Discover North Seattle: January 2009

Okay, to be honest, I really don't know if I'm spelling all this Krio correctly.  The written language is phoenetic anyway, I'm just trying to go with it.

Yes, it's true...  our trip to Freetown is sadly coming to a close.  I will be here for another two days and Juliana will stay until the 5th of January.  I will be in London for 8 days while Juliana continues with family and we'll meet up in Seattle on the 8th.

We went on our trip to the Banana Island (that's how they spell it) of Dublin, or Dubin, forgot which.  We started by taking a bus through town to a place called Kent.  Yes, we have a "Kent" as well, but it's not nearly as beach-tastic as this place!  The beaches in Sierra Leone are so incredible.  The sand is like a fine white powder that feels like Tempur-Pedic for the feet.  When we arrived at the beach in Kent we walked a little ways to meet up with the boat that would take us to the island.  We saw some hand-made fishing boats as we rounded the corner and Juliana said, "I'm glad we're not going in one of those!".  Sure enough, though, the boat waiting for us was not much more than those.  She needed a bit of reassurrance as she got in but the boat ride was beautiful. 

There were about 25 people on this trip, split between 2 boats.  I'm still having a terrible time uploading pictures so I may wait until I get to London, but this place is so natural and the water we were cruising on was a nice, light blue.  The guide was at the front of the boat and he motioned to several fisherman who were still pretty far away.  Each fisherman sits one to a boat throughout the day and make a living by eating and selling the fish.  I hear the guide yelling to one of the fisherman in Krio, again it was too fast for me to figure out, and the fisherman waived his hand for us to come over.  We came up alongside his small boat and the guide grabbed the side rail and began bargaining for some fish.  It turns out he was bargaining for our lunch!  Not even in Seattle can you get fresher fish than that!

After settling on a price of 15,000 Leones (about $5.00) for 6 big fish we started off and continued to the island.  We were greeted by island locals, all of whom grew up on the island and have just recently begun catering to tourists in the last couple of years.  There was a nice Tikki bar only steps away, but they didn't serve anything harder than wine and beer.  This is fine for most people, but I'm not a big fan of wine or beer.  I usually order a whiskey and coke or just on ice.  We started our walking tour with our guide, Mr. Johnson I believe.  He walked us through the island's foot paths (there are no cars or roads here and the island is 9 miles around) and also through it's ignoble past.  This island was used as a holding area for slaves during the slave trade.  There were still symbols of its past, rusting and deteriorated but still easily visible.  Mr. Johnson took us to see two small cannons that were used to fend off pirates and thieves who tried to steal their human capital.  He showed us the number "1813″ inscribed on one of the cannons and I asked him if that was the year indication.  He said it was the number of the slave company that owned that particular set of cannons.  I believe he was referring to this cannon when he said there was a famous slave trader who used this island often until he became severely stricken by his conscience for what he had been doing to the Africans for many years.  I forgot his name already, but he's the one that wrote the song, "Amazing Grace".

As we continued on, we saw a few marked graves of slave traders who died while there.  There were slaves who died as well, but I don't think their graves were marked.  Then Mr. Johnson guided us to the beach area where we kicked up a little sand and relaxed for a few minutes before returning to the other, main beach, for our lunch.  Oh yes, the lunch was good...

We had a choice of Fish, Chicken or Lobster.  I'm sorry, is there a choice in that?  Really?  Really?  Of course we chose the lobster!  How fresh was the lobster?  They had a lobster cage about 50 feet off shore where they pulled out some giant crustaceans (they're crustaceans, right?).  They grilled ‘em right there near the Tikki bar and my wife and I enjoyed every bite!  This thing was bigger than my plate, so I had to move my other more inferior food to the far side to make room.

After lunch we all relaxed for another couple of hours on the beach.  I asked our boat guide when we would be heading back.  "It's all up to you.  We go when you want to go."  We left another 45 minutes later and set off back to  Kent beach.  Our ride back was sometimes bumpy, but mostly smooth thanks to the new roads recently constructed.  Everyone on the trip had a wonderful time and was in good spirits despite the long (about an hour) journey on the road.

Oh, time's running out... gotta go.

