20th Stop - Douala, Cameroon Part 5, Final

Three more days in Cameroon, then off to South Africa. I thought it was going to be all work, play, work but it turned into work, disappointment, cheering up, work.

On Thursday, we planned to go with Annie and the kids back to Semé beach so I could teach them how to swim. That’s right, I used to be a lifeguard back in the day, just like David Hasselhoff, only less well known ;-)

We got off to a late start but were eventually on the road with Serge, our driver from last time, his friend Hervé, who was driving this time since Serge’s car was getting fixed, Annie, and the kids. No sooner had we made it past the outskirts of Bonabéri when we got stopped by the military police for an ID check. Sh*t! Annie forgot her ID card. They let us continue on our way after pleading for leniency, but that didn’t help us from getting stopped again further down the road. This time they didn’t want to let Annie go.

We could have paid off the cop to let us go but I didn’t feel comfortable having to pay off corrupt officials all the way to the beach. It only breeds more corruption when you take part in it. So I went back with the kids and driver to get Annie’s ID card. By this time, it was too late to go to the beach so I dropped the kids off at home and then went back to free Annie.

Now it was time to settle up with our driver, Serge’s friend Hervé. Before leaving, we agreed to 25,000 CFA (about 50 USD) for him to take us there and back. However, we didn’t even go a quarter of the distance, didn’t get on the tollway, and cut our day short by at least three hours. Hervé, however, insisted on being paid the full amount. What Hervé failed to realize was that his short-term gain would come at the expense of his reputation, as well as Serge’s. Not only would we never call on Hervé again (like tomorrow, to take me to the airport), but we wouldn’t call on Serge either. Too bad for both of them. By the way, if you fly into Douala airport, make sure your taxi driver isn’t named Hervé.

That night, I gave a demo of Wordfast Pro to a group of 15 translators and Annie at the American Language Center, owned and run by Martin and Hermiane. Everyone was very enthusiastic about attending a training; unfortunately, it was taking place the next day and only one person could attend. Thanks Martin for hosting the demo!

After the demo, Annie and I met up with Ghislain and Ezekiel at the Total gas station. I’m not sure if it was because it was raining, but there were an awful lot of people in the station, hanging out, drinking beer and eating snacks; my first cocktail hour in a gas station!



We didn’t stay long, got in a taxi and went for a bite to eat. When we walked into the restaurant, we had to pick out what we wanted (fish or chicken) and negotiate a price before sitting down. The fish started at 17,000 CFA, but Ghislain somehow talked him down to 6,000! The waitress had just served us our food when Dagobert, last year’s JCI national president, joined us with a few friends. We had a delicious meal and a few more beers, just what Annie and I needed to cheer up after the fiasco earlier that day.

On Friday I trained Martin on how to use Wordfast Pro. We had a very interesting discussion about corruption in Cameroon and he told me a few stories about people asking him to inflate prices for lessons so he could pay them kickbacks. I very much appreciated Martin's refusal to buy into the corruption and his ambition to run a clean, ethical business. I had spent nearly two weeks in the country and was amazed by how generous and lively the people were. If, however, there was one thing that Cameroon could work on to be better, I think the country's leadership should definitely focus on stamping out corruption.

It was getting late, I had to run home, get my stuff together and get to the airport. Ghislain offered me a beautiful wooden statue that I unfortunately couldn’t fit in my suitcase. So I asked him to hold on to it for me until I come back! Thanks again Annie, the kids, Emile, Ezekiel, Michel, Harly, Roland, Bruno, Alem, Royene, Hervé (the soccer player!), Dagobert and Ghislain for such a wonderful time in Cameroon. A special thanks to Ghislain, Annie, Harly and Michel in particular, that’s 12 more bednets for 12 more families.

Next stop: Johannesburg, South Africa!

20th Stop - Douala, Cameroon Part 4

I figured I should try to do at least a little tourism while in Cameroon so I checked out the Lonely Planet online to see what there was to see... Number 2: Mount Cameroon. Been there, done that. Number 1: Kribi.

Kribi is the tourist hotspot of Cameroon. White sandy beaches, fiesta, fish and more. It just so happened that when I was about to clear customs upon arriving in Douala, I let someone use my pen to fill out one of the forms. We exchanged a few words, and he gave me a phone number in case I made it to Kribi. Ok, so now I had a contact in Kribi, a French man named Michel, who apparently ran a furnished apartment rental service there.

