Time is just flying by, as usual. Now it has been already a week since I was arriving in Freetown and things seem to settle down a bit. Just to give you an idea, it is 10pm, I am sitting outside on the veranda fairly covered with mosquito repellent and it is still super warm. The human need for sleep at night is not always a relief – it is quite hot when you lie down and sometimes it takes a while to fall asleep….anyhow, no need and time for complaints. I am still doing great here and I like this country a lot. And the first weekend was fantastic…..on Friday we were all just hanging out after work and I got in touch with my two housemates while on Saturday I was invited to follow them on a fishing trip far out on the water…..right, I went fishing. Although I would have preferred to release the fishes right after catching them, they were killed and served later as an apparent delicious dinner on the BBQ. We managed to get three fairly big barracudas despite of my efforts to convince the fishes not to bite….hahaha… apparently I wouldn’t be a successful fish whisperer…
The day on the water was great anyway and I was impressed how easily the local fisher could locate where they would find fish without using any kind of high-tech stuff (as we did) but being a two hours paddle ride away from the coast. We further drove along the coastline and it was interesting to see how different Freetwon looks….from rather rich areas with bigger houses it would turn into the ‘official’ part where the government but also all the big international organisations are located before eventually showing its poor face…..huge areas full of simplest shelters of which a part must be called slum.
However…at night we went to a spontaneously organised party since one of my housemates just turned 28 and wanted to celebrate…I got in touch with quite a lot other people working or interning here and it was a great start for further parties. Sunday was beach day and I met Renée from the Netherlands (she is one of my fellow interns at CGG) and we walked down to Lumley beach which is not more than 30 min from the place I am staying….I have to admit, it is quite nice to relax on the beach while knowing that there are minus degrees in Sweden right now.
Further, I managed to go to the market, changed some more money and did all these small things you usually don’t have time for during the week (or you are just too lazy).
And today was a usual work day again……am trying to get all the information together I need to come up with a proper annual report for CGG and I just feel thrown back into Botswana….slow down the speed a bit. Otherwise it is fun at work and slowly but surely I can remember names plus related faces and vice versa. After work I went for a run at the beach and hell yeah, I guess the Sierra Leoneans thought I am kinda crazy since my face must have been as purple as an aubergine….but it was fun and I will do it again soon soon. The city is still fascinating me, I figured out that instead of the official number of about 800 000 people more than 2,5 million spend their life here…just guess how crowded it is…
Next weekend I will definitely use to stroll around a bit and to advance my orientation here, since this is still a bit tricky…..so I will go downtown, yeah….
Well, I guess, that’s it for now…as you can see my post getting little shorter and less detailed, as I promised. I hope you all had a great weekend wherever you are and I hope to hear from you all quite soon. My messenger chats today guided me from Japan via Rwanda, Sweden, Switzerland eventually to Germany….it is just great to hear all these experiences but also all the stories from home far away….
fishing boats
This is the ferry I took when I came from the airport -
I am kind of glad that I was too tired to see how it looked then....hahaha
The first fish we got...
He knew also without a fish finder where to get the popular tuna fish....
my 'house beach'
little dirty, but actually not too bad
backside from the street our compound is located on
5 comments:
Oh Juliane - I can't really get it that you ar there and I am here... It seems such an adventure, both mind-blowing and 'back to reality'-kind of thing, if you understand what I'm trying to say : )
Good that you like your internship too, and that you have already made friends! I wish you all the best for the rest of your stay/
Mach's gut und viele grüsse von Ewa-Lotta
Juliane! I hope you are doing well and I'm so glad we can read about your adventures on this blog! Lots of hugs from your Amnesty group! :)
Hey Juliane,
das liest sich ja alles ganz schön spannend bei dir. Freut mich dolle das du gut angekommen bist und schon die ersten Kontakte knüpfen konntest auch wenn ich für die hoffe das es ihnen nicht so ergehen wird wie deiner kleinen süßen Hausschabe :)
Die Fotos sind wirklich heftig. Sowas kann ich mir gar nicht vorstellen. Diese Fähre hätte nie im Leben betreten. Und was ist mit diesem Fisch aufm "Grill" ?!?! Den habt ihr/du doch nicht wirklich gegessen, oder?
Lass es dir weiterhin gutgehen und ich wünsche dir nicht noch mehr so unangenehme Zeitgenossen wie Mr. Roach.
Grüße aus MS und bis bald. Max
HELLLLLLLO from India!
Kat and I are just chillin by the dial up internet connection reading your blog and trying to catch up with your experiences and mid-blowing life changes....all happening over the period of one week. It seems like you are really settling into the place (and I am even more impressed that you took a picture of the fish you tried to save...lol) and I am glad that you have at least one 'european' comrade to go through cultural shocks with :)
WE miss you tons and cannot wait to hear many many stories and gossip (and you better believe we have stories too...hahaha)
Be safe and careful (like I need to tell you that) and get to know one of the most unknown yet interesting cities in the world!
Love, love, love (with big Indian kisses)
Kathrine & Chels
Hey sweetie! Hahaha...I was laughing so hard while reading your blog. I recognize soo much and I know exactly how you feel!! Ayways, I just wanted to say that the blog and the pics are great, that you are a strong and brave woman, to be safe and ENJOY!! Pussar och kramar Kristina
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