Wow. This has been quite a long time again. So, no
discussion about the need for an update, but where to start?
I managed to get tested negative for typhoid and malaria - woohooo! |
Maybe
we go from the general to the specific. Generally, I am doing very fine. I
really like Liberia and so far, not much has happened which made me reconsider
my decision to come here and to stay here for a while. As it always happens
after a while, life became a kind of routine, although it is a routine with many
exceptions and many unexpected incidents.
By
now, I was lucky enough to meet quite a number of very nice people I like to
hang out with so that the sudden feelings of homesickness and loneliness can be
cured if desired. No doubt, I do miss my friends and family a whole lot
(even Frankfurt – can you imagine???), but it is good to know that there are
people to call nearby as the distance to anywhere else in the world is quite a
bit.
Regarding
work, it is now getting much better. After having worked so much in January and
February without seeing any progress, I got pretty frustrated. Some personal
issues were involved and at some point I was actually not completely sure I
will be and want to be able to cope with the situation as it was any further. Anyway,
things changed a lot and we are still working hard and long hours, but now we
see things moving on and proceeding. Catch-up exercise almost completed! And
personal issues solved. Work is fun again. And very interesting, so I am happy.
Nadine,
our third roomie, came back beginning of February, now being properly employed
by GIZ. Unfortunately she has already left again as she is based up country in
Foya and only returning to Monrovia once in a while. It’s a bit unfortunate as
she is a pretty good roomie, but at least I have a good reason to travel a
little outside the capital to visit her. Actually, I will drive up to Gbarnga
in mid of April, where I will meet Nadine and then we continue to Foya where I
stay for few days before we both go back down to Monrovia to attend just
another training. Wosh, after all these workshops and trainings I will have
attended by the end of the year, I should be an expert in everything.
Once again - crossing the river on the way to Freetown |
Talking
about travel I should mention that I am going to Sierra Leone on Thursday next
week. I went there a month ago and now we have to go again to attend a planning
workshop involving both countries, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
As
I missed to see Isata, Momoh, Jojo, Sally and the little trouble maker last
time when I was there, I am kind of happy to go again. As you may know, I was
involved in some land buying issues, so now there is land to build a proper
shelter, and Momoh just graduated from college and got his final documents,
which is a great reason to celebrate.
Momoh,
just in case you read that: I am very much impressed and proud! Fingers are
crossed for successful job hunting!
Stunning landscape |
So, when I will be in Freetown we will get
in a taxi and go altogether to Waterloo to visit the land site.
Talking
about leaving, I should also mention that our great intern Max will leave the
country right by tomorrow. This is also very unfortunate as he has been a great
office companion for the past couple of months and he was a great support to
the project and a perfectly fitting and very valuable team member. So Max, in
case that you read this – thanks for everything, you will be missed as friend
and colleague and good luck in Berlin!
So,
that was the general update, now we are getting to the specifics with some
highlights from the private and the work sphere:
Opening of the LEITI Resource Centre
Peter and Max in front of the new Resource Centre |
After
weeks of hard preparatory work, the first Resource Centre – a small library
stocked with books and documents on resource governance and related issues –
was eventually opened in the facilities of the Liberian Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative (LEITI). The German Ambassador gave the key note speech and members
of the Multi-Stakeholder Group steering the LEITI process welcomed very much
the initiative. The idea behind is to provide easy access to information on natural
resources and its management and governance for the civil society, students
from the university and the general public. More can be found in this article.
Lazy Raft Day on St. Paul’s River
Sunday
morning, 11am. Few people were gathering down at a site near St. Paul’s River somewhere on
Bushroad Island (is that actually true???). Over time, the crowd gets bigger,
majority of them are expats. Cellcom is doing constant promotion, Vuvuzelas and
first drinks are handed out. And people are waiting. And waiting. Big pig gets
prepared to end up on the BBQ. Some people dressed in white Shirts are busily
running around. And people are waiting. Waiting for what?
Well,
on March 3, the 3rd Lazy Raft Day, organized by Barefoot Safari, took place and it
was just great fun. Starting with some hours delay (this is about the waiting),
about 80 people eventually jumped on barges, rafts, tubes and whatever can
float and started rafting down St- Paul’s river. I was in the water for about 3
hours non-stop, tangling myself to a tube or string and let the water carry me
along. The sun was shining; there was music, nice people and the stunning
landscape of Liberia. So I enjoyed every single minute and I did not even get
sick although I swallowed at least 3 liters of river water. When we returned it
was already dark and the big pig was ready to be eaten (which people did instantly).
More
pictures will follow – have to find some from others as I did not take any
myself during the actual trip.
Shopping in Monrovia
When
I came back to Monrovia in January, there was definitely no need for any
shopping. All this running around in Germany and the hours of packing I spend
before my departure really did not want to make me buy anything in a long time.
Did I mention that I brought about 80-90kg of stuff back here?
Making pots |
Anyway,
after two months of being shopping-absent, I felt that I need to buy something
nice and something which is not food. Or toilet tissues. Or bug spray. As shopping
opportunities are somehow limited in Monrovia, I decided to go plant shopping. There
are some really nice places along the main road in Monrovia and so a friend of
mine and I chartered a cab and bought some really nice green plants in big
pots. I got one for my room, one for the living room and one for the office and
guess what – they are all still alive. I also stopped at Kasawa, a nice tailor
shop in town, and got a table cloth and large blanket. And for some reason I felt
very happy afterwards and still do when I see my plants and the blanket and
everything. Apparently some small shopping adventure once in a while is very much needed.
Car Hunting
Nadine
and I would like to buy a car. We know which car we want – a cute, little
Toyota RAV4. However, buying one is apparently not as easy as we thought. Our
experiences so far are rather disappointing and it seems that some man (meaning
male) power is needed to get things proceeding. This is frustrating, in
particular for such emancipated ladies as we obviously are…
Well,
this is the story: I got in touch with a used car dealer from Nigeria who is
running a garage here in Monrovia. We talked about what we want and one day I
got a text saying that a RAV4 would be available for a test drive. So we agreed
on a time and went