I called Michel bright and early Monday morning (a little too early, sorry about that Michel) to find out if there was any availability at the Gîtes de Kribi for the evening as I was planning on coming later in the afternoon. He told me he would have to check with the staff and politely asked me to call back in a couple of hours. So I did, around 9:30 am, and he told me that they were fully booked; however, I could crash at his place on the couch if I wanted to. Nice! I’ll be there in a few hours.

It took me more than a few hours to get there, but that wasn’t the bus’ fault. In fact, the bus left an hour ahead of schedule. I’m glad I didn’t stray too far from the station despite having a good hour and a half to kill.

I finally made it to Kribi around 4:30 pm, hopped on a motorcycle, and met up with Michel and Harly, Michel’s girlfriend, at the Gîtes. It turns out, Michel and Harly don’t own and run the Gîtes, but are staying there as semi-staff for 6 months. Michel met the owner, a man from Brittany like Michel, the last time he was in Cameroon. He then did some renovation work on the guy’s house in Brittany and as compensation, gets to stay at the Gîtes.

We had a beer and talked for a little bit, then went out for a nice walk along the beach to catch the sunset. Harly made a delicious chicken dinner and we discussed business opportunities in Cameroon. Michel came up with a great idea for a non-profit organization: collecting old motorcycle helmets from Europe (helmets are good for a limited time only) and selling them (to cover transport costs) in Cameroon. Considering the high rate of motorcycle related accidents and deaths in the country, this idea holds a lot of promise.

The next morning was overcast but the sun finally came out in the afternoon, so we went down to the beach for a swim. Then I went back to Douala as I had some work to do on Wednesday. A big thanks to Harly and Michel for hosting me and for the interesting discussions. I wish you both the best of luck and hope to see you again next time I’m in Cameroon!

20th Stop - Douala, Cameroon Part 3

While I had malaria pretty much under control, my gastrointestinal problems started to worsen by Thursday. I guess this is what you get when you drink the local water, put ice in your whisky, eat fresh fruit and vegetables, and probably swallow a bit of well water when you’re this far south in Africa for the first time. Thanks again to Valérie for her quick counsel by SMS!

That evening we went out to a local restaurant to celebrate Ghislain’s birthday. I got a chance to meet his colleagues and see a few other Jaycees including Emile, Ezekiel, and Bruno. We had a nice little party going, Emile had us on the floor laughing with joke after joke, until a couple of local comedians popped in. Apparently, comedians go around to restaurants and tell jokes for a living every night, in the hopes of one day making it big. After quite a few drinks, jokes, songs, BBQ chicken and fried plantains, we closed out the night at the Crystal Club.

We hit the road on Saturday to visit Mount Cameroon and Limbé. Mount Cameroon is an active volcano that is a little over 4000 meters tall and right next to the ocean. It literally shoots out of the sea. Unfortunately, you can’t see anything during the rainy season. Oh well, another reason to come back to Cameroon I guess. We did, however, go on a short hike up to some waterfalls and caves. Thanks Alem from JCI Buea for joining us!

Though we had only planned to go to Mount Cameroon, we convinced our driver to take us further to Semé Beach in Limbe. When we got there, we were supposed to pay 1500 CFA each, or $3, to get in and get one free drink but for some reason or another, they let us in for free. Semé Beach was packed with vacation goers. There were people swimming, playing volleyball, and there was even a game of human foosball going on. Shortly after we arrived, Guiness started bringing out beers and soft drinks and then gave them out for free. Thanks Guiness for the great party!

It was getting late and time to head home, but first, we had to stop in town to say hello to JCI Limbé’s past president, Royene. It was only at this point that I realized we were in the English speaking part of Cameroon, despite the fact that our guide on Mount Cameroon spoke English with us. In fact, Cameroon is a bilingual country with two official languages--French and English. It was a pleasure meeting you Royene, thanks for meeting up with us!

Finally, back to Sunday, the day we’ve all been waiting for: soccer and parliamentary procedure training. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the soccer game as we got back a little too late from the night club Saturday night. But we were up and ready to roll for the training. Emile Singeh, an international trainer, joined Ghislain and I to train the Bojongo Vétérans Football Club. I think this was a first for the three of us: no LCD projector, no flipchart, no white board, no tables, no chairs, and plenty of beer. Plus a great group of participants who were eager to learn and full of insights. Thanks again to everyone who participated, to Emile and Ghislain, and those who bought the beer!

