Something about Libreville🌴/2

Hello everyone! thank you to pass by my little blog where I share my humble life, my experience and my thoughts In this post again I want to take you with me in my world. I want you to discover my little city. I live in a small country named Gabon. I live on a little town named Libreville the capital city of Gabon. I already told you the history of Libreville. A city on the coast where many many years ago there were slavery activities then later on French colonisation. Free slaves coming from Senegal built Libreville. They were autochtones living there already but not in that precised area of Libreville dominated by the French. If you want to understand, just know that Libreville was created on purpose. It was mostly for Political and economical reasons. Gabon itself was created for that matter. When the French put limits and borders they separated some families. Like my grand father on my mother side he lost his young sister and his mother. At that time according to the story I heard,She sent him to go find some natural medications because she was not feeling good at all. On his way back to his village he found some white people talking Spanish. He could not understand them. Then, their translaters told him that he belonged to the French part now. He never saw his mom ever again even after many years he tried to look for his village on a trip to find her and his sister in vain. His belongings was stolen so he had to go back to Gabon. it was an unsucessful trip. Still later on he got news that his mom passed away a long time ago but that his sister was still alive in another area of that country. She was married and had children. Years later again he saved enough and did another trip back to the now known as Guinea Equatorial to find out that his sister also passed away. He had a huge heartbreak (heart attack I might say because he suffered a lot from it and all his life he felt like he failed his young sister) that he never healed from it. He only found his nephews who later came to visit us in Gabon. This is how an example of how some families were separated. My grandfather grew up as an orphan to missionaries'settlement. * * * The American missionaries first came in Gabon after the Portuguese and the Dutch to share the Gospel of Christ. They built an old Protestant church called Baraka. My mother's parents, my mom and her siblings but also her cousins and aunts, uncle were among those who grew up in Baraka Missionary. There were plenty things the American missionaries were teaching them. My mom's aunt who was from the first generation living there almost married an American missionary. They were both in love but her family said No way! You are African you stay here! Just a little bit of history of my family.

A picture of Baraka missionary Below is one of my aunts at Baraka missionary 1961

and next my uncle her brother when he was a baby at Baraka

I will tell you more later about my family. Some of our stories. Also how we lived in other countries. I will tell you about my sister who went to discover the world (Italy, Singapore, Brunei, Spain, Netherlands, Ghana, South Africa...and the list goes on) my father who dreamed of America and went to study and lived there for a little while with his little family (my mom and my siblings) Then later on went to live in other countries. And me? What about me? O yes! Me who always wanted to be a journalist but never could lol! My passion has always been observing, analyzing and writing. Collecting stamps and postal cards of the world. I was so happy when looking at my collections. ***** Ok! Back to my little town Libreville. Whenever I was traveling it was so warm to see my little city from above in the plane (I know it looks like...nothing but that is where I grew up dear readers). The coast, the sea but today...but today things are really different. Not in a good way anymore. Libreville is no more the same... I was born here many years ago. I left for many years too. I left several times my city but when I come back I always remember the old good times. Libreville is no longer the same but still in my head I keep and cherish the beautiful memories of my life here. Memories of my free town. There is something about Libreville even though things have changed. there is a life here. This is not a big town but there is a life. There is life after work. There's life in the weekends. I try to show u the positive side. the good things in town. Before starting this post, I thought about sharing our new baby after Simba passed away. I wanted to share your Highness pictures

Your Highness, Altesse likes Opera songs. The opera.

that's what your Highness likes. ####****##### ok what is good about Libreville my little town I am sharing everything with you here: I went to visit some places and I went to eat at some places There's a place named Maison M Gabon. they make fine pastries

I like the place, the pastries and food they make

I went there to try what they have. I heard they were new in town. And I loved everything! the paris Brest, the Parisienne sandwich, the natural fruits juices. I mean it was delicious and I intend to go back there I went back home with my orders and it was good

Some fruits salad

I went to another place in town some days later on. just to discover something new. It was the Moulin d'Okala. The Moulin d Okala is in not far from the airport area

it was pleasant good service good food. I had my English breakfast. The week after I heard a place called The Montenegro Iceland glacier located somewhere in town center. I was curious to discover what they had to offer. We went there a Sunday morning after church. They make artisanal ice cream, crepes etc

Another place to go is the Bantu restaurant. It is situated at Glass area. That area of Libreville in the very old days was first owned by the English. As the name said Glass. you understand. According to History, they said they named that place after one of the native kings. He had his own name but the English named him Glass because he liked to drink (I guess it was alcohol. They gave him alcohol on purpose maybe...) That's what i read. That area was as well dominated by him and the English. People were speaking English in that area of town and French on the other side. Yes...that's a little bit of history of Libreville. At Glass there are many restaurants too but the particularity with the Bantu restaurant is the view. Outside on the back you have a good view of the coast an the sea. At night it is magical. The decoration in the restaurant is original as well.

what else? I like to take my breakfast in some other places in town.