Peace,

- Jay

My regular internet spot is closed, but I fortunately we are over at Juliana's paraents' place and there's an internet spot right across the street and it's open.

The Christmas experience is quite different here.  No malls with Christmas music (that for some reason starts in November).  No cold weather or snowfall.  But we did have some carolers stop by the house a couple of times.  The first time was funny.  Juliana and I were about to sleep when they came and started in on Silent Night.  I'm sure their hearts were in the right place, but what came from their mouths was an awful warbling that was more punishment than pleasure.  But right in the middle of the second verse, we could hear Juliana's brother (Samuel) yelling at them saying, "People are sleeping!  Be quiet!"  And the warbling came to an abrupt end.

I'm told I get to see a devil today.  There are "devils" that walk the streets during the Christmas/Boxing Day week, along with other people dressed up in odd regalia.  I guess they dance in the streets  and entertain people.  Except the "Devil" used to be bad.  The story goes that if you tried to take a picture of the Devil, he would blow a powder at you that would put you in a trance and he would take you to train you as another devil...  or something like that.  I'm sure I've butchered it in translation.

We were invited by the owner of the hotel across the street from us to enjoy a Christmas lunch of turkey, Jollof Rice, potatoes, etc.  He is the one I may have mentioned him before...  a former pupil of one of my in-laws.  His name is Femi and he was very generous to invite us over.  Femi said the U.N. has given him early retirement by offering to buy his hotel for official use and he's extremely excited about it.  After eating, we went back home and took a nap - until 10pm!  Well, so much for a typical Christmas day.

I'm sorry about the picture situation.  There seems to be a gap in technology between my camera and their PC's but I will continue to try.

For now, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our family and friends!

Peace,

- Jay

Imagine this - several Sierra Leoneans are huddled in a small enclave off the busy street, checking their email and their Facebook pages on an internet connection that seems to be powered by a mouse on a hamster wheel.  Then in strolls an early-30's man very different from them.  He is white, pretty darn white.  He sticks out with his pale skin and tattered baseball cap.  He stops at the door and looks for the person in charge.  When he finds her, he steps to her and says, "Good afternoon.  Ow u de du?"  After that he begins to speak to her fluently in Krio and everyone is so impressed that this white boy got skillz.

No, this was not a dream.  And no, the white guy was not me.  His name is Dennis and it turns out he is the VP of a non-profit group that helps provincial villages around Freetown learn to utilize their resources to meet all their needs.  This may seem an odd way to help Freetown, but I think it's brilliant.  I wrote before about how the people from the villages sought refuge in the city during the war and then decided not to return to their homes because there was nothing to return to.  Now the city is extremely crowded beyond capacity.  Once the villagers see they have someting to go back to and they don't have to stand all day on the side of the city streets trying to sell oranges to survive, they will begin to return to their homes.  Anyway, back to Dennis.  He sat down next to me and Juliana and we struck up a conversation (hey, it was the first conversation with an American-born white guy since I've been here).  The whole world got a lot smaller when we asked him where he's from.  "Madison, Wisconsin." he said.  Whoa, that's cool.  I tell him I was born just up the way in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  I have a feeling that not many people from Wisconsin find their way to West Africa.  But here were two people from a small mid-western area sitting in this internet enclave on the other side of the world.  Small world.

Other than that, it's been a boring last couple of days.  We have had transportation issues, meaning our transportation options fell through - all of them.  There is almost nothing to do within walking distance.  A few markets, some vendors and a lot of cars and people milling about.  So I've been a little frustrated that we haven't been able to follow through on some plans yet.  I've been communicating with the orphanages about bringing the soccer balls over, but we've postponed that until we get transportation again.  This should be resolved by tomorrow (Wednesday).