But wait, the day wasn’t over yet. After leaving the clubhouse, Jean-Pierre, the veteran of the veterans and high school teacher, invited us for a few more drinks and sandwiches in the bar next door. He was quite pleased with the training and sincerely hoped that his association would be able to apply what it had learned. It started to get dark so we piled into the President’s Mercedes (almost identical to my lonely Mercedes in Casablanca, desperately seeking a driver who enjoys long rides through the desert under a moonlit sky and dreams of one day returning to the French Riviera...), went home, got cleaned up and then went over to another soccer player's house called Hervé. A nice simple visit, then back home to rest up for the week ahead.

20th Stop - Douala, Cameroon, part 2

Malaria prevention

Nothing too exciting these past few days. I finally got a cash infusion from Western Union, my debit cards having arrived in Casablanca a couple days after my departure. Next stop, the pharmacy.

First off, thanks Valérie for the info about what anti-malarial medication to get. She recommended either lariam or malarone. I had the box of lariam in my hand and looked at the price tag: $100! No wonder why this is not a long-term solution to malaria prevention in Sub-Saharan Africa (in addition to the potential side effects of taking it for too long). For 56 days of protection, that’s $1.78 per day. That may not sound like much for some readers, but for people surviving on less than $1 a day, this price makes it unaffordable for those who need it most.

Bednet for Annie and Ghislain's three boys.

Now, lets compare this with a bednet. One bednet can protect 1 to 4 people (depending on how many people are sleeping under it) for up to 5 years. Five years is 1,825 days. If a bednet costs $10 to produce, ship, distribute, and teach people how to use it, that makes $0.005 per day. Lets say there are 3 children sleeping under it, that means it will cost less than $0.002 per day to protect them from contracting a malaria for up to 5 years.

This illustrates why there is so much effort and energy being devoted to the bednets campaign. It is one of the most simple, cost-effective solution for saving lives. Remember that every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria and that children under 5 are most at risk. This also costs Sub-Saharan Africa $12 billion in lost economic productivity and represents about 40% of the continent's health expenditures.

If you want to protect someone’s life over the next five years, you can buy a bednet or two today by clicking here. It will end up costing you less than $0.005 per day. A special thanks to Magali G. for pushing us over the bar of $3000 raised for 300 bednets!

Thanks again to everyone for your support. There are more adventures to come--tonight we celebrate Ghislain’s birthday!

20th Stop - Douala, Cameroon

Avoid the equator during the rainy season

I started to worry at the airport, “What if they realize I left my car here? Will they prevent me from leaving?” No problems, made it through customs. I think I was having another bout of good luck, this time brought on by greeting everyone with “salem alikum” and a smile. I even got an exit window seat on the plane to Douala.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I got to the airport. Germain from JCI Cameroon had helped me make a hotel reservation for my visa back in May. But I was showing up earlier and really hoped to stay with and meet some JCI members. So a week ago, I sent a message to Roland Kweiman, this year’s JCI world president who is from Cameroon and told him about my project. He initiated a chain reaction of email forwards until Ghislain, a local president in Douala offered to host me. This chain reaction took some time and nothing got nailed down before I got on the plane, meaning I didn’t have Ghislain’s number nor address and had no idea how to find him once I got there. Stay positive, right?

I got my bags and made it through customs without having to pay an “expedited” service charge to a local entrepreneur whose brother or sister works as a customs officer. It was 5:30 in the morning and when I got out to the taxis and didn’t see anyone holding a sign with my name on it, I started to think about what to do next. Just then, someone approached me, “Are you John?” Yes! Thank you ever so much Ghislain for coming to the airport to meet me! It turns out, Ghislain had been there since 2 am and had no idea what I looked like. When my plane arrived, he saw looking a little dazed and confused and when I looked closely at the sign someone was holding, he said to himself, that must be him.

We took a taxi back to his place and as I put my things down, Ghislain asked, “Do you play ball?” Meaning football, or soccer. Of course I do. “Great, we got a game going in less than an hour, get laced up!”

Generally 2, sometimes 3 per bike

We hopped on some motor bikes and went to the soccer field. Ghislain plays with the Veterans, an older men’s league for locals from the same neighborhood. This league is actually an association of about 40 members who play against each other every Sunday. There was a great warm-up and stretching that reminded of high school soccer days. We played for a couple of hours, then went for a lunch of hare, chicken, rice, and macuba with Hervé and Achilles. The food was delicious.

