ON MY OWN

So, the sun is setting on my alone time in Libreville and of course I'm terribly excited that Jandro is coming back. But I am also very proud of myself: I have survived a whole week on my own, which means that both my French and social skills have developed sufficiently to allow it.

My week consisted of going to work, going shopping and going to the gym, as well as visiting and receiving friends. I also contacted and met up with a new French teacher. I spoke more French than ever and was complemented on it several times. I moved around in taxis, apart from a couple of times when one sympathetic colleague or other picked me up on the road. I was surprised at how natural it was for me to come back to Gabon and take up the life I'd left here.

Even though to you all these things may seem trivial - after all you go to work on your own every day and most of you have lived alone - for me it was a challenge, and one which I tackled succefully. Do you remember the girl you met in April? The one who had doubts whether to go for a walk on the beach or not? Well, she's not here anymore. Africa is really growing on me, the more I learn, the more I want to know. And, believe it or not, I did not see this coming.