The heat has been all but unbearable as well.  Last night I was lying in bed splayed out like a quartered chicken thinking to myself, "Gosh, the water stopped running but at least we still have power.  If we didn't have power, the life saving breeze of this fan would cease and I would ablsolutely melt into this b..." - and , you guessed correctly, the power went out at that very moment.  I had closed the windows earlier, thinking I would just put the fan on "high" to stay cool.  Even with screens on the windows, I didn't want to take another chance with the ninja mosquitoes.  But now I had no recourse.  I took a deep breath and let out a sigh that seemed longer than the amount of air I took into my lungs.  Then I got up and opened the windows, walked over to the table and proceeded to douse myself in Deet.  It took about 15 minutes as I prepared myself for a long, hot night and a battle with the Evil Bloodsucking Minions of Hate.  After all of my preparations I laid back down on the bed, only to have the power come back on and the fan begin to blow.  Man, I should have been patient.

Peace,

- Jay

I search for them before I go to bed.  I look in every corner, search every crevice of my bed.  Nothing.  I prepare for bed as if I'm going into battle, "Socks?  Check.  Long pajamas?  Check.  Long pajamas tucked into socks?  Roger that."  Yet each morning I find new battle wounds.  First they started around my feet.  Next came my ankles.  And now (these minions of hate are getting bold!) today I found a bite on my lower back!  That's it, I'm spraying down with 25% Deet tonight!  I have tried to go the non-chemical route, but this is gettin' crazy.

Other than that, today's been great.  Juliana and I walked about 45 minutes to church this morning.  It was very hot, but a great walk around the town.  After that, we walked another couple of hours just checking things out and shopping at the local supermarkets.  I'm not sure they should use the word "super".  They're like a scaled down 7-Eleven.  But they have most of what we need (except A/C). 

The streets here are so very crowded.  During the war, many of the people in the outer provinces were being treated horribly and they came down to the city to get away.  But since the war has ended, they have nothing to go back to.  The acts committed against the people were evil.  My brother in law, Richard, who works for the U.N. told me stories about rebels who would see a pregnant woman in the street and make a bet as to whether she was carrying a boy or girl.  In order to settle the bet, they would cut her open.  Absolutely tragic.  And this happened regularly.  So I can see why the people fled to the city.

Enough of that, though.  Now Freetown in rebuilding and becoming more beautiful.  It's been a completely safe travel experience for me so far.  No one has been even the least bit cross with us and so many are so eager to help whenever we need it.  The people are beautiful and hard-working. 

I have booked us on a tour of the Bananna Islands for December 28th.  It is a tour of some hardly touched places off the coast and it is run by a charity to raise money.  I'm looking forward to the time.  I'm also looking forward to a family party being planned for Christmas Eve.  Something tells me these people really know how to party!

Okay, the internet spot is closing.  Gotta go for now.

Peace,

- Jay

My previous post was interrupted by my "schedule".  After I left this internet spot, I realized how my last words may have sounded odd.  Yes, we have a professional driver taking us wherever we need to go.  Yes, this is happening in a place where there is inconsistent electricity and water.  But it seems strangely normal here.

Let me hit the "Green Bucket" topic before I forget.  My relationship with "GB" is strained but necessary.  We meet each morning with the usual stare-down.  I shuffle my feet defiantly, but GB is unmoved.  I could put this off if I wanted to, but eventually I must give in and make nice.  You see, we have water, but not always.  We have electricity, but not always (hence the long gaps between posts).  And it seems these two are rarely available at the same time.  So each morning I pour water into my green bucket from a big container in the bathroom.  Then I commence the pouring of the water on me.  It takes a few effeminate screeches and a little squirming, but eventually my body stops fighting.

In other news, we got to see a little corruption first hand.  Our driver was using his cell phone while driving (illegal here) and was spotted by a police officer directing traffic.  The officer saw me in the car and started hoping for a payday.  She pulled us over and took the driver's license and they started talking too fast in Krio for me to understand.  Then the officer directed us down the street.  We pulled over and the officer opened the back passenger door and got in the car.  She told us to drive her to the police station.  I'm not making this up!  So we got to the station and she takes the driver in.  I got an explanation from one of our cousins who was in the back seat.  He said she will take him in there and give him a choice.  Either pay the ticket (25o,000 Leones, or about $90) after waiting at the station for several hours or pay her 15,000 Leones ($5.00) and she would let him walk.

