Drive-thrus

For the past few weeks, I’ve been housesitting and dogsitting for my friends who live out in Riviera III, which is about 15 minutes from my apartment. I live in a fairly nice apartment, but I’ve got barely any furniture or things to do in my apartment, so I am temporarily living at my friend’s place while they are out on vacation. It’s not a bad life – they’ve got a pool, tennis court, basketball court, pool table, a tv with American shows (The Daily Show! Simpsons! ) and an overall nice house. I unfortunately have not had the chance to swim because the weather has been chilly and cloudy ever since rainy season ended mid-July. I’ve probably only seen the sun shine twice since then, and that was only for a few hours. By chilly, this means about high 70s to low 80s. I do, however, wish for warmth again!

And so since my commute to work is slightly further away, I am often stuck in traffic. I try to find the pros and cons to traffic in Abidjan in comparison to the US. With low regulation on vehicle emissions in CdI, I am often inhaling fumes: Con. Is traffic worse than the US? I find it to be about the same. Honking is just used a lot more in Abidjan. While stuck in traffic in the states, I remember often thinking : Man, I could really use a jelly donut and coffee! There should be a man walking around selling this to unmoving cars! In comes Abidjan : While stuck in traffic in Abidjan, I get to “window shop”, thus reducing my boredom of staring at cars: Pro. Scores of men and women often walk down the aisles of traffic (during peak and off-peak traffic hours) to sell random crap – some useful, some not. I’ve gotten frozen slushy juice from a woman once while stuck in traffic. Others sell water, gum, newspapers, candy, peanuts. And then there are those that sell ginormous fishing rods, name tags, jumper cables, mini flags, game boards, rice cookers, cell phones (iPhone, anyone?), towels, Dora the Explorer backpacks, calculators, maps, kitchenware, dishware, lamps, lightbulbs , windshield wipers, large area rugs and the list can go on.

Once I was stuck in traffic and Ebe, one of the drivers, started to negotiate on a video game set. Its name with which I was not familiar, but it included controllers, 10 video game cartridges, console and a gun (like Nintendo’s Duck Hunt gun). The guy selling the game started at $40 and Ebe refused and drove on. The guy ran alongside our car during the slow moving traffic and gave a slightly lower price. Ebe explained, “Look, it’s a gift for my kids. I’ll buy it for $6”. So 20 minutes and a half mile of bargaining later, Ebe bought it for $6. I looked at him, “Ebe, you don’t have kids.” He laughed, “Yeah, I know. I just wanted it for myself.”

So when I’m stuck in traffic, I try to put on my sunglasses because I want to see what each person is selling and ponder its practicality in my life, but I know that the second they see that you could potentially be interested, they start running towards you and then you might have to explain that you don’t want it, despite them telling you that it’s a great price and useful. I have realized, however, that I am seriously lacking some extra plates, glasses, and other dishware.

The selection is hit or miss, but there are some good quality products out there. It’s simple, too: roll down the window, select your item, negotiate a price and drive away. It’s the drive-thru Wal-Mart of Cote d'Ivoire! Beat that, Drive-thru McDonalds and Drive-thru Beer Barns of the Midwest!