20 little things and signs that London is a long way away!

1. I wake up everyday at 5am to the sound of the Mosque nearby

2. I feel cold, when the temperature drops below 30C

3. A tee-shirt, a wrapped around piece of fabric and some plastic flip-flops have become everyday casual clothes… why did I ever wear socks already?

4. Nescafé tastes better with three sugars and tea is Lipton with half a green lemon

5. I eat a plate of benga* for breakfast and don’t think twice about a chocolate croissant

6. I jam in the back of a green taxi next to two ladies, one old man and a baby, the windscreen is held by brown bits of cellotape, the doors open from the outside...

7. Degué** in a bag has replaced 'tall skinny latte' in a stiro foam cup

8. I don’t mind the bus being delayed one hour, as we are waiting for the incoming bus to arrive, so we can take its batteries and get going, what was so terrible already about sitting on the Northern Line with a copy of Metro?

9. Overtake a donkey cart to work, then a motorbike covered in 60 fluffy chicken hanging by their legs, then a camel...

10. I wait until the end of the month, to get a Telmob bonus to recharge my mobile phone

11. The smell of soumbala coming from the neighbours courtyard on a Sunday evening has replaced the smell of BBQ sausages

12. It seems more obvious to carry stuff on your head than in a backpack, although I could never get it right… It seems easier to carry kids in your back, and gravity here means they never ever fall, just cling on to their mums’ backs…

13. Reading McCarthy’s Bar, listening to Damien Rice or watching movies on my pc is an exotic way to spend a Saturday afternoon

14. Everything slowly but surely takes the colour red from the dust, books, clothes, walls, my lungs I fear…

15. Going to a meeting in a UN building and taking the lift feels… exciting and strangely corporate!

16. I keep old papers for my next door neighbour to wrap the little doughnuts she bakes in the street in

17. Geckos and lizards have replaced cats and pigeons in the garden

18. Mangoes and papayas vs raspberries and rhubarb

19. I worry the price of tomatoes has doubled since last month, but can’t remember the price of an Oyster card

20. The shelves are empty at the lebanese Supermarket… "No milk today… my love has gone away…"

* Red beans

** Sugary yoghurt with semolina or millet

A very hungry thief!

I came home last night feeling quite perky, Friday night, a good bicycle ride home, the first mangoes of the season I’d bought by the roadside… There was a power cut, which meant I could not turn on my computer, as I’d planned to, but just had to enjoy dawn on the terrace.
Went into the outdoor kitchen to prepare some sort of dinner, but there was something odd. First, I thought this damn cat had been scavenging again, as the bin bag was laying on the floor open. But then it took me a few minutes to realize that the fridge was also rather empty… Missing: one can of tuna, two cans of sardines, but even worse as the former were Eurocheapo versions bought in the Lebanese supermarket down the road, no trace of the tins of rillette d’oie and rillette de porc, Fathi and Helene had brought me last week. A Tupperware of black olives was also gone, as well as a carton of Dafani mango juice… Someone had obviously broken in and helped themselves to whatever they could lay their hands on for a little feast. Someone very undiscerning, who did not go for the half empty bottle of Pinot des Charentes, nor the tin of foie gras, and obviously did not like saucisson, but a thief with a sweet tooth, as the box of Broyé du Poitou cookies, I’d left on the kitchen cabinet was also gone and my two tiny metal teapots.
Nothing having been stolen on the higher shelves, I had the sketch of a rather tiny, hungry thief, that could probably not read the labels, might be of Muslim heritage and ended up with some sardines caught between two butter cookies, a very unique sandwich washed down by a gulp of mango juice. Whoever they were, they might be feeling quite queasy by now... I could not get quite angry… Especially, as our little friend had left the Champagne behind and it had been very naïve of me to leave the door open day and night for the last few months...
Now, this might sound like I eat better here than ever before, so I feel like I need to justify myself, after describing the contents of my fridge in such details! I stock up on luxury goods, brought by vry generous or very concerned friends and family, for special occasions and tough days, days when benga* won’t quite do the trick… The teapots need to be urgently replaced so the long, philosophical evenings sipping tea with neighbours and friends can resume...

* Burkinabe staple food, a delicious and very filling local dish of read beans and rice