Well, during this time Juliana called her sister to ask advice.  As it turns out, her Uncle used to be a part of government and so the two of them came down to meet us at the station.  As soon as Uncle Henry came in the station he started yelling at the officer, "What are you doing?!  You're trying to do this to my Niece?!"  The officer recognized Uncle Henry immediately and began to apologize profusely to Juliana, "I'm so sorry, ma!  Please forgive me, ma!"  I heard that even after we left, the officer was still begging forgiveness from Uncle Henry and asking that she keep her job. 

We've been visiting Juliana's relatives all over the place.  I kid you not, it seems like every time we go somewhere in the car we drive in a complete circle.  But somehow we get to the other side of town.  Many of the roads here are treacherous.  Sometimes I wonder if we're in Freetown or on a Jeep challenge course!  People are everywhere, too.  During the war most of the villagers sought safety in the city and when the war ended, they stayed in the city.  So it's very crowded here.  The pedestrians and vehicles use the same streets and seem to lead a dance to which each knows the next move.  As though it is choreographed, a pedestrian will slide slightly to the left just as our car fills the space.  When I say it's crowded, I mean these people are within one inch of our car if not leaning on it!  I'd say our average traveling speed in 20mph.  So there isn't much danger, but it's still nerve-racking.

Our plan is to visit the orphanages next week.  Juliana's mother works with another orphanage, so we will go there as well and provide some necessities for them.  We can't wait to spend time there and hang out with the kids.  They'll really enjoy the soccer balls.  And we'll also buy some toiletries and clothes to help out.

I am so grateful for my wife.  She cooks for me in the morning.  Without her I would be eating the standard breakfast fare of chewy fried fish, rice, potatoes or some combination of those.  We went to the market and bought eggs.  When we came back I started to cook some up and Musu, basically our housekeeper and cook, watched intently as I scrambled and fried.  I don't think she's ever had scrambled eggs before so I shared some with her.  She really liked it and I think she'll be adding that to her family's menu.

I think it sounds weird, even as I write this, to say we have a housekeeper and a driver.  But most of these people are family members or close friends.  The whole family has come together to ensure we have a terrific time while we're here.  Musu stays the house and cleans, cooks.  No more than a few minutes elapse between the time I finish drinking my water and the time the glass has been picked up and washed.  The kids are there to help as well.  There is Marie, about 12, who smiles a lot and has grown quite attached to me.  Then there's Messie, she's a very self-confident and outgoing 10 year-old girl who has a lot of talents and is so much fun to be around.  Lastly, we have Ediesa.  He's probably 8 and has a lot of energy.  They have all enjoyed learning to flash the "peace sign" and give each other "dap" (fist pound).  None of these people are normally at this house.  The are there basically to take care of us.  I feel very privileged and have enjoyed learning about each one of them.

I hope to get some pictures uploaded soon.  But I'm working on an internet line that's DSL, with 10 other computers accessing it.  I'll have to set aside a special time to make that happen.

I've tried to get as much as possible into this post, since I don't know the next time the power will be on.  There's so much to write about that happens each day.  I wish I could fit it all in!  I'll finish with a few phrases I've learned...  O u de do (how are you), I de go now (I'm leaving), I de come (I'll be back), I sabi Krio small-small (I know a little Krio), tenke (thank you), como fine (it's beautiful), nye ye so (here), ow de bodeh (another way of saying "How are you doing?") and my favorite so far - wo- wo!  (ugly!).

I awoke this morning to see cousin Muhammed leaning precariously off the balcony and waiving a stick.  It turns out he was knocking fresh oranges off the tree to add to our breakfast.  They were still green, but when I took my first bite the juices sprayed everywhere.  It was ripe enough to eat.  Muhammed has been a huge help to us.  He's about 16 years old and is off from school for now. 

Oh, looks like our driver is here.  We have to make the long journey to the airport because Juliana's luggage was delayed until today.  I will finish this later today...  I won't leave you hanging about the green bucket, I promise!

- Jay

I have dipped my toes in the Atlantic, dodged crazy traffic with no rules, stood outside in the middle of a torrential downpour and driven on cliffside roads.   And it's only been two days.

