What’s that on my slipper? (One of the best yet most awkward romantic gestures!)

Banke: ‘I can’t believe he wrote on my shoe…’

Freya: ‘He wanted to find a route directly to your sole!’

Cockle Bay house had been having some electrical and general functional problems lately; warped doors that scrape the floor making scratching noises, scaring one into wondering what might happen if the door jammed and the handle came off in ones hands while one was still inside, electrical socket sending a shock through poor subject when trying to turn on the fan, and meshes with bite holes from not so tiny, furry beings… So of course, we got people in to fix them!

The carpenter came round and meshed our drying room - which he is yet to finish, and ‘fixed’ the doors, so they don’t scratch the floors anymore. I say ‘fixed’ because our definition and the carpenters I think, are apparently quite different. Not to be unkind about his ‘skills’, but he managed to fix my door and break it at the same time. True, it no longer scrapes the floor, but somehow, he has managed to unhinge it in such a way that it no longer closes, or worse locks! Not really my definition of fixed!

But anyway, that’s not the story today!

So the electricians came round to fix the sockets and light fixtures. There were FOUR of them! ‘The joke, how many electricians do you need to fix a socket?’ came to mind.’ They got right to work and Freya and I, carried on with ours.

Bear in mind that 2 days earlier, when the electricians had come to have a assess the electrical socket, one of the men had asked me to be his friend…

As I sat in my room doing my work, the electricians stood on my table, fixing the wires that connected my room with the next. Throughout this process, I happily typed away, listening to my i-pod on speakers. One of the electricians even (surprisingly!) sang along to Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights! About half an hour later they were done, and were packing up. I walked into the living room, and was stooped by the table, when the same guy from 2 days earlier came in and said to me, ‘I left you a note on your slipper!’ I said ‘okay,’ awkwardly, and continued with my task.

After they had left, Freya and I entered my room to find, beside my bed a note – as promised – written directly ON my slipper, with my pen! It said:

‘U are 2 nice. I really need you 4 friend. This is my line… (which cannot be disclosed for obvious reasons)’

Needless to say, I was speechless! It was actually a really nice, grand romantic gesture, akin to an alternate rendition of Cinderella, or perhaps that scene in the movie Wicker Park where Josh Hartnett is utterly besotted and writes a note on Diane Kruger’s shoe box! And, had there been mutual affection, it would have been quite sweet. But having seen him only once and definitely not with the mind to fall in love with him, this was rather funny.

But it was a sweet gesture, and as Samson, our other housemate said, it means he saw something good in me. And that, I can neither laugh at or mock, so this will go down as another one of my strange, but characteristic experiences in Sierra Leone that we’ll all reminisce over for years to come!!

Bankexx

What, do I have 'social butterfly' stamped on my forehead or something?

Exasperated yesterday, this was part of the message I texted to one of my housemates yesterday. I was having a particularly annoying day, caused by something I had thought I would always enjoy.

You see, before we came out to Sierra Leone, we attended training, which was supposed to prepare us for change. One of the things we discussed was the Emotion cycle*. In a way, I thought I was doing really well and was not going through the stages conventionally, actually, I wasn't even really going through any of the stages. Forget 'Storming before Norming', I was settled and ready to take on the world. However, it only took a 2 minute walk up Fort Street in the rain, past a hairdressers before I realised that even I, the Great Banke, was certainly not above the emotional cycle pitched at the 'Skills for working in development' course.

The thing is, I have wondering, smiling eyes. When I walk down the street, I make eye contact with people and smile until I walk past. I even say hello when I'm in a particularly good mood. I also have that thing where I always manage to catch the eye of the street sellers and then regret it because I realised I've smiled and given them the impression that I want to buy whatever it is they are selling (which is usually not the case!), then when they come over I have to smile sheepishly and say 'no tenke!'

So I do this when I walk down Fort Street. I see loads of people between HFaC and SLNA - where I work - and because of the culture here, people are mega friendly and genuinely want to talk to you. In a strange way, they all seem to know I’m not a local. I don't know what it is... well once, this guy said he knew I wasn’t from around here because I walked quickly like an 'English man'!

 

So every day, I walk to work and people say hi and shake my hand and its fun. I even made friends with a girl at the local hairdressers who sometimes walks me to HfaC at the end of the day. But the glow began to ebb as I started to tire of saying hello constantly and smiling all the time.