The golf club of Libreville has a place to chill eat and relax that is called the Masaya's Garden. I loved spending time there. It is kind of away from the noise of town. You can go alone but I suggest you go with friends it is better.

the tsunami and their fast food time . With my friend we took our kids there twice now. It is kind of expensive but it worth it. My son enjoyed spending time there

Le moulin d okala

I discover this little place and store. it is like exotic, artistic somewhere not far from where I am living. Not far from the beach area. So when you walk downstairs u can see the sun and you can feel the sea breeze

The thing is to explore and discover new places, new activities etc. That is basically things you can do here. And by the way I hope to share some pictures of the cap Esterias and Santa Clara soon here. it is somewhere out and in Libreville. hmmmm ...how can I explain that? a cap

I will share what I discover again later and also how it is going so far with Donguila my village on my next post. These are some random short videos of my life here in Libreville my hometown. You can also visit my other site or blog: www.poshenvogue.com You might find it interesting because it is different from this one. Thank you for reading my post.

In this short video I went to take my breakfast alone in town at a place called Bodega.

When I take time for myself too. It is important.

My niece was dancing at her school. It was the last day and they had traditional dances to perform

When in France you see and you fall into a bicycle race lol! You don't miss the right moment

A little bit of Donguila in my next post. I went to spend a day there. In the village of my late father. The land of my father. I have a complete post for it coming. It felt kind of melancholic being alone there with the workers. It felt kind of nostalgic not being surrounded by my siblings and my parents there. Like we always used to do. But I must do what I am supposed to do. I DON"T KNOW HOW long left i HAVE HERE IN Libreville. In Gabon. I might be gone next year...but I will definitely be back soon as possible.

Now you read a little bit about the story of my grandad. How he was forced to grow up as an orphan in a missionary place. You read how he could never see his mom and sister because the Europeans cut territories and created borders painfully separating some families. You read how he died of sadness that ate him up all his life. You read the story of my grandmother who almost went to live in America with a young missionary but a love forbidden by her parents at the time. She was young and beautiful but she stayed home because she had to obey her parents. The young man left she could not go with him. You will read here more stories of my family soon maybe...Every family has a story to share. I had my aunt who had the same story but that one was really sad and painful. A French man wanted to marry her because he loved her so much but my grandfather and my grandmother said a big No. They could have escaped together because they were so in love but she stayed faithful to her family. She obeyed them. Unfortunately she later married a man from home who made her unhappy all her life. He abused my aunt all her life. A very violent man. They both had unhappy and fearful children. I can't tell the tragic end of the complete family. Look people! Love comes in any color. Do not stop your love . Do not put limit on your happiness just because the man or the woman comes from another land.

But in case you want to know the song in the video I was listening to, it is from the Gabonese author composer and poet that i like the most: Pierre Claver Akendengue. I share a lot about his songs here in my blog.

That song is Akewa meaning thank you. He says thank you for life the good and the bad things happening to us. Thank you about life coming from our dad and mom, from our friends and ennemies. Thank you for the loyal friends and those who betrayed us. Thank you for the success and failures because we learn from these experiences, thank you to the parrots of his land that were bringing spreading and taking news of his life....It is a beautiful song that always craddles me in the vibes of my roots. My gabonese roots. My proud roots and African roots. My culture. My Gabonese and African culture

Libreville. view from my window the sun is going to sleep in the arms of the sea and the night is coming little by little. Thank you for reading me and see you on my next post.

Something about Libreville, my Hometown

Hello eveyone here another post about Libreville my little hometown. To those who read me for the first time, I explained in the previous post that Libreville is the capital city of Gabon. Yes,you never heard about this little country in Africa but it is here. It exists (smile) We live in that little city and there is life here too. This a view from work as you can see my hometown is bordered by the sea. You take such video when you are not doing something important or on your break time. We live a very simple life yet i admit there is a lot to improve here but that's the way it is. We do not have big bridges and buildings. We have what we have (smile)

You can visit my older post if you want to see more of my stories about my city Today again I am sharing something about Libreville. After work there is life and in the weekend people are living. I won't talk too much. I am taking you in my world for few minutes. Recently with a friend of mine we went with our kids to a place called the Tsunami. It is here in town. As usual I am sharing here short videos. Very short because I really have no time yet to do full videos and editing them takes time.

