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| Switched my Colosseum commute for a beach walk to the office from my hotel in Freetown, SL. Maybe equally sweaty and equal stares/catcalls, but far more friendliness on my commute in Salone |
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| Baby I got your money - just half of the stash that I had to carry in my backpack into the rural areas of Salone to distribute for our community consultations. The donor society post-war has created an expectation and culture that for any meeting you have with local people you need to pay them a transport fee (about 5 dollars per person) and a food fee for their time at the meeting (about 2 dollars per person) for a 3 hour meeting in a location within 1-5km of their house. In total I had to carry 18 million Leones (or about 4,500 dollars) in the equivalent of 50 cent piece and 2 dollar bills to distribute to approximately 300 angry community members/giggly kids circled around me. Let me tell you doing math and counting money under pressure is not my forte = don't hire me as a banker |
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| Listening to rural communities affected by large scale private sector land acquisition. The goal - to hear their complaints and identify solutions |
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| And needless to say it got heated.....most people in these communities are living on less than 2 dollars a day and have had to move or sold their land for 12 dollars a hectare = I would be angry too |
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| Trying to calm things down and focus on solutions......while who knows what the translator was actually saying that I was saying in the local dialect Timney. Maybe creating more heat |
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| At least I had these kids on my side (literally on my back) observing and giggling (even though they might act like they're serious in this photo) |
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| Community consultation team - Dr. Bangura, Director of the Environmental Protection Agency; Lidia; Mr. Cham, Advisor Ministry of Lands and Country Planning; Mr. McFoy, FAO driver; and ME. These guys are my heros (one had malaria and one's brother died while with us) and lifelong buddies. You may wonder why I have a backpack on in a restaurant - did I mention those 18 million Leones? Not safe to keep them in a hotel room which meant I had to carry them everywhere, at least I had a flashlight as a weapon |
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| Deforestation station - without electricity in 90% of the country they are devastating their forests for firewood |
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| Found this gem in a tiny town 7 hours from the capital city, making America proud or at least 12 of the states |
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| United we do Stand - I took a rare moment away from work to celebrate freedom and the good ol USofA with some fellow American expats in red, white, and blue. While we didn't have fireworks or hot dogs or berries, we had mac n cheese, deviled eggs, fresh caught fish cooked by Lebanese, and plenty of American pride |
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| When I was talking to my Dad before I left (who loves Hiltons), he jokingly asked if there were any Hilton's in Sierra Leone, to which I scoffed and informed him there was barely running water. Well low and behold upon my arrival they are building a Hilton in Sierra Leone - book your visit now |
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| A small snapshot of ex-pat life in SL. In this photo, 2 Spanish, 2 Italian, 1 French, 1 Lebanese - all trying to get the last Pringle or Italian sausage/prosciutto or French brie brought by the last ex-pat who went home the most recently. And of course discussing really intellectual stuff (like bug spray) in four languages intermixed |
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| Yes this photo looks boring, but I got chased by a local Sierra Leonean for not asking permission to take it. Now you know why I don't have more pictures of me with actual Africans, since even goats require permission |
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| One thing Salone is never short of, even in the rainy season, is beautiful sunsets |
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| Commute home from work, a little beach time soccer match |
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| This trip was hard, much harder than the last one, but one thing that renewed me everyday, even when I was ready to just call it all in and get on the next flight, was the people. For the level of poverty and hardship that they have been through and continue to face, their continual happy spirit and friendliness are really invigorating |
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| Who could refuse a pineapple from these vendors? |
I'm baaaack to the world of easier living. I've spent the last three days laying under Roman fountains drinking tap water, stuffing myself with unwashed fruits and veggies from the public markets, finally getting to exercise, and going shopping for some clothes that don't smell like mildew or have mango flies embedded in them - so as you might imagine this trip to SL was a bit tougher than the last, and I barely had time for the dance party I longed to go back for.
Life and death: As I mentioned from my last post, I felt more alive in Sierra Leone because its back to basics. At the same time I realized this time that part of the reason for feeling more alive is because death is so much closer. On any given day each choice you make from the water you brush your teeth with and accidentally swallow some, or the food you eat, or the bugs that bite you, or your mode of transport could all easily mean the end and mostly because if something happens there's no option but getting on the first plane out (you only go to a hospital in Sierra Leone if you actually WANT to die). So now that I've freaked you out, remember I'm back, but while I was there I'll share a few notes of how death is all around - the day I arrived Lidia was stung by a champion fly on her FACE which basically exploded acid when she swatted it away leaving a nasty burn and infection on her FACE; there was a cholera outbreak where by last count 40 people had died including World Food Program staff (FAO's competitor); 1 in 3 people I met had malaria or had just gotten over it; one of my expat friends there was walking on the same beach I walked home from work on and was attacked by a man who BIT her on the back and she can't even test for rabies till she flies out of SL; the two government officials who came with us on our community visits - one had malaria while with us and the other's brother died while with us. This may all have something to do with why Sierra Leoneans are so happy - when you have to face this much death/danger everyday, life is all the more precious
Eating: Speaking of death and danger.....I knew from my trip before that for some reason I'm automatically starving in Sierra Leone, which isn't even fair to say/write, and I immediately feel guilty upon my first hunger pangs, because people are actually starving. That said, within 48 hours, my privileged life in Italy with all the snacks I want and cravings I have that can be met at any instant are very apparent in their absence. I would say the biggest change is having very little control over what you eat, you just have to eat what is available and when it is available. Not to over exaggerate my hunger pangs, there are places to have decent dinners and grocery shop (if you're willing to pay 10 times the EU/US price, example one liter of milk costs at least 3 euro), but they are few, so in 5 weeks you end up eating the same thing everyday even if you're eating at expensive ex-pat restaurants. Our trip to the communities/rural Salone was truly a test with Gov't officials who were fine with spending 4 days on the road eating nothing but bread with condensed milk dribbled on it. We even searched for bananas (too bad it isn't banana season) but only found pineapples which aren't so easy to eat in the car. I spent 4 straight days eating only bread and condensed milk with a stomach virus, seeking out a rural prison as the best option around for the bathroom (just imagine), and have never understood hunger/stomach disease as I do today. My appreciation for how spoiled I have become in Italy and how quickly I am hungry without the luxury of snacking has truly shocked me. I knocked off 3 kilos even with scrounging for whatever food I could and eating anything available at every opportunity in SL. A true appreciation for food security has finally been embedded - plenti thenki Salone. I will never take eating well for granted again (or for that matter, access to a decent bathroom).
