So, let me go ahead and address something you may have been wondering about: photos.
People in Freetown really, REALLY do not like getting their picture taken. No one on the ship is really quite sure why this is. I've had people suggest that the photographers that came during the war left a really bad impression, but I can say for a fact that is the reason. Outside of the city people are a bit more willing to let you photograph them, but unless you walk up to them and ask for permission first, be prepared to have some very angry people.
On my first trip out of the ship I was warned about this and the 'rules' of taking pictures in Sierra Leone: wide shots are usually ok (though some people have still gotten yelled at when they weren't taking pictures of anyone in particular), ask permission for shots of individuals, and don't even look like you are taking a picture anywhere near a police officer or government building.
One woman I know was just taking a picture of a street scene and a police officer happened to walk by. The officer came over and demanded to see the photo. Even though the officer wasn't even visible in the photo she demanded that the photo be erased.
Another person told me as we drove though the government center that if the guards there see you with a camera, they would probably smash it onto the ground.
I have taken some photos that I've posted onto a public Facebook album (for some reason Blogger just times out when I try to upload anything), but this post is sort of to explain why this blog is text-only.
In other news, I injured my foot in the pool last week so walking around was really painful and I got sick so I didn't really get to do anything on my days off. I went back to the church in Waterloo that I had gone to on the first week I arrived, but aside from that I lay around and tried to not move around anymore than I had to.
We got a new roommate who just finished two years of service in the Peace Corps in Benin. I asked her why she decided to come here right away and she said, "Well, I've been away from home for 27 months, what's another 3?"
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Raindrops keep falling on my head
Yesterday I went into town to Crown Bakery. It is very popular with people from the Mercy Ship since it is Western-style and it has good food. I've only been in Africa for about three weeks but I am already used to everything being run on 'Africa Time' so I was shocked when we received our food in less than a half hour after we ordered it!
On the way back we walked through the fabric market and it started to pour down rain. The market was technically on a street but it was so crowded with stalls that there was only a narrow, dirt alley to walk through that quickly turned into a small river. Occasionally there were some stones sticking up that you could walk on, but most of the time to had to trudge through the garbage-filled flow. We didn't realize that the street was a dead-end so then we had to walk back up to the main street.
We took a detour off the street through a patch of land owned by a church that was very nice. It seems that any spot of land that something can grown on has a bit of corn planted on it. I've seen corn growing right next to the roads out of town. The church yard had corn and potatoes growing on it along with some goats and chickens hanging out. And some huge spiders were hanging out in the trees, but they were off to the side and not overhead so I didn't have to worry about them trying to land on my head.
There were a couple of ruined buildings that I couldn't tell exactly what they used to be. One was mostly overgrown while another one was graffitied but otherwise untouched. Neither one seemed to be large enough to be an actual church.
We had a fire drill today as we do every other Thursday. I am a cabin checker so when I hear the alarm go off I have to walk to the aft of the ship (my cabin is forward) and grab a little yellow card off its hook. The card has the room numbers that I'm supposed to check on then write down if there is anyone inside or if the cabin was locked. I have to bang on the door and announce myself then walk inside and look around the cabins to see if there is anyone injured inside. If some is inside that isn't injured I only have to tell them to get to the emergency station on the docks. After I check my cabins I go to the stairs where I tell someone with a clipboard with all of the cabins in thier zone if I found anyone in the cabins. Then I have to walk outside to the dock and check in so they know I got off the ship and they won't have to look for me. And finally we have to hang around on the dock until every person who is supposed to be off ship is accounted for (the people who are on-duty in the hospital are exempt from the fire drill). This often takes a long, long time. We were lucky today as there was only one person missing and it didn't rain on us like last time we had a drill so we were outside for only about fifteen minuets. Almost as soon as we all got inside a thunderstorm started so I'm glad to be out of that! Other people on the ship keep telling me that the rainy season is supposed to be ending soon but so far we've had a storm almost everyday.
On the way back we walked through the fabric market and it started to pour down rain. The market was technically on a street but it was so crowded with stalls that there was only a narrow, dirt alley to walk through that quickly turned into a small river. Occasionally there were some stones sticking up that you could walk on, but most of the time to had to trudge through the garbage-filled flow. We didn't realize that the street was a dead-end so then we had to walk back up to the main street.
We took a detour off the street through a patch of land owned by a church that was very nice. It seems that any spot of land that something can grown on has a bit of corn planted on it. I've seen corn growing right next to the roads out of town. The church yard had corn and potatoes growing on it along with some goats and chickens hanging out. And some huge spiders were hanging out in the trees, but they were off to the side and not overhead so I didn't have to worry about them trying to land on my head.
There were a couple of ruined buildings that I couldn't tell exactly what they used to be. One was mostly overgrown while another one was graffitied but otherwise untouched. Neither one seemed to be large enough to be an actual church.
We had a fire drill today as we do every other Thursday. I am a cabin checker so when I hear the alarm go off I have to walk to the aft of the ship (my cabin is forward) and grab a little yellow card off its hook. The card has the room numbers that I'm supposed to check on then write down if there is anyone inside or if the cabin was locked. I have to bang on the door and announce myself then walk inside and look around the cabins to see if there is anyone injured inside. If some is inside that isn't injured I only have to tell them to get to the emergency station on the docks. After I check my cabins I go to the stairs where I tell someone with a clipboard with all of the cabins in thier zone if I found anyone in the cabins. Then I have to walk outside to the dock and check in so they know I got off the ship and they won't have to look for me. And finally we have to hang around on the dock until every person who is supposed to be off ship is accounted for (the people who are on-duty in the hospital are exempt from the fire drill). This often takes a long, long time. We were lucky today as there was only one person missing and it didn't rain on us like last time we had a drill so we were outside for only about fifteen minuets. Almost as soon as we all got inside a thunderstorm started so I'm glad to be out of that! Other people on the ship keep telling me that the rainy season is supposed to be ending soon but so far we've had a storm almost everyday.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Getting around
There are a few options for getting around Freetown and the outer areas. If you have an idea of where you need to go it's not too hard to get there but if you don't, be prepared for WAWA (West Africa Wins Again).