It was in the afternoon and the kids had so much fun! I enjoyed my food and my drink.

That was good

This week I went on to have my Me Time. Being a mom is a lot of work too and you tend to forget yourself. So yes I took a time for me. That place is a beauty instotute located in area named London in Libreville of course . The name is the Centre Laser and I like their services. I went there before and I recommend this place. They do so many things and it worth spending your money for your beauty and self care ladies.

Then last week I went to a place called La Cave de Jonas. They sell so many good products artisanal (hand craft) made in Gabon and some other places too. They also sell good wines, liquors and champagnes.

You know I like wines so much and champagne too.

As I was looking to know what type of wines they had they served me a good tea and I must say the service is good there. They know how to welcome and take care of their customers.

I spent good time at the restaurant that was first a beach club. It is called the Iroko. The iroko is a name of a local wood here. I loved the place and I enjoyed spending my few hours there. If you ever come to Libreville, try to go at the Iroko.

If you go later at night in that place you will love it. The sea is just right there and the sound of the waves. The breeze and the smell of the ocean. You will see people eating and dancing. There is good music and you will love the lights , the lanterns etc.

I ordered a drink which was a mix of beer, syrup and something else like some drops of liquor I guess and it is called the Monaco. I found it original. I liked my drink.

You know I am a foodie person I could not leave without eating something lol! I ordered something and it was the spaghetti Carbonara if I remember the name. Well it was simple. It was good!

I guess I said all in this post. I try not to be negative but staying positive. I take you into my little world. Thank you for reading. Tonight I thought about sharing this beautiful song from Mafikizolo a group from South Africa. Yes, I used to live there. I am kind of sad just thinking about the sad news I recently got. My two very close friends of mine passed away. We used to be very close. They were like my two brothers from another mother, We had the best time together in Johannesburg. They were the only ones who understood me when I was misunderstood by others. Everyday is a mystery. When I get news like that I am asking myself what makes me different from others for me to still be here alive? I am simply thankful. I thank God everyday. If I tell you all the stories I had with these two guys, you will laugh. I think I should make that video. We were young...We had fun in Joburg. Birthday parties, barbecues and the day when Eric took me with another friend to a sex shop. My goodness! I didn't know first. Lol! He closed my eyes with his hands and made me walk to somewhere. He just told me let's go somewhere in a good shop for you to visit. (You have to understand I was too reserved, too introvert and strict with myself because of the way I was raised. You know my upbringing) so they thought I should be open a little bit. They took me there when he removed his hands from my eyes I looked around then I screamed Lol! Because I saw porn magazines, sex toys. I realized that I was in a sex shop. They both laughed at me. I wanted to get out of the sex shop quickly. As I opened the door I fell face to face with some people and some students of my school who were waiting for the bus at the bus stop. So I had no choice then hiding my face lol! I pulled my friends'hat and put it on my head so I hoped not to be recognized. Because it will be talked at school...Some students going at the sex shop including a girl. I left quikly. I waited for them at the corner of the street. And yes guys, my friends bought stuffs there. And yes I was shocked but I realized that they were men ..so there was nothing I could do about it. Eric told me "Do not try to open the bag and look what we purchased." So I didn't do it. Lol! What a story! I am still laughing just thinking about it. or the story of whe he almst put me in trouble with a girl who was a friend of mine and the husband (I did not know she was married) surprised us.. o my word, it was a long story lol! ### Well, Rest in peace dear friends. I miss you very much. Life is a mystery. Love each other dear readers and enjoy life every single day and minute of it. Thank you Mafikizolo for this beautiful song "Ngeke Balunge". From the first day I put my feet in South Africa, I listen to your music. Keep shining Mafikizolo. You take me back to so many memories in South Africa. My lonely time, my friendships, the sad and good moments of my life.