Social LIFE: Now that we have all that death and danger stuff out of the way, I spoke last time about the active social life in Salone and it was still in full swing for my return this time. However, work was so crazy that I wasn't able to partake as much as I would have liked. I did have the EuroCup to entertain me for the first few weeks, complete with rooting for Italia in blue till the bitter end at house parties, bars, and even at a converted theatre in the stix of Salone. I also managed to track down some Americans to celebrate the 4th with and as we do (or used to) in America we welcomed all others and had our meal cooked by Lebanese, and celebrated with Italians, Norwegians, Irish, and Spaniards in attendance. We even let a British guy come just so we could heckle him. While our party was a small affair, the Canadians threw a rager 3 days before, complete with tent size flags, maple leaf shirts, gravy fries, and fireworks. Seriously Canada showing us up? There was also the plan to go back to my favorite bar in Bo (called After Work) for a dance party with the government officials while visiting communities, but I was so exhausted that I couldn't muster it. The Gov't guys haven't let us live it down and have demanded that we must come back to have at least one dance party together - I love these people. And this time, I finally managed to download/buy some SL top hits (mostly from Nigeria). I would definitely recommend 'Chop my Money' by P Squared featuring Akon.
Krio: In SL they speak Krio, which is basically a pidgin English influenced heavily by Igbo and Yoruba from Nigeria. I swore that this time I would at least learn basic Krio, and was very much forced into it by our community visits which were translated between local tribal dialects (Timney and Mendi). You as well would find Krio easy to pick up thanks to urban pop/rap including the word for who (udat). But my all time favorite phrase is "Kusheh, Owz da bodi" or "Ow u slep" literally meaning Hello, how are you? How'd you sleep? every morning. Then you answer "da bodi good" or "da bodi gud" or "Plenti fine" or " Tel gowd thenki" (thank God). Whenever you even speak a little Krio, SLs die of giggles, even if you say you're learning "smoll smoll", little by little. Plenti thenki Salone for accepting my smoll smoll Krio!!!!
The Lebanese: I know that I have talked in the past about how impressed I have been with Germans, but seriously Lebanese people blow everyone out of the water. Salone is basically owned by Lebanese, or at least any functioning, nice establishment is sure to have a Lebanese behind it. And it's not just Salone, they are behind most functioning businesses throughout Africa. I've always liked Lebanese for their hummus and cheese, and you know they're pretty hot, but I never realized how industrious they are. The risk and difficulty of running a functioning business in Sierra Leone is huge - and they're dominating at it. I tried to get to the bottom of what is driving this personality type/diaspora/risk appetite with my Lebanese friends in SL, but I haven't come to an answer that satisfies me yet. Some theories are that 1) they were the original explorers/businessmen trading everything; 2) there is a lot of personal wealth so they are able to take more risk since they don't have shareholders; 3) they're hot.
Independence: I mentioned last time that one of the most challenging parts for me in Sierra Leone is losing my independence since getting around/doing normal stuff is more difficult/takes navigating. I was determined this time to learn the lessons of my last visit and I was surprised upon my arrival at how easy/natural it felt to be back (5 weeks later I didn't quite feel the same, but anyway). I no longer feared okadas and even relished in the bargaining/wind in my hair/sans helmet experience. But this time it was also the rainy season so okadas are no longer a real option most of the time. So I adopted a taxi driver. On my last trip a senior UN staff member told me how he'd been training a taxi driver as his personal taxi for over a year with only mild success in terms of reliability, so I was not sure I could accomplish it in a month. But I happened upon Edward who I quickly named King Edward and he called me Queen Elizabeth and for the rest of my time there he exhibited all the behaviour you want in your taxi driver - 1) he never abused having my number by calling me (this is a real problem in SL where anyone who gets your number just calls you incessantly to 'talk' even at 5am); 2) even if his car was broken down he always found someone to come get me from where I was and he accompanied them; 3) he was never more than 15 min late; 4) did I mention he called me Queen Elizabeth? But even with my success of adopting a taxi driver, not having a car or a home in SL and living in a hotel for a month gets real old. I knew it was time to go when the 2 days before I left the staff started calling my hotel room at 5am just to alert me that they arrived on their shift and say hi, and then I got a love letter from a 20 year old waiter, and then a maid asked me for money for her father's funeral - AND THEN it was time to go. But all in all, for living in a hotel in Sierra Leone I would highly recommend the Barmoi - they became like my family, even if I never want to see eggs for breakfast again in the next six months.
The thing is there's no way I can detail 5 weeks in SL here in this blog, but I hope you got a flavour. Many have asked if I want to go back or if I've finally met my goal of working in Africa. The tough part is I'm so glad to be back in easier living because seriously parts were brutal and I could see the daily impact on my health, on the other hand the people are amazing and so refreshing and I have so much to learn from them. So yes, I would go back, and again strive for more independence - ability to cook my own food, get around by myself, and find a way to exercise - but again this is probably also a little testament to how much of a control freak/loner I've become, more than a testament to Sierra Leone.
