Bamenda, here's the story of our adventure.   

Comfort (Becky's mom) had went to Bamenda the day before for a funeral and stayed the night there.  Becky was going to go into Bamenda the second day and meet up with her mom so mom asked if we could tag along to do a little shopping.  Mom is always up for a challenge, but this time she didn't feel comfortable tackling a shopping trip by herself yet, especially since it sometimes is hard to communicate well. 

So normally we would "buy" a taxi if we needed to go somewhere.  By "buy" I mean pay for all the seats in the taxi so that the driver will not pick up other passengers on the way or make any other stops.  To "buy" a taxi to Bamenda (45 min ride) is about $14 US.  My mother however wanted me to have "the experience" of a true African taxi ride.  Becky hailed one down on the side of the road not far from our house and told us to get in.  This taxi was a five seat Toyota hatchback.  Any guesses on how many people actually rode in our taxi?  Well, let me tell you.  We had NINE people in the car!!!!!  In the front was the driver and a teenage boy in the driver seat.  Becky squeezed in with a woman in the passenger seat.  The back seat already had three people in it, mom tried to get in and the man next to her wouldn't scoot over.  I was thinking that this wasn't a good idea.  Finally the man begrudgingly shifted over and mom got in.  I had to sit on her lap or part of her lap and part of the man next to her's lap.  So that is how we got nine people in the car.  Oh, and Becky had to get out and shut mom's door since mom's butt was partially hanging out and she couldn't close it.  Since I was on mom's lap, that put my head on the roof and my face in the lady's hair in front of me.  I was really nervous as the driver sped, and I do mean speed, down the road.  Let me remind you that there are no rules for driving in Africa, you can drive on either side, pass anyone or anything on the road at any time or place, and swerve to miss potholes and cattle.  I started praying for safety and deliverance when the driver told everyone to roll up the windows cause it was starting to rain.  By rain I mean downpour!  Very quickly the humidity and heat went up.  Mom was sweating BAD and the driver had to wipe the windshield every minute to see.  Then the car started to fill with gas fumes and I asked mom quietly if I should breath through my nose or my mouth.   She said it really didn't matter at this point.  She told me later she was getting really sleeping on the ride and was hoping it was just the heat and not carbon monoxide poisoning.  I prayed harder.  The crazy thing was that all this didn't seem to bother anyone else in the car except for me.  We finally made it to the first stop, 40 minutes into the ride and three people got out.  Thank you Lord!  Once we made it into the city and then to the market, we got out.  I said that I was never doing that again.  Mom and Becky both laughed.  Guess mom got what she was hoping for. 

We bought fabric at the market so that I can get a dress made.  Then we went to the "supermarket" to buy some food and supplies.  The supermarket which is the biggest store in the city wasn't really big like I was thinking it would be.  It reminded me more of a large cluttered gas station convenient store.  But we were able to buy dad some Coka Lite for his birthday present and some cheese, butter, and other odd and ends that you cannot buy at the local market in Mbingo.  We actually had to go to two "supermarkets" to get all the things on mom's list.  When we were ready to leave, mom and Comfort treated us to an ice cream cone from a street vendor.  It was really yummy and hit the spot! 

The ride home was better since mom "bought" a taxi and we didn't have the same ride as comin' into town. 

You can see from the picture on the left that there are lots of motos here.  Dad hates them because the trauma unit of the hospital is always full.  Lots of injuries do to all the motos.  On our way home we came onto an accident.  It was car vs. moto.  Man on moto did not win.  He actually was dead lying on the side of the road.  When we saw the gathered crowd around the scene, the taxi driver pulled us over so that we could see better.  I thought it was very strange that he did that.  It is the first time that I have ever seen an accident like that close up. It is also the first time I have ever seen a dead person on the side of the road with all the blood and injuries.  He and Comfort hopped out to investigate.  Turned out Comfort knew the man on the moto (now dead on the side of the road) and we talked the rest of the way home about how sad that was.  We all agreed given the looks of his injuries (as assessed by Comfort) that he maybe would have lived if only he had a helmet on.  I had to explain all this to Becky and use this as the perfect example of why daddy doesn't like motos.  We finally got back home, safe and sound.  And I got to tell daddy and the boys all about it.  My thought on it all, I can't believe people have to do this and live like this every day.  It's just crazy!

 And that is all I know about that!

Love you all!  -Grace