My Life in Gabon🇬🇦/3

Hello everyone! it is 2022 and I am back with my third post on My Life in my Little Town Libreville. You know how it is to live in a small city in Africa. My goal is to make you discover a little bit of my world. A a little bit of another side of the world from yours. Libreville if you read my old post on Gabon is the capital city. We are on the coast and Libreville meaning Freetown in English has a long story on slavery and abolition. The ship named Elizia was coming back and forth from Brazil. It carried many slaves from Africa which later was captured released. Those slaves who later on founded Libreville. The land of those who became "free". I don't know which type of freedom it was but...they said they were free but still doing some hard work under colonisation... like really bad and people were dying doing it and most of the times...Threatened and...ok I stop right here. I won't go into the reflexion and History book. I guess that was the "freedom" they gave to my ancestors. Long story short the ancestors lived here then later on my grandparents, my parents, me and now my son. We are living here in Libreville. Libreville and Port-Gentil are the main cities of Gabon and Gabon was named the last eden on earth. Some people asked: "What?! Why?" I will tell you why later on another post but yes, Gabon was named the last Eden on earth. Do not look at Libreville but at the country itself and you will understand why. Just know that Gabon is crossed by the equator ( you know, that imaginary line that crosses our globe) for that reason we have a specific kind of weather, fauna, vegetal and landscape etc. If you know what it means you know that it is really humid and hot. Heavy rains on rainy seasons. You do not need to work the soil hard things grows fast and good. For instance, do u know these fruits below? yes you can find them in some other parts of the continent but you can find some other fruits not known everywhere.

ok we call it Atanga. it is only found in central Africa. We like it and I grew up eating them too. Tourists when they come here like to taste them as well. I got them from my garden. You can plant them at home. it is kind of a big tree. There are different type of atanga fruits. their shape are different according to the type Some ate bigger than these ones in pictures. but it is so good!!!

How do you eat them? you first boil some water, then when it is hot you turn off the fire. you put the atanga fruits inside the hot water then you cover the pot And let them be cooked for maybe an hour to make sure that they are ready. Then you put them on a plate an for some people you put a little bit of salt. Other will cook them depending on what they want to make. * * * Ok! so my life has been busy so far between my work in Libreville and my trips to Donguila (I already shared about Donguila in my previous posts) which by the the way I have a farming and agricultural project with a friend of mine. It will take so much work, patience and investment but i believe in it. If you look the green, the farming and agriculture are something that many countries are investing in my continent now. *** Libreville can be boring at times when you are new here and you do not know what to do. However, we still have some activities to do. You can still enjoy your life here. I mean a simple life. Look! It is not New York City here. We are in Libreville, the little town. My little town lol! Let me share with you some short videos as usual So you can have an idea. These days i barely have time to make and edit full videos. It takes so much time but i will be back to it soon. In the videos below i went to the Museum in town of our tradition and cultures.

I had few memories of how life was in the old days in villages because we used to visit there with my parents sometimes. it was precious times

I liked what i learned there at the museum. it is important to know your culture in Gabon we have like 50 ethnic groups in a small country with different cultures and native languages. So it means a lot to learn in term of tradition and culture

As a foodie person I like to share what i eat sometimes. this is an exotic salad that we like to eat here

Talking about tradition few days ago, we had my second niece's traditional wedding. We do both here.The traditional wedding and the modern one in European style (because of course due to our colonized history). It means that the couples go in front of the mayor of our city to say the vows and tie the knot The Traditional wedding is important to us. It is our culture and has a lot of meaning. So these are the videos of the traditional wedding

We spent good time as a family and it was a pleasure to welcome the other family (my niece's family in law) there were sitting on the other side.

It was a nice and pleasant event. We talked we danced, we ate after the important part of the presentation of the dowry. And no I am not in the pictures in this blog. do not search to see me. I am just the blogger!😅 but I was present

Traditional wedding. The organization and the presentation. How we welcomed the guests in the family place out of town.

There is life after work. There are things to do especially in the weekend. What about you and in your hometown? So I went to town and visit and discover places then I did some shopping too/. I discovered that place in town Soho The concept Store. They have nice things to buy and try

If you do not shop then you go eat or just go enjoying a place to relax. We went to a restaurant next to the coast.The breeze of the ocean was all over my face it was so relaxing The restaurant is original and it is named Mystic Bantu. If you ever go to Libreville try to go to Mystic Bantu restaurant

The funny part of my time with my friend there at the Mystic Bantu restaurant. My friend and the waiter suggested me to take another cocktail. A special one according to them. They told me you should try "The Tchiza" cocktail. The one I had first was "Libreville, la Belle" meaning Libreville the beautiful.

