and generally being helpful.

Side note: The top bun is not an appropriate hairstyle for the Gabonese forest.

So camp was amazing, and I wish we could have stayed longer because I essentially met everyone and then had to leave. It felt a little like I was leaving summer camp or something because people gave me contact information. Later on I’ll be posting an article about the CABalliance and Smithsonian collaboration.

Unfortunately I can’t find the memory card with all the photos from that trip. I’m quite confused because I remember taking it out and setting it down and now it’s simply not there… BUT ANYWAYS my room is only so big and so I’m sure I’ll find it soon.

The view from my door, into my backyard. There are a few trees to the left.

I have some time now so I think I’ll describe what my weekdays are usually like:

6:00 AM: Wake up, get ready for the day.

6:30 or 6:40: Eat breakfast with either Clayth or Romel in the “salon.” Say “bonjour” or “bien dormi?” to literally every single person I see.

7:00ish: Get picked up by Gabriel and Michel. Say “bonjour” and “ça va” etc. etc.

7:30 – 12:00: Work! Who knows what it may be! So far I’ve checked elephant camera traps, done data entry, worked on my own, seen a chopped up manatee, and so on.

12:00: Lunch! I make my lunch in the mornings from the same thing I ate for breakfast, usually an egg-sausage-baguette sandwich. Eat out on the covered patio, which is very pleasant. View of the lake and there’s a black and white cat that I’ve recently named Ferdinand who always sits with me. I feed her pieces of my sandwich (only the egg and sausage. Ferdinand disdains any sort of bread product). Say “bonjour” and “bon appétit” to every person who walks by on their way to lunch.

12:30-3:30: Lord knows. However I usually get off work fairly consistently at 3:30. Then someone drives me home and I get there around 4:00.

4:00-7:00: I’m still figuring this part out, but I can never just stay in my room. I like it (I recently redecorated) but I pretty much always leave or at least sit outside with the chickens. I like going on walks a lot, seeing little parts of the town at a time. Sometimes I’m not up for it though, because it can take a lot of energy to be stared at. But like I’ve said before, it’s never staring that is uncomfortable. Sometimes I’ll do little errands like adding minutes to my phone or buying a notebook. Gildas (I call him Gigi) and I went and got gateau yesterday, which was wonderful. The gateau is little fried balls of dough and slightly sweet. The lady sells them with an ice-cream type milk, and I forget what it’s called. Then I usually hang out with Gigi, Clayth and Perez until dinner. Don’t forget to say “bonsoir” to everyone walking by.

7:00: Dinner! This is consistently rice, squishy legumes, and three different types of meat; fish, chicken, or beef (sometimes rabbit. And yes I’ve already explained Otis to everyone so they know I don’t eat rabbit). Usually I eat with the same three, Gigi, Clayth and Perez. I guess not really Perez because he doesn't eat dinner. The TV is always on and it’s either French news or sports in French. The table conversation is actually frequently partial English, which is nice of them. Clayth is fluent in English and Gigi has been learning a lot from speaking with me. Perez doesn’t know as much English as the other two but he tries and is definitely improving. All three help me a lot with my French on the daily.

8:30- 10:00: Usually I read or try and write. Sometimes I’ll watch a movie or sometimes we’ll go get a beer after/before dinner. Generally I’m super sleepy, and since we all wake up at the same time (Clayth wakes up at 5:30 for some reason) 8:30 is usually go-back-to-your-room time unless someone can think of something to do. End the day with “bon soirée,” "bon nuit," and “à demain.”

Liddle birds in my yard. Perez feeds them rice.