I was walking with a Terence and Mohammed, my cousin in laws, down a steep and broken road to check out the villages and got caught up trying to take a picture when Mohammed instructed me, "Tek tem".  This means "Be careful" in Krio, the dominant language spoken here.  Krio is basically truncated english with a bit of French and Portuguese thrown in.  That's the advice I think I'll keep in mind for this whole trip, just take my time. 

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain drops the size of 50 cent pieces banging on our corrugated tin roof.  We were excited to see rain, as the days here are very hot and humid.  I went outside to experience the rain first hand and I was soaked within seconds. 

I will write more next time.  And as soon as I figure out if these computers can download pictures, I'll add those as well.  For now we just want to let you know we are safe and happy here in Sierra Leone.

- Jay

All you Soccer lovers out there may seize up when you read this.  But I was really hoping to connect with people in Freetown through sports.  Any sport, be it Football, Baseball, even Golf, but especially my all-time favorite Basketball.  Anything but Soccer.  It's just not my thing.  I have an illness called S.A.D.D, Sports Attention Deficit Disorder.  If I don't get to hit, shoot, dribble or pass a ball on a consistent basis while playing a sport I end up completely disinterested and laying down in the grass making grass angels while I pick out pictures of Jesus in the clouds.  I could be on the Soccer field for an entire minute or two without ever touching a ball!  It's just a relationship that I knew could never last.

Ultimately, I sucked it up and quit whining long enough to devise a plan to put some smiles on the faces of a few disadvantaged children in Freetown while we are there.  I decided to start collecting Soccer balls from friends and co-workers so we could donate them to orphanages and schools in Freetown.  I have to admit, I'm tempted to throw in a Basketball or two just to see if the sport catches on.  A guy can dream, can't he?

Altogether, this endeavor has been successful.  We have collected almost 40 Soccer balls and over $130.00 in donations since I started a cause on FaceBook!  People like Steve and Trish Langford, Kris and Lisa Kapersky, and the friends at Blue Saucer Cafe, along with many others, have come through big time to help out.  We're looking forward to passing out the fun and taking some pictures while we're at it.  I'll post a follow up once we get it going.

"This brochure tells you all about Yellow Fever", said the nurse as she began thumbing through leaflets about potential illnesses we may encounter on our trip.  "This one details Typhoid, the green one is Malaria, and purple is for Hepatitis A..."  Each leaflet had its own color, as if, upon contracting Hepatitis A, I would  hearken back to this day thinking, "Oh, right... this is the one described on the purple paper."

And so my first experience with world travel begins...   My wife, Juliana, and I are about to take off on a trip to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in West Africa.  We've been planning this trip for about two years now and we're both so excited to see this day finally arrive.  So, "Why Freetown?" you may ask.  Juliana is originally from this coastal capital of Sierra Leone and we will be spending time with her immediate and extended family. 

We have planned to stay in Freetown for about 3 weeks, starting on December 11th, then we'll putz around London for eight days before coming back to Seattle on January 8th. I've only been to local retreats, close to the U.S.  You know, Mexico, Canada, Florida and Hawaii.  So this is a big leap for my untraveled soul. 

I'm looking forward to experiencing the culture, music and family of a country half a world away.  I feel special to have such a unique experience.  Well, it's unique for me.  I will be the first in my immediate family to have traveled so far away and I can't wait to bring back armfuls of experiences and stories! I'm going to try my best to journal as much as I can while we are away. 

If you know me at all, you will clearly understand the enormous undertaking this will me for me.  I enjoy writing.  But journaling on a blog from halfway around the world?  It seems to me I'd rather be out doing stuff than writing about it.  Honestly, though, I want to take on the challenge.  If nothing else, it will be an opportunity to bring another part of the world to friends and family that may never get to go there. So here goes nothin'.  I hope you enjoy it and feel free to post comments (if this blog allows that) join in this international commiseration!

- Jay

Hello again world,

I have been out of site, but hopefully not out of mind.  I have been blogging, but not here.  You see my wife and I recently returned from a long trip to Africa and London.  I have blogged about the Africa experience on a different blog site and will be transferring those blogs here.  So if you start seeing a bunch of blog entries, no I'm not that fast of a typer!

I'll be copying those blog here so you can check them out.

Cheers!

- Jay