I was thinking about enjoying the day in my hometown. The waiter begged me to order the Tchiza cocktail too so look what I got? As I was enjoying my conversation with my friend. Laughing and talking and eating I saw the lady puting something on the table. i didn't expect that and I almost choked on my food. Obviously my friend knew what it was. I had no idea. They both laughed when they told me about that cocktail

this is the Tchiza cocktail! I know right? I could not stop laughing. Then of course I drank it and guess what it was good! Lol!! How funny it was. a glass of cocktail just like that! Sometimes it is good to be simple and enjoy life.

so that one below is Libreville la Belle. Libreville the beautiful

life is indeed beautiful. ***

I had good times at the Mystic Bantu.

thank you for reading You can also go to my website/blog www.poshenvogue.com This is a song from young gabonese artists that I like . They sing to try to forget the pain and difficulties of life

Proud to be a Panther🇬🇦

End of game for Gabon. It is unfortunately over for us. The city is quiet and sad tonight but we are proud. Our national team has given EVERYTHING and I am proud of my national soccer team. Tonight game against Burkina Faso was awesome eventhough the referee was stupid. Yes I say it again he was stupid. I feel the same way with the one who arbitrated Gabon vs Morocco. You could tell he was against Gabon for sure. He gave an unjustified penalty that allowed the Moroccans to goal which helped them a lot. However, the Gabonese team didn't complain and our team didn't trash Morocco like Ghana did to Gabon on the interview. Well, I must say I was very disappointed after I watched that interview. We all know that Gabon played very well against them and Morocco.

Please don't be a bitter loser. what an attitude! What do you expect when you sit back thinking that "we are the best!"..That's a lie! Lies!! Gabon played VERY WELL! We controlled the match! So please!o well...It is ok, I understand his frustration. Then what happened next to them? A small team kicked them out of the Cup. Yep! The Comoros gave them a safe trip back home to Ghana. Lol! Who knew that Ghana could be out because of the Comoros? That's life! Be humble man! Maybe they are happy now that we are out of the competition too. But in my head I still love the Ghanian team who went to the World Cup of Soccer in Brazil. I will never forget that Ghana team who made Africa proud. The Black Stars of Ghana is still one my favorite African teams anyway. The referee on the game Gabon vs Burkina Faso tonight was just too much. He did Everything he could to break us but we still played well. "The shots on goals" I mean the penalties were the painful and difficult part of the game and Gabon lost because of a little mistake. One shot of a player. He missed it and that was it. Team 241 gave a vibe of world cup soccer game tonight. We were all on our feet. So I can say beyond the shadow of a doubt Burkina Faso was just Lucky that's all. Nothing special, just lucky. They could have easily lose. I don't know if they will go further than that but like I said in soccer expect the unexpected. We weren't lucky enough tonight Because Gabon played with 10 while Burkina was still 11 players. That's because of the stupid zeal of the referee who gave a red card to a player. By the way the same referee took away a goal opportunity to Gabon that could have given them the victory maybe. The player was not off-side. I still don't understand why HE Stopped him! Gabon could have won 2 goals. The guy was upset but the referee insisted in his way anyway. Really that man...(sigh)

that referee...sigh. No comment. I think it is about time that FIFA do find ways of giving sanctions to referees. They always get away with their nonsense. That's too much now! Some Referees can steal your joy and your victory honestly. If they get some sanctions, maybe it will help improving the way they arbitrate the match. But still, dear Stallions of Burkina Faso admit that the Panthers of Gabon gave you hard time tonight right? Lol! We scared you till the end. We are team 241!We have a good goal keeper

(I love my team. I like my Panthers. You did a good job guys do not be sad. We are proud of you.) Gabon could have gone farther in this African Cup of Nations 2022 but we learned from our mistakes too. One of those was puting hope on two guys: the two players (the favorite international ones) who were fired for their bad behavior during the tournament. That was just so What a mess! and they both set bad example to their fellow players who put their hope on them. Come on guys! After reading it I was so so disappointed. People said they were angry about something they were supposed to get. So what? When you love your country, you play for the love of your country first and you can take back the issue again later on. When you do something for your country it is Not about money first but the Love of your country. No wonder why the team was already weaken. If the most important pilars are gone what do you expect? but our Panthers still managed to fight for the best and I am proud of them. So These two professionals went back to play for their soccer clubs in Europe but we will never forget their bad behavior. What an insult to the nation! That shows enough how they don't care about their country. It is ok. That's life. Libreville was quiet tonight after the game. Libreville was sad. but proud. we are the Black Panthers of Gabon. We are the Panthers. We are crying but We are proud to be Panthers of Gabon. We love you guys. You played very well. We will come back on the next cup stronger and will do better. Thank you to all the supporters and all the people around the world who supported our national team. Thank you also to our national symbol who gave us luck! We are not Dead we are still here alive. Long live our black panther. A panther still roars

The Soccer Cup of the African Nations is not over. Next game Nigeria vs Tunisia. Good luck Nigeria. All my support to the Super Eagles. Yes, I love Nigeria. Do not disappoint us please. We Go Nigeria! Thank you for reading. You can also visit my website: www.poshenvogue.com