Our day with the Veterans had just begun, however. After lunch, we went to the réfuge, or clubhouse, to talk about the game and other pressing issues the association had to deal with. Oh, and sing a modified version of the Marseillaise and drink some beers (Allons enfants des brasseries / Le temps de boire est arrivé / Nous buvons jusqu’à la dérive / Nous buvons jusqu’à la dérive / Le temps de boire est arrivé / Le temps de boire est arrivé / Buvons... Chantons / Jusqu’au matin / Le temps de boire est arrivé...). After a while of listening to everyone discuss health insurance issues, it became clear that the Veterans could benefit from a training on parliamentary procedure. This would help them take democratic decisions in a timely and efficient manner. I proposed a resolution to do this training with Ghislain next week and it was unanimously approved... Rendez-vous next week for more soccer, training, singing, and drinking!

Les Amis du Dimanche

The general meeting ended around 3 pm, so we went back home, showered up and went into town for another meeting. This time with the Amis du Dimanche (Sunday Friends). This is another association similar to the Veterans but whose main function is to provide solidarity among members in times of need. Every week, members meet and pay dues. Then they discuss what is going on in the neighborhood and how they can help each other. They also share a meal and drink together. I told everyone about why I was in Douala and they were very happy to hear about what I was doing to help fight malaria.

After the meal, we excused ourselves to go to Ghislain’s mother-in-law’s home. She lost her husband last year and the entire family was there for the one-year anniversary of his death. My sincerest condolences to her, Annie, Ghislain’s wife, and the rest of their family.

Storytelling with the Amis du Dimanche

It was getting late and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep my eyes open. We took motorbikes to the main road, then got in a cab and I fell promptly asleep. I didn’t even realize when Ghislain stopped to buy some fish for dinner. We also got some insecticide to spray around the apartment. Hopefully, this will keep the mosquitos at bay until I get my hands on some anti-malarial medication.

One last delicious fish meal with fried plantains and it was time to hit the sack.

To be continued...

19th Stop - Casablanca, part 2

On Thursday, we drove out past the Corniche for an afternoon at the beach. We got there kind of late and didn’t get as close to the water as we would have liked because all of the tables were taken. This actually was to our advantage. After an hour or so, the tide came in and surprised the hell out of everyone right up close to the water, washing away sandals, food, bottles and other beach goodies. In the end, we had some prime seafront property, until the tide rose even further and Nezha got trapped on a chair!

That night, I had invited my Moroccan colleagues for a meeting at the Scala Café to discuss corporate social responsibility. Thanks to Nezha, a JCI member from Tunisia, and Nezha’s friend Ichrak for coming. We listened to some great live Moroccan music while we spoke about CSR.

Time to get clean, time for a hammam. I worked on planning the next legs of my tour for most of the day, then went to the Pacha for a full body scrub and relaxing massage. I highly recommend the Pacha. Everyone was very friendly, it was clean, and parking was easy. Hammam’s are great, you go into the steam room for 15 minutes or so, then come out and someone scraps all of the dead skin off of your body using a coarse washing glove. Then a shower, followed by a relaxing massage with argan oil.

Last day in Morocco, we decided to take advantage of our Saturday to go on a hike in the Beskoura forest. After our walk, we picked up the business cards I had made. Thanks Nezha for helping find the right people to do this! If you’re in Casa and need some printing done, be sure to contact Mostafa Drissi from Imprimerie Dima Press (dimapress@gmail.com or 0654 142 184). We had just enough time to stop in at the high-tech piracy hub of Morocco called Derb Ghallef to get my phone flashed.

Well not really enough time. By the time we got back to Cornelia’s and I got my things together, there wasn’t any time for me to take the train to the airport so Cornelia dropped me off. Thanks again Cornelia, you’re a lifesaver.

On a side note, I didn’t manage to sell my car as planned. Too complicated without the registration papers and too expensive with the €6000 customs tax--three times the asking price for the car! So I left my car under surveillance in Casablanca and am actively looking for someone who would like to drive it back to Nice. If you are interested and want more details, please contact me!

Thanks again to Nezha and Cornelia for making me feel most welcome in Morocco and Cornelia for hosting me. A friend who asked to remain anonymous also donated $50 in Nezha’s name to buy 5 bednets and thank her for her hospitality. See you all in Osaka I hope!

Next stop: Cameroon!

