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Abidjan
My husband and I made a one-week pre-assignment visit about two months before the move. We were also given security briefings.
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Yes, French is the official language, and I had learned it in school and during a two-year stay in France. The Ivoirian accent is strong, however, and it will definitely take me some time to become comfortable with the every day spoken language. I may take "refresher" lessons.
Slightly, especially as this was my first time in a "developing" country.
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The most difficult thing for me to see is the garbage. The streets are filthy, the lagoons are filthy, the buildings are filthy. I had been afraid that the poverty would be heartwrenching, but somehow it isn't... it's the trash.
I'm still too freshly arrived, I think, to give an adequate answer. I am having a difficult time adjusting to my new, and very comfortable, way of life. Staff to cook, clean, drive, tend the garden... I'm looking forward to finding something productive or interesting to do with my time. I'm lonely.
Definitely leaning towards depression at the moment. If they were readily available, I think I'd be inhaling tortilla chips and chocolate bars (thank goodness they're not!) I miss my daughter very much - she stayed with her father in the US and will visit me here for vacations - but modern technology lets me speak to her face to face every day, and that helps. I miss having pets. I'm eager to find some cats for the house!
The streets are so active, day and night. I think the Ivoiriens are a particularly handsome people, and I love their sense of style - beautiful fabric made into shirts for the men and pagnes for the women. People make an effort to look their best here, from educated business people to produce vendors on the side of the road. And although I have, as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman, definitely been the recipient of many long looks, I have never felt threatened in any way.
Again, seeing the filth in the streets, and the deteriorating infrastructure. So many wonderful buildings left unfinished or abandoned. I have come to appreciate this place in a very short time, and I find myself wanting very much for it to be reborn as the vibrant city it once was.
Not yet, but with my fractured French and slightly clueless personality, I'm sure I will!
Make an effort to understand and appreciate the local culture. Just because it isn't suburban America doesn't mean it's "bad." Try to see life from the locals' point of view and appreciate the little things. Have an open mind!
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Information about healthcare, expat health insurance and hospitals in Ivory Coast.
An expat in Ivory Coast talks about the challenges and frustrations of living in Abidjan. She has lived in other countries, but never experienced culture shock as significant as this before.
An expat in the Ivory Coast has found the locals to be very unfriendly. She has lived abroad for 22 years and feels that the Ivory Coast is the most difficult place that she has lived.
Hi Guys, I have been offered a job in Abidjan and because of the current economic situation , I am seriously considering it. The job is in construction and I would appreciate any advice. The report above has been positive but the other one not so positive but don't have many choices at the moment and may have to take the job anyway but i am sceptical. Its is a 2 yr contract minimum would like to know about the security of every day life etc. Thanks. Noel [email protected]
guestI'm Italian and in October he will marry a guy with Ivory Coast and perhaps being Italian and not American, the change will be less for me .... ultimately we are not so different ... certainly a bit of concern there .. and are so happy and in love that everything is a little more than giving birth in a month
AmeggeNice and open-minded. Are you still here?
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An expat in Ivory Coast talks about the challenges and frustrations of living in Abidjan. She has lived in other countries, but never experienced culture shock as significant as this before.
An expat in the Ivory Coast has found the locals to be very unfriendly. She has lived abroad for 22 years and feels that the Ivory Coast is the most difficult place that she has lived.
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