Freetown, Sierra

So I was able to (I think) post a video to youtube.

It's a 1 minute clip of Freetown. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2qOvGSNT1o

Oh you white people - you love Africans!

Since there’s not a lot going on right now, I’ve decided to take this time to write about how awesome all the other interns are. So far, I’ve met everyone but one, who has not arrived in SL yet. We started out as 7, all leaving NYC together, bonding in Morocco, and then all settling down in Freetown. Or settling as much as one possibly can, knowing they are only going to be there for a week.

2 of the interns left on Wednesday because they had a slightly different internship, but we also gained 1 that same day. So we are now at 6. It’s been exactly one week since the 5 of us (our 6^th intern doesn’t count since she just got her Wednesday) have been together. We are literally together every single minute of every single day. And surprisingly, there have been no fights yet.

All the interns have had experience living and working in another country. 3 out of 5 (myself included) are former Peace Corps volunteers, and the other 2 each spent several years working in Asia. We have formed the most laid back group of interns the legal world has ever seen, I’m sure. For example: once we arrived on mainland Freetown from the airport, we were suppose to have someone pick us up from the boat dock. No one was there. We ended up sitting at the boat dock for several hours before someone came to get us. Did any of us panic? Did any of us complain? Nope. We all just sat around and chatted for those few hours. We relaxed and knew that things would sort themselves out.

We have spent the week exploring Freetown, working at Timap, and just hanging out together. I’m totally impressed with everyone’s background and knowledge, and I often wonder how it was that I got chosen to be a part of this. But I’m lucky I was chosen, because I get to hang out with the most amazing people.

Each evening after work, after dinner, we all head back to our guesthouse and find a simple way to entertain ourselves. 2 nights ago we all sat together on the balcony reading. Last night we all played shots and ladders (everyone lost that game). Tonight, I was taught the game Spades, and we all spent hours playing that and talking.

We’ll all be here together for about another few days, and then we’ll head off to our separate sites. While it’s sad to part, we’re all happy to be starting our main job, and excited to see some new places in SL. And we’ve already planned to spend several weekends together, to celebrate birthdays and the 4^th of July. Most of us are also heading out to Morocco after our internship is over, to have a mini-vacation before starting school again. Fez here we come!

All in all, I couldn’t have a blog and not talk about these amazing people I’ve been spending my time with. In honor of this sappy post, I told Ben (my awesome roommate and spectacular Spades partner) that he could name the blog entry. He named it after what someone had shouted at us on the street today.  

It's A Beautiful Day in Sierra Leone

For most of you who know me, I’m a big fan of Africa. I’ve always loved all of Africa, and since I’ve been back, I’ve done nothing but talk returning to Africa. Despite my great love for this giant continent, it would be false if I said I didn’t have moments when I wished I was back in the States.

Life in Africa is much harder – for everyone. And that’s true essentially no matter where you go. It might be different if I were a rich person here, and could pay for a nice house, and a working shower, and a generator. While I was in Peace Corps, I lived exactly like a local would. It was easier to become a member of my community because people saw that I lived just like them, without any extras. It would be insensitive and wrong to claim that I lived exactly like them, because when I was sick, I could call a doctor, and when there was political violence, I could fly away. But regarding daily life – I lived just like any person did.

It makes life a lot simpler and calmer, and that’s a big reason why I like being in Africa so much. I like sitting and just talking to someone for hours with no interruption of a cell phone or the television. I like eating food off the side of the road that someone has made in front of me. I like being around so much nature without any concrete and metal buildings blocking the view.

There are moments, however, that I don’t like living in Africa. I have been living in Freetown for the past 5 days (I guess it will be 7 days by the time I post this online). For the most part, I have loved being back. It’s been hot and sticky, and I’ve been living out of a suitcase, but I’ve been happy.

Everyone comes to a breaking point however, and mine came yesterday morning. I had been dealing with a growing frustration of being in a city, rather than a village. And the heat, while expected, was starting to wear on me. Yesterday morning I woke up after sleeping very little. There was no electricity all night, meaning I couldn’t even put on a fan. I opened the windows to let some air in, but the only thing that was coming in was hot humid air, and lot of mosquitoes. I woke up feeling disgusting from sweating all night, and I had a sore throat, and was covered in mosquito bites.

I decided that a bath would be the best thing for me, so I went into the “shower room,” which is just a small room with tiling. When it rains, the wells and water reserves fill up, and you can get running water sometimes. Unfortunately for me, it hadn’t rained in awhile. The owner of the guesthouse had placed a bucket of water outside the shower room for people to use, but there wasn’t much left of it, and I could see worms at the bottom.

Deciding NOT to use the bucket water, I turned on the sink and saw that a very small trickle of water was coming out. I filled up a cup with water and splashed it on myself. I started to fill the cup up again. It literally took about 3 minutes for the cup to fill up with water. I resolved myself to just do the best I could with the water I had. About halfway through, covered in soap, the water just stopped. I had been standing waiting for the cup to fill up, looking at the mosquito bites on my arm, wondering whether I was going to get malaria, when the water stopped coming out of the faucet. And my meltdown began. I was hot, simultaneously disgusting and covered with sweat, and feeling stressed and sick. My only thoughts: WHAT AM I DOING HERE!? How did I put myself in this situation AGAIN!? I could be back in the states, taking a nice warm shower, in my air-conditioned house, with television and internet and fruity pebbles waiting for me when I got out. Instead, I’m in Freetown, with no water, no way to stop the constant heat, no fruity pebbles or milk or even a clean bowl. WHY AM I HERE!??????????

Luckily, I got over it. After managing to finish my bucket bath, I got dressed, hoped in a poda poda to get to work, and spent the day learning about the laws of Sierra Leone, and why Timap was so desperately needed in this country. After work, the interns and I had an amazing dinner, made on the side of the road. I took another, more effective, cold bucket bath, and finally felt a little bit clean. Before bed, the other interns and I sat on the balcony of our guesthouse, reading books and relaxing.

And I think that’s the reason I keep coming back. Despite the moments, or hours, or even days when I am in a bad mood and wishing for nothing but to be back in the U.S., the meaningfulness and peacefulness of this life keeps pulling me back. There’s a peace and comfort that comes with being here, that makes up for the mosquitoes and lack of water.