18th Stop - Marrakech

Nezha took a couple days off of work so we drove to Marrakech on Wednesday. It was a fun ride and I was happy to learn that "nezha" not only means virtuousness, but also to party! As for Nezha, she seemed quite impressed by my ability to figure out what the Arabic songs we were listening to were about. It’s easy, the majority of songs are about love; all you need to do is listen to the melody to figure out if people are falling in love, out of love, if it’s an impossible love, someone’s been betrayed by their one true love, etc. It’s like a test with multiple choice questions: when you don’t know the answer, choose “C”!

Marrakech is a hot city. Like 45° C hot, or 113° F if you prefer. First things first, fresh squeezed, ice cold orange juice on the central square amidst the monkeys, vipers, and other oddities. Truly the best orange juice I’ve had and it only cost €0.30. We’ll be back.

We meandered through the souk and bought a few gifts, then found a nice local restaurant called Chez Abdelhay Frère Rachid and had lunch. A couple from France sat down beside us and confirmed that this was a great restaurant and that we’re lucky to have found it. Luck? Who needs luck?

Nezha commissioned some name signs from a local artisan and we had to come back later to get them. So we continued to meander, stopped in for an apple-banana juice, and spoke at length with the shop-owner. He had lived in Germany and the Netherlands for several years and was convinced that Marrakech was heaven on earth. He wouldn’t go back to Europe for anything in the world. He explained how a lot of people complain that there is no money in Morocco, that is is poor. This is false, he said. There is plenty of money, you just need to work hard and figure out the best way to earn it.

Cyber Park

We continued on our way and ended up in a cyber park. This is an interesting concept. There is free wifi access throughout the park in addition to stand up internet kiosks with touch screens. We just went there for the shade but it’s nice to know that now you can go outside, smell the roses, and facebook all at the same time.

Nezha picked up her name plates, we had two more glasses of orange juice each, and then we hit the road. Unfortunately, the Bastille Day party hosted by the French consulate wasn’t starting until 7:30 pm and we had to get back to Casa :-(

Next stop: back to Casablanca!

17th Stop - Casablanca

I want to start out by reiterating what I said in a previous post about how welcome I felt in Morocco, and this is mostly thanks to two of the people I spent most of my time with there: Nezha and Cornelia. But before I tell you more about Nezha, Cornelia, and Casablanca, let me tell you about the drive from Rabat.

Moroccan GPS

I was just about to get on the highway when I saw a hitchhiker. I was getting sick and tired of driving all alone and not optimizing my carbon footprint so I decided to pick him up. Rachid was his name and he was on his way to Agadir to get his daughter and bring her back to Rabat for the summer holidays. We talked at length about the differences between Rabat and Casablanca, especially the restaurants since Rachid works as a waiter. As we got closer to Casablanca, I told him I had to go to the Institut Culturel Français in the center of town and asked him where he wanted me to drop him off. Then he offered me to use his phone so I could call Nezha to find out how to get to the Institut. He told me he would go with me to make sure I found it ok and not to worry about him. In the end, he also came with me to Metro to meet up with Nezha and then went on his merry way. Indeed, no worries, he asked the first person he came across for help and was on the road again.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Nezha is a member of JCI Casablanca with whom I had been in contact before arriving and who was helping me to coordinate my stay in Casa. She works in supply-chain management for Metro and has a great philosophy about work. If she no longer likes what she is doing, no longer has any passion for it, she quits and finds something that inspires her. Good for you Nezha; I think there would be a lot less depression in the world if everyone had your courage to face the fear of pain and the unknown that comes along with change.

Nezha and Cornelia

When Nezha got out of work, we headed over the the Scala Café by the port, not too far away from the Rex Café, made famous in the movie... be the first to name this movie and I’ll send you a post card. Cornelia joined us after she finished up work. Cornelia is originally from Switzerland but has been living and working for Novartis in different countries for several years now. Interestingly enough, I met her high school pen pal by sheer coincidence in a grouped Facebook message sent by a translator colleague of mine. Small world made smaller thanks to FB.

Optical illusion

After dinner, we went back to Cornelia’s apartment where I would be staying and had a drink on her “balcony of noise.” Now I know, every major city is noisy but Casa stands out among all others. Cornelia explained one reason why: the traffic lights are in front of the intersection and there are no small lights on the side of the traffic lights for the first line of cars. Basically, this means that you have to wait for the people two or three rows back to honk that the light has turned green and you can go! When you stop and listen attentively, you can hear an almost magical orchestra of honking throughout the entire city.

Nothing special about the training I did on Tuesday except that I was pleased to catch up with Magali, a colleague, client, and former trainee from France who came all the way to Morocco for the training (not really, she happened to be there and the timing was right). At the end of the day, I went to pay the €4 we owed for using the library and the person in charge said not too worry about it, it’s my lucky day. Indeed, my luck is on the up and up.

