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| Transport Salone style - okada (motorbike taxi), mostly operated by former child soldiers |
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| And where'd all those okada rides get me (other than where I was going)? An Africa Initiation wound. I take full responsibility for this burn. One kind okada driver warned me not to exit on the right side and then the very next okada I took, what did I do? Exit on the right and burn my leg on the exhaust pipe. I'm fully initiated in 'real' Africa now with the scar to prove it |
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| Driving through 'up country', aka the stix of Sierra Leone. Years ago a truck like this ahead full of young men on the back would mean major danger, and now just means one more form of getting around in a country hard to navigate. But doesn't the new Chinese road look superb? |
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| Well this is what most of the roads look like in Sierra Leone - dirt with a million potholes. No matter if you have a UN SUV and you're just on your way to the beach, any given moment a flat tire is waiting, soon to be followed by a group of hungry/interested crowds. |
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| And potholes and all, the 45 min ride to the beach is worth it for many reasons - getting out of the mayhem, away from the dust, the clear water, but most of all the freshly caught lobster for 10 euro. Yes, This is Africa |
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| Sierra Leone has two of Lonely Planet's best undiscovered beaches just a short ride from the capital, Freetown. It's quite possible to have the beach all to yourself to frolic on. I was glad to have the company of my new ex-pat friends and a bus full of Sierre Leonans having a beach dance party - am I in paradise? |
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| Shopping Salone style - I got a new bag, a pair of sandals custom made (from a tyre) on the spot, and a new beach blanket, all for under 20 euro |
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| And here you go, as promised, photos of African children. Nothing but sass here on the beach at Laka. The kids are so well trained that they rub their bellies and motion to their mouths and say "I'm hungry" while putting their hands out....until you tickle them and they burst into laughter and belch up the Fanta and french fries they just got from the last ex-pat |
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| Oh right, I was in Sierra Leone for work not the beach and tickling children. In two weeks, we arranged two workshops that somehow were attended by all 11 Ministries that are part of our effort. I was so impressed by the dedication of all of the Sierra Leonans we're working with. They would even call us at night or on the weekend to discuss work. We even ran into the Deputy Minister of Environment on the beach, where he stayed with us for an hour discussing work. Watch out, this country is ready to catapult itself out of poorest country in the world status. (However, even the Government is lacking technology/meeting rooms/water/working bathrooms) |
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| Visiting the South-South cooperation China farm. We just stopped by to say hi and check out their rice production, and then six hours later we'd had countless green teas brewed with a generator, and a five course lunch where they insisted we take gin and tonic and kept apologising that there wasn't more food. Then they offered me a ride back to Freetown (saving me from another Africa initiation of the public bus) saying that Int'l consultants are not allowed to take public transport (true, but then again the UN rules and reality are two different things). The ride, which took me 3 hours on the way there in a FAO car with driver, took 6 hours on the way back with my Chinese saviours since they refused to let their driver go above 80km/hr. Two things I learned on this visit about China, 1) They love cheersing. Seriously, I could barely eat because they kept interrupting with a very formal cheers to honor us. 2) They are super cautious, not only our slow speed but they made me ride with the window up cause they were worried someone would reach into the car to steal something. Please imagine 90 degrees in a car with the windows up with two Chinese men, an SL driver, no air conditioning, and sitting in traffic in the middle of an African city = how tolerance/patience are fomented |
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| Rural Sierra Leone, prime for frolicking |
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| Attending an agricultural fair and visiting our farmers selling their honey |
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| Deep in diamond country. Don't watch Blood Diamond if you haven't seen it yet, unless you want to have nightmares about my next visit |
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| Every Sierra Leonan wants to be your friend. What friend means is another story. Our 'friendly' FAO driver KeKe, who drove us quickly/safely up country while discussing his experience in the war, the coming elections this year, and the hilarity he's experienced taking white people to his parties and their horror at how loud the music is and how fervent the dancing is. |
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| SL's LOVE dancing, maybe more than me. This picture doesn't capture it, but this is from a small bar in Bo in the middle of rural SL with a ramshackle live band. No matter the venue, the music, or the people, SLs are on the dance floor and their moves are fantastic. Even better is when they make fun of white people dancing |
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| No wonder that the best lunch to be had in Freetown is at GIZ, the German Cooperation Agency - Oh Germans. Mango juice, fried plantains, spicy beans, and salad - needless to say I ate well during my time in SL |
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| The Expat community in SL is huge and closely knit. I had a more active social life in Freetown than I do in Rome and made many friends for my next visit. Here on the Pelican (tiny boat from Freetown to the airport) with my new French friend Benji with Freetown in the background |
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| Thank you Salone for a truly amazing initiation to West (real) Africa |
Real Africa: You know I've joked before about going to Africa and my experiences thus far, and I knew before arriving that SL would be different. I mean Tunisia can't even really be considered Africa, and Tanzania is like the Beverly Hills of Africa, and Sierra Leone is the 4th poorest country in the world. So I prepared myself, but nothing could prepare me for the feeling of being somewhere where you really have no options but survival and just being in the moment. SL is the first place I've ever been where I didn't feel like I could navigate it by myself - whether going to the office, or the store, or wherever. Lucky for me, I had Lidia who has been living there for two years and set me up with an apartment to stay in with another FAO employee, Fulvio (Italian), who grew up in Somalia who has the best/most interesting stories ever. It made a world of difference to have advisors close by to teach me the ways of getting around, food shopping, and interaction with locals.