You know, if you're from London, and ‘travel’ is usually personal time for thinking, i-poding and ignoring people. As friendly as I am, even I start to tire when I have to stop every five seconds with a greeting! See, I'm used to saying hello to the people I’m friends with and am equally polite but not over-friendly with the rest. However, I made a mistake of hurrying past the hairdressers in the rain, not stopping to wave because I was late and I didn’t see my hairdressing friend. 2 seconds later, a lady I don't know came out, shouted my name and shouted crossly, 'Banke, you have to say HELLO to us O!' So I’m there thinking 'what? I don't even know you', but apparently this matters not. Furthermore, later on (when I sent the text mentioned at the beginning) a man walked past me mumbling undecipherable words. A few seconds later, he returns and addresses me angrily saying in Krio 'I said hello to you, why didn't you reply?' Shocked I said 'oh, sorry, didn’t hear it, hello'. He then said okay and walked off! And there are more stories! Must I say hello to everybody, all the time?

I GUESS I MUST HAVE ONE OF THOSE 'APPROACH ME' FACES... I guess this is mostly a good thing... Well I guess I'll really mean that in 2 stages time!!!

Bankexx

Footnote

*The Emotion Cycle - Stage 1 is total euphoria, complete amusement to everything new. You love this and could do it forever! Stage 2, annoyance sets in. Everything you thought was fun becomes a nightmare, and you try to imagine the easiest way to find a cosy sofa in front of a romantic movie, with a tub of haagendaaz, completely oblivious to the current situation. As you can tell, my version is also called ESCAPISM or DENIAL. Stage 3 is the depressed 'Why Me' stage, where you moan and 'well at least I'm alive' is the most positive you're willing to get. Stage 4 is the accepting stage, you realise haagendaaz and Will Smith are unnecessary (well...) and you could just enjoy where you are, sit on the beach and watch the beautiful sunset, and it really is a great experience! Okay, I've embellished and exaggerated a little!

Ten things i like about you!

There are 10 things I really like about Sierra Leone. Insanely interesting, but possibly more than 40 lines. You have been warned!

1. The Poda-podas – This is public transport at its most eccentric! Between the red and blue strobe lighting, amazing surround sound music system, rear view mirror substituted for an LCD screen playing music videos, and apprentice hanging out of the side door shouting undecipherable destinations, you’re not guaranteed a safe ride home, but you’ll sure have fun getting there!
2. The beaches – Sierra Leone is just started to get noticed as a great location for tourism and rightly so. The beaches are amazing. When the weather is great and there’s fuel in your tank (personal car or chartered taxi), Laka, Lumley, no 2, etc… beaches are the best places to be.
3. The currency – My, do I feel like a millionaire! With 6,000 Leones to a pound, every payday (well, stipend day) feels like a lottery payout. The only downside is that it goes as quickly as it comes since Freetown is a rather expensive place to live.
4. The Thunder and Lightening – This hasn’t happened for a while, but when the storms begin, you find yourself somewhat terrified, yet transfixed by the angry streaks and flashing moments in the sky followed by a rumbling so prolonged and deep, you feel someone has actually been offended.
5. The Cotton Tree - At the historical heart of Sierra Leone and at  virtually the centre of everything accessible in Freetown, the cotton tree reminds me that if a tree can withstand over 200 years of weather like it has, its people can do so much more.  
6. The Mountains – The hills which can be seen from anywhere in Freetown are absolutely amazing! That’s why its called Sierra Leone!
7. The Palm Trees – Despite the felling of our beloved garden palm tree in the storm last month, I absolutely love them. In so many shapes and sizes, they beautify the landscape, especially on the journey up-country!
8. The other Species – Its amazing how many dogs share this city with humans, who appear so used to their presence, they seem not to notice them anymore. There are dogs virtually everywhere. I counted 25 on Wilkinson road, and that was just one side of it! Okay, well I'm not entirely sure this category should be on the list, but I love one of the dogs we have in our compound called Bingo. Just look at him!
9.  Names of Places – Of all the countries I’ve been, I have never so much enjoyed calling the names of places there. From Siaka Steven Street, to Cockle Bay, to Tonkolili, to Magburaka, to Tacugama, to Lightfoot Boston, you are never short of cool, sweet sounding places to describe!
10. The Youyi Building – Another great phrase everyone loves to say, the white, tall modern looking building houses the Ministry of Health and Sanitation – as well as other ministries; the Chinese built structure project what a more modern Freetown might look like.

Till Again…. Bankexx

 the mountains…