We are mobile!

Boris and I have finally purchased bikes! Our new transportation has one speed, a squeak when you peddle and mine even has a basket. We have been learning the rules of the road, basically always stay alert! On the main roads which are paved there is a beveled edge which you need to navigate, on the side roads which are not paved there are incredible crevasse and pot holes that you need to make your way around/through. All the while paying attention to speeding motorbikes, crazed taxi drivers, the occasional donkey cart either moseying along or galloping under the whip and people walking in all directions with or without large loads on their heads.

Having bikes has provided much mobility and we are able to explore more of Bobo and get things done much faster, but not without many looks! Apparently women don’t bike here that often. If your husband has the means he provides you with a motorbike and if he doesn’t you walk or take a taxi. The only females that I see on bikes here are young girls, so people find it quite funny to see me pass. At Boris’ work they cannot believe that he comes on a bike and they have told him that he is miss treats me by making me ride a bike (sot that I have complained yet!!). I’ve tried to explain that I prefer to bike, but no one is too convinced. Even the other day I had a man exclaim in shock as he biked passed me “Oh, the woman doing sports!”. That is another big difference; women here don’t really do sports. If a woman is “larger” she is considered a woman of status and being thin means you haven’t eaten enough. The women at my house are constantly trying to feed me and tell me that I need to eat more.

Another area where women are rarely seen is at football (soccer) games. Every weekend you can find a tournament somewhere, so we have been going to watch some pretty fun games. Standing on the sidelines, cheering and discussing the plays I draw a lot of curious looks. All the women I’ve surveyed here tell me that they don’t like football at all, but all the young boys here dream of becoming a football star. Most of the tournaments here are for large sums of money so the players play in the fiercest of manners. The field is shorter so there is a lot of back on forth.