1) Walking is of course the primary way that most people get around. If you got out in the middle of the day however, be prepared to get squished in the main roads. Kissy road is the road that runs horizontally through most of the town and it is almost always packed. On the other hand, walking at night is a bad idea because there are no street lights and no sidewalks. And it will still be crowded!
2) Taxis are EVERYWHERE in Freetown. They are easy to find because they all have yellow sides. They aren't very expensive if you know how to negotiate and are good if you aren't exactly sure where you are going. If you take them out of the main part of the city you can pay them to wait for you, or ask them to came back at a certain time and they almost always will. (I say almost because the taxi we had arranged for today never showed up)
But you can also end up with a taxi driver who doesn't know where you are supposed to be going. This has happened to me both times I rode in one! The first time one of the other passengers knew where to go but today we were out of luck and never made it to our destination. They are also hard to find in the outer parts of town as they don't have a lot of business out there so they come up the hills very rarely. And they will get stuck in traffic.
3) Pudapudas function like a privately-owned bus system. They are much cheaper than taxis for long distances, but you need to know which stop to get off at and where you need to be picked up at. I rode in one for the first time yesterday and it was like playing sardines. The 'buses' aren't really buses at all but mid-size vans with rows of benches inside. When the benches are full they pack the little aisle and off you go! I have heard that it's not uncommon for there to be live animals on board but I lucked out on not having any on either of my rides yesterday.
4) Motorbikes. These are the fastest way to get around aside from walking. The drivers can squeeze past traffic easily and usually can get you places pretty fast. They are a bit nerve-wracking to be on as they are usually driven by teenage boys. I also rode one of these yesterday, but is was out of the city so there was no traffic and my driver took it easy so I felt more at ease. The main problem with them (aside from being scary!) is they can be quite expensive so they are better for short distances.
1) Walking is of course the primary way that most people get around. If you got out in the middle of the day however, be prepared to get squished in the main roads. Kissy road is the road that runs horizontally through most of the town and it is almost always packed. On the other hand, walking at night is a bad idea because there are no street lights and no sidewalks. And it will still be crowded!
2) Taxis are EVERYWHERE in Freetown. They are easy to find because they all have yellow sides. They aren't very expensive if you know how to negotiate and are good if you aren't exactly sure where you are going. If you take them out of the main part of the city you can pay them to wait for you, or ask them to came back at a certain time and they almost always will. (I say almost because the taxi we had arranged for today never showed up)
But you can also end up with a taxi driver who doesn't know where you are supposed to be going. This has happened to me both times I rode in one! The first time one of the other passengers knew where to go but today we were out of luck and never made it to our destination. They are also hard to find in the outer parts of town as they don't have a lot of business out there so they come up the hills very rarely. And they will get stuck in traffic.
3) Pudapudas function like a privately-owned bus system. They are much cheaper than taxis for long distances, but you need to know which stop to get off at and where you need to be picked up at. I rode in one for the first time yesterday and it was like playing sardines. The 'buses' aren't really buses at all but mid-size vans with rows of benches inside. When the benches are full they pack the little aisle and off you go! I have heard that it's not uncommon for there to be live animals on board but I lucked out on not having any on either of my rides yesterday.
4) Motorbikes. These are the fastest way to get around aside from walking. The drivers can squeeze past traffic easily and usually can get you places pretty fast. They are a bit nerve-wracking to be on as they are usually driven by teenage boys. I also rode one of these yesterday, but is was out of the city so there was no traffic and my driver took it easy so I felt more at ease. The main problem with them (aside from being scary!) is they can be quite expensive so they are better for short distances.
Friday, September 2, 2011
(I started this post yesterday but I got interrrupted by a fire drill and had to run outside. When I came back all of the computers were in use so I am finishing it on the 2nd)
I walked into town yesterday with a couple of other people from my department to visit the supermarket. It's a 45 minute walk each way mainly because it's so crowded on the streets that you have to go slowly or you risk losing someone. I had someone attempt to pick my pocket, but I had nothing in it and I felt him try it so I turned around and scared him off.
On the way I saw one of the major landmarks of Freetown which is the Cotton Tree.The locals believe that as long as the tree is in good health then the country is in good health as well.
The store was rather expensive so I just bought some tea and a snack and called it good.
On the way back to the ship we got stuck in one of the heavy rain squalls. We got drenched and hailed a cab since we were still 30 mins away from the ship, but the cab driver had no idea where the dock was and started taking us completley the opposite way from where we needed to go.
I am working this weekend so I don't really have any time to get off the ship.
I walked into town yesterday with a couple of other people from my department to visit the supermarket. It's a 45 minute walk each way mainly because it's so crowded on the streets that you have to go slowly or you risk losing someone. I had someone attempt to pick my pocket, but I had nothing in it and I felt him try it so I turned around and scared him off.
On the way I saw one of the major landmarks of Freetown which is the Cotton Tree.The locals believe that as long as the tree is in good health then the country is in good health as well.
The store was rather expensive so I just bought some tea and a snack and called it good.
On the way back to the ship we got stuck in one of the heavy rain squalls. We got drenched and hailed a cab since we were still 30 mins away from the ship, but the cab driver had no idea where the dock was and started taking us completley the opposite way from where we needed to go.
I am working this weekend so I don't really have any time to get off the ship.
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