Excuse me, are you Allah?

I had one of the most bizarre and surreal experiences today when I got on the poda-poda, on my way home. You see it’s a little more difficult to get a poda going to Aberdeen from Fort Street after work, because a larger percentage of the podas that come past the Circular road stop seem to go to Lumley (another part of town). So Freya and I were happy when we finally heard the ‘apprentice (poda conductor)’ shouting ‘abadaba-daba-daba’ – this means Aberdeen in apprentice.

So anyway, we got unto the poda quickly – glad to be out of the looming clouds and impending rain – into an unusually empty poda, and we sit down. As we sit, another man boards and takes a seat on the row behind us. The poda starts to move when the man in the row behind taps me on my shoulder and asks,

‘Excuse me, are you Allah?’

Obviously, I’m reasonably perplexed by this question and I turn round to face him, repeating bemusedly, ‘Am I Allah?’ Here sits a well dressed man with a red jacket over an olive green shirt and a smart umbrella, tucked in his hand, with spectacles on (and as Freya rightly noted, looking slightly out of place in the poda), asking me possibly the most ludicrous question ever!

The man looks a little frustrated and repeats, ‘Are you Anna, Anna?’, and it all suddenly clicks into place; he’s asking me if I’m Anna!

We have a bit of a giggle and I assure him that no, I am not Anna, to which he exclaims ‘oh, I thought you were Anna’,  turns to the apprentice and says, ‘Apprentice, I’m getting off, she’s not Anna’, and then the poda stops – after having driven to the end of Circular road – and Mr Red Jacket hops off and simply walks away.

Freya and I looked at each other and burst into laughter. What on earth? He had been so determined; one would assume this Anna was some long lost love, but again as Freya rightly pointed out, he couldn’t have known Anna that well, if he was asking the question ‘Are you Anna?’! Maybe he’d seen a picture on  facebook and I happened to fit a vague description of this ‘Anna’ character… who knows!

At least I don’t have to worry that people are asking if I am the Muslim deity!

So if there are any Freetowners reading this post and were curious as to why those two English girls were laughing their heads off at the back of the poda, now you know.

Till my next Tale!

Banke xx

My Friend, Accept defeit and JUST blog!

I’m sitting on the veranda of our Cockle Bay House, watching the palm tree in our gardened compound rustle in the rainy wind, and listening to the angry yet calming sound of thunder in the distance. I wonder at the fact that I feel so settled after only a month. This time last month (if counting by date, not weeks) I was sitting on the descending plane secretly wondering whether it would be a week before I thought, ‘okay, who was the idiot who filled out that application form and invited herself into a year of misery?’ But at the risk (well too late now) of sounding like a cliché, I really am enjoying it.

I really did mean to blog sooner, I did. I even started a few draft posts, but the problem was/is my tenacity. I was so determined to put up pictures, creating a wonderful narrative of Banke’s journey into Sierra Leone, that I missed the opportunity to give you minute-by minute detailed accounts of my experience (I bet you’re breathing a sigh of relief) But don’t worry, I have found a way and am still working on it and will release it to you all as soon as I reach out an outlet with a speedy internet connection.

With no preamble, I’m going to crack on and tell you what I really think about this place (I bet you’re on the edge of your seats...). The great thing about Sierra Leone is the People! I am amazed everyday by what I see. Firstly they are really friendly... well apart from this lady who sells Freya (one of my housemates) and I bread in the mornings on our way to work. She always looks miserable and we are seriously trying to find a way to cheer her up.

... I have just had the most brilliant idea. As part of my role as an advocacy officer in SL, and to aid participation and inclusivity in decision-making processes, I’ve decided to set up a poll to discover how we can brighten up our bread lady’s day. Please help us by answering the poll after reading this blog. Our decision depends on your answer...

Okay, so there was a bit of a preamble... As I was saying, the people are great. They are friendly and very accommodating. They all seem to think I am Sierra Leonean and once I begin to talk, they then think I am a Sierra Leonean, come home to visit her parents. I have received a few friendship requests and can now say ‘how di bodi’ pretty well. Sadly, this is the only Krio I have managed to perfect so far...

... actually... Mek I get one bred Ya?

So my 40 lines have been used up and more, and I haven’t managed to tell you a single thing about my experience in SL... I promise to divulge in my next blog... till then.
 Bankexx