Casa to be continued... Coming up next, day trip to Marrakech!

16th Stop - Rabat

Another improvised stop on my tour. I met Nezha, a JCI member from Casablanca and this year’s national treasurer last year at the JCI World Congress in Tunisia. I contacted her about my project and she really wanted to help out in any way she could. Already, from afar, she gave me precious info and helped me arrange accommodations in Casablanca. Before leaving Tangier, she asked if I wanted to stop in Rabat to meet her friend from the university, Adnane. Sure!

Same old story, no phone and only a Moroccan GPS to rely on, we decided to meet at the train station at 5:30 pm. I had a few minutes to spare, and I stopped twice for directions to make sure I was on the right track. I went the wrong way and was about 1 km from the station when I rolled down my window for a third set of directions. Surprise! It was Adnane in the car with his father! I think my luck is starting to turn around, all it took was to make it to Africa.

Random people.

We parked the car and went for a nice long walk through the medina and along the waterfront. Adnane told me about the cultural work he does for the British Council and we talked about future plans and ambitions. He brought me to the coolest café nestled into the walls of the fortified city, overlooking the river estuary and beaches. The view was magnificent and the mint tea even better.

As we walked over to a fruit juice café, he asked me if I had time tomorrow before leaving to give a talk on leadership to a group of high school students participating in an entrepreneurship program. Of course, I would love to! Mohammed, who is in charge of it, joined us and we ironed out all of the details over an almond, strawberry, banana, kiwi, orange juice cocktail. They went to the mosque to pray and I stayed in the café to watch the world cup final on the smallest screen you can imagine. Adnane’s patience for soccer being what it is, when they came back and the game went into overtime, we decided to go back home.

Adnane practicing his presidential smile

Luckily, Adnane’s dad was watching the game so we caught the second half of overtime and Spain’s game winning goal. I knew they were going to win all along (see prediction in previous post). I just wish Erik B. had been there with me, along with his conversational football skills--just like old times in Ezzarha! Benito, a guest of Adnane’s from the Netherlands, came back from the ambassador’s residence not too happy. Benito would also be giving a talk during the leadership seminar tomorrow. We stayed up a little longer then went off to bed.

I woke up early the next morning and had breakfast with Adnane’s dad. I really appreciated our conversation. He told me that he retired from a government ministry and now dabbles in real estate and is very active as president of a retired persons associations. His cardinal rule for sales is not to try to please your buyer at all costs and lie about things when you don’t know. For me, trust is one of the best assets to have when selling something, and you gain people’s trust by being honest with them.

Benito and I left for the school and gave our presentations later that morning. Leadership is a vast subject but I decided to stick with a few simple notions like focus on the positive, smile, listen to others, and create a vision that others can believe in. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for all of Benito’s talk. He was on a roll in the beginning and I hope to see him again in the future to find out more!

Time for me to hit the road again but before I do, thanks again to Nezha, Adnane and his family, Mohammed, Marouane and Benito for such a memorable time in Rabat!

Next stop: Casablanca!

15th Stop - Tangier

The plan was to drive down to Tarifa at the bottom of Spain, take the ferry, and somehow connect with Bess in Tangier later that evening. Again, still no phone (had the phone but had to wait until Tuesday to get international mode) and no more GPS once I get to Morocco.

I stopped for lunch and information after being on the road for about 4 hours and learned that the port in Tarifa wasn’t allowing cars and that I would have to go to Algeciras. Ok, no problem, I hadn’t got my ticket yet and I was still on the right track.

I rolled into Algeciras in record time. In fact, I had the time I needed to try to get the Western Union cash transfer I was waiting for. I parked and started running around from place to place to find a phone I could use to call a toll free number and get the codes from Visa. Pay phones don’t allow you to call toll free numbers in Spain. I finally found a travel agency who would let me use their phone and got Visa on the line but it took forever. I waited on hold for 20 minutes, then decided it was time to get back to my car.

Perfect timing. As I went back to the car, I saw a tow truck, policeman, and quickly realized they were towing my car! Oh shit, pardon my French, this is not good. How would I get it out of the impound lot with no registration papers (see Brussels blog), driver’s license and no money to pay the three parking tickets I got in Madrid? I don’t know what I did but I managed to plead with the policeman in a mix of my 25-word Spanish vocabulary, French, English, and non-verbal gestures. While trying to explain that my papers were stolen, I mimed someone trying to steal his wallet. Except there was no wallet, just a gun. Not a good idea.