Transport: Yes, we are told to never ride in anything but a UN vehicle in Sierra Leone. Let me tell you how realistic that is. The roads are mostly unpaved, except for a few recently done, which means there is horrific traffic just to go 1km. The taxis aren't taxis like we know them (you and the driver) but rather like buses, where they fill up and only go to set places. You also have to race to get in and then you are likely sitting on top of someone, and the car is barely running. So the best, quickest, easiest form of transport is by motorbike, as long as you're willing to bite down hard and say a lot of prayers. The motorbikes, while fast and able to dart in and out of traffic, are driven by former child soldiers who were given bikes as part of the peace keeping to give them an alternate income to arms; they don't have helmets for passengers, and the roads are filled with a million obstacles a la Paper Boy - pigs, children, potholes, construction, etc. Add to that carrying a laptop while having to balance myself over the bumps at high speed, makes you appreciate each arrival at your location (Mom I warned you to stop reading)
Work: My recent experience in Tanzania made me a bit jaded in that you have to pay people to attend your workshops and people still aren't that engaged. Well not in SL - even on a technical subject, people were so willing to meet and are so engaged and ready to work even at night and on weekends. Working in SL makes you realize what it was like in 1960 without computers, email, phones, etc. and what it takes to get things done - hardworking, dedicated, patient people. The other thing I really enjoyed about working in SL is the lack of hierarchy (unlike Rome) where you can easily chat with the Deputy Minister on the beach and then he starts calling you Liz, and all of a sudden you're besties
SL culture: Besides the dance parties (love), SLs make it very hard for you to imagine that they are the poorest people on earth because they are sooo happy and friendly. I really can't imagine happier people, especially for what they've all been through. Everyone has been touched, and often extremely (raped, family members murdered, etc.) by the war and there are countless amputees everywhere, and yet I didn't meet or encounter a single unfriendly person. While they have grown accustomed to a donor society (being given things) so they will ask you for money/food, they laugh when you explain why you're not going to give it to them. That said, they will rob you if you give them the opportunity. A new experience for me was being somewhere where being white is so interesting. When you walk on the street, people will touch your skin just to feel if white skin feels different. Babies will cry and run from you when they see you because they think you're a ghost because of your skin.
Social life: The expat community in Sierra Leone is huge (and attractive, think Leo a la Blood Diamond), and very closely knit given your lack of options to be friends with locals even if you want to (given the subtext of money). During my two weeks, there was an activity every night - from making Italian dinner together, to open mic night, to dance parties, to beach outings and barbecues. It was more active and I got to know people better/faster than my whole time in Rome. Part of this is due to a lack of options, you're forced together and there are few locations where expats frequent. The added bonus is everyone has a story, and often many, so it is always entertaining. It's also great language practice since you're forced to switch between English, French, Italian, Canadian, and Spanish all in one evening. One NGO party I attended was a raging dance party, complete with locals, that sadly ended in violence over a stolen cell phone (among locals). At first I was scared and shocked, and then I realized the same thing could/does happen at any house party in the U.S. I was however disappointed how many UN employees were not carrying first aid kits and were very blase about the whole debacle.
Overall: Being in SL for two weeks felt like a bit of a combination between camping (no water/electricity many times) and like when I moved to Costa Rica and didn't understand anything and everything was new. Everyday was intense - both good and bad, and overall just made me feel very alive. Maybe that's from stripping away all the stuff, and you just have to get through each day for all the good and the bad.
I'm very much looking forward to going back now that I'm initiated and can just enjoy the dance parties
