I am embarrassed to say that I got lost in the city of Cotonou. My mum and aunt got on motor bikes and left me behind believing I was behind them. The driver of the motor bike I was on was rather sluggish. He was busy trying to impress me with some words in English and hit on me. You can imagine! So we didn’t know which way my mum and aunt went. I didn’t know any where. They just told the motorbike driver to follow them. So I was lost. I didn’t have any of their money which was CFA francs. My purse was stuffed with Naira and it was useless. My mobile phone wasn’t working there either. My outgoing calls were barred so I couldn’t call my mum or my aunt. It was one of the most terrifying moments of my entire life. I told the driver to take me back to the university. So I began to wait for a miracle.
The driver I must confess was a good person. I quickly forgot his earlier ‘eff ups’ when he gave me some money to call my aunt using their pay phone. I got through to my aunt and told her where I was. It took my mum who was pretty freaked out herself about 45 minutes to get to the school. I was torn between hugging her and crying happily and going completely ballistic. I had stood under the sun, which was hotter than what I am used to, for 45 minutes. I was warned by the driver to stand under some shade but I was pissed and embarrassed. I was looking hot in my off shoulder top and jeans trousers but I was freaking lost!
I should have listened to him though because now, I am rocking sunburns on my neck and shoulders and I got a shade darker.
Anyway, I bought a lot of French bread and ate them with salad to console myself. A grown woman doesn’t get lost in a country where she doesn’t understand the language with no money in her pocket and a useless mobile phone all the time.
Be good people
Lily Johnson.