The policeman accepted my €35, made a note that I paid in part and let me go with my car. Whew! Now I just had to get to Tangier and find Bess.

I met Bess through her husband Jon, another former English assistant I had the pleasure of meeting ten years ago and with whom I recently made history in Washington DC during the Obama inauguration. Obama was making most of the history but we did our fair share, too. Anyways, who cares about Jon, back to Bess.

Bess is studying Arabic and plans to teach national strategic decision-making to high ranking military officers. She is on a scholarship in an intensive Arabic program at the American School in Tangier for the summer. This is where I knew I could find her.

Night fell while I was getting through customs at the port. Great, I was given two different Moroccan SIM cards at the port, now I could call Bess. Not quite, stupid phone was blocked. I asked one of the guys giving out the cards if there was a way to get it unblocked. He told me I could go to Derb Ghallif once I get to Casablanca to get it “flashed” so it will work with any SIM card I want. Well that’s not going to help me now, “Can I use your phone to call a friend?”

One of things I really appreciated in Morocco was everyone’s willingness to help you out if they could. Sure enough, he gave me his phone; unfortunately, Bess didn’t pick up. No problem, I’ll head into Tangier I thought to myself and ask for directions when I get there. I got there 30 minutes later, but wish the highway exits were more explicit: you have East Tangier and West Tangier, no Center.

I could feel I was getting close, or maybe lost, so I stopped at a public phone boutique to call Bess again. Still no luck. I did manage to talk to Said, a friend of Nezha’s friend Djamai (more on them to come), but he wouldn’t get out of work until midnight. Time to ask for directions. The American School of Tangiers, sure, just go straight here, through the round about and up the hill. Then stop and ask for directions again. Ok. After a series of consulting my Moroccan GPS (random helpful people on the street), I pulled up in front of the school. The gatekeeper had me write down Bess’ and my name on a newspaper and disappeared. He reappeared moments later followed by Bess!

After meeting her classmates, roommate, and program director, we went out for some tea and got lost. We thought we were at the Rain Sky bar but it turns out we ended up at its copycat a block or so away. We eventually made it back to the dorms and chatted with Maya and Nate. It turns out that Nate is a former English teacher and used to live next to Nice. He explained how he tries to encourage young people to spend some time abroad teaching English. I couldn’t agree with him more. I had some of the most important, memorable experiences of my life teaching in France and Vietnam some time back.

As for the picture you see above, I couldn't resist. The pedestrian crosswalk lights are animated in Tangier. The little green man starts walking slowly and gradually works his way into a full sprint before turning red!

We had a nice big breakfast the next day with some other people from Bess’ program and then parted ways. I want to thank Bess and Adriana for helping me find a place to stay in Tangier for the night and wish everyone the best of luck with their Arabic studies!

Next stop: Rabat!

14th Stop - Madrid

Who would have ever thought that traffic in London would be so bad on a Tuesday morning? Obviously not me. At least I had my new GPS that I bought used on eBay the day before. As it brought me closer to Portsmouth, it was clearly indicating that I go in the opposite direction and not follow the “Portsmouth Docks” sign. As it was very early in our relationship, I wasn’t sure if I could trust it to go all the way... so I went towards the docks. Bad idea.

A stop at a hotel for directions and in a MacDonald parking lot to make a phone call via Skype later, and I realized I had totally gone in the wrong direction. Of course, the GPS was laughing at me as it displayed an ETD of 25 minutes and inferred that I would probably miss my ferry to Spain. Time to test the limits of the Mercedes on British highways!

I made it, just in time, got settled into my cabin and went out on the deck for lunch. Instead of taking the short ferry and driving through France, I took the more expensive option of taking a ferry to Santander, Spain. In the end, this actually worked out quite nicely. I worked on a translation, which more then compensated for the additional cost, got to sleep, and saved more than a 1,000 km of CO2.

I initially hadn’t planned to stop in Madrid but I got a message from a colleague, Virginia, inviting me for a few days if I happened to pass through. Ok, why not? I met Virginia at a translation conference last summer in Ohrid, Macedonia and was looking forward to talking to her about business. It turns out that she was recently promoted to Senior Resources Manager, though we both agreed that Super Senior Resources Manager would be a better title! While I was there, she had another offer to take on more responsibilities in quality control. Good luck Virginia, I know you’ll be great!

I didn’t do much tourism in Madrid. I mostly caught up on some work I had to do, went to the pool, and visited with Virginia and her roommate Julia. It was very nice to be in Spain for their semi-final victory against Germany.

I want to thank Virginia for hosting me for three nights and three bednets and look forward to seeing you again in Prague maybe!

Next stop: Tangier, Morocco!

13th Stop - London

Finally, another request to road-share, this time from Bruges to London. Ok, why not, but this is going to be very complicated because I no longer have a cell phone. Not having a cell phone, puts you back in touch with yesteryear, when you had to fix a set time and place to meet someone and even go so far as to where a specific color, especially when they have no idea what you look like. Today, it’s as easy as let’s meet somewhere in the city, sometime in the morning, we’ll call each other to nail down an exact time and location depending on where we both are at the time we call! A combination of failed email confirmation and the lack of a specific meeting point behind the Bruges train station doomed my attempt to meet Victoria. Bad luck strikes again.

My swing through Bruges ate up precious time and I had to gun it to make my ferry on time. Great, 15 minutes before it’s leaving, I made it... or not. “Sorry sir, the platform has been raised, you’ll have to wait for the next one in two hours.” Mitigated luck, I had to wait but could work on a translation I had to do and they didn’t charge me extra.

I was kind of worried about driving on the wrong side of the road, but in the end, it was quite easy. I think having the wheel on the left side helped. I made it safe and sound to London but had a few things to take care of before meeting up with Jimmy, one of my best friends from high school.

Visa had set up an emergency transfer via Western Union so I could get some cash. London is an expensive city, I was going to need it. Unfortunately, they gave me the wrong codes and I couldn’t get the money. So I stopped at an HSBC in Lewisham and withdrew money at the “world’s local bank”. Thanks to my status as a Premier client, I can withdraw cash in any HSBC around the world. That’s cool.

It was so great to finally see Jimmy again, meet his wife Oanh and their newborn baby boy, Miles. We took a nice walk through the park that evening with Miles and Jimmy filled me in on everything that happened in Vietnam since Anaïs and I left five years ago. His stories actually convinced me to change my itinerary and stop by Vietnam. Oanh made an excellent chicken dinner that night and I must say that Jimmy lucked out and married not only a beautiful, friendly, and dynamic woman, but also an excellent cook.

The next two days I did private Wordfast trainings in-company and in-library, but more importantly, struggled with parking. Three minutes late with the meter and I had a ticket for £40! On Friday, I ended up parking in the most expensive parking garage I could find, after searching for hours it seemed, then had to take the tube into the congestion zone.

Friday evening, we met up with Jimmy’s friends from Vietnam, Esther and Liam at the Commercial Tavern on Commercial Road for an afterwork. But the fun only began there, we later stopped at a Burger King in a tube station and got whoppered up. While making a connection, Jimmy recognized a girl they all knew from Vietnam. sure enough, it was her, totally random running into her in the tube on a Friday night in a city with millions of people. Our final destination, Madame JoJo’s on the West End for a deep soul and funk dance party till the wee hours of the night. We grabbed a night bus home; unfortunately, both of us fell asleep. I woke up first, then woke Jimmy up. Jimmy ran to the front of the bus without saying a word while I asked someone if we had passed Camden Town. “Camden Town, yeah, like 25 minutes ago!” Luckily, we got off and another bus going in the opposite direction came 10 minutes later.

The next night we went out to a house party after having tapas and cheering on Spain to win their quarter-final match. The house party was hosted by a friend of a friend of a friend from Vietnam! It was interesting meeting the staff from expedia.com, some actors and film production crew from a recent movie, and a contingent of Spaniards from Malaga who were there visiting someone...

We celebrated Oanh and Jimmy’s one year wedding anniversary in a park with Hiroko, Esther, and Liam. Not sure if it was a coincidence but there was an arts festival going on and we got to see dancers and a play set in the trees.

One last highlight of my time in London was the indian restaurant we ate at Monday night. Note to self, stop eating once I start feeling full, I don’t have to eat everything on the table. We all had a hard time standing up and walking out of there!

A big thanks to my Wordfast trainees, Alison and Kristin, Liam, Esther, Hiroko, and everyone else I met during my stay in London. A special thanks to Oanh, Jimmy, and Miles for their hospitality. Together, we’ll help protect six families over the next five years from contracting malaria. Looking forward to seeing you all again soon. Oh, and best of luck Jimmy in your new job at Coca-Cola!

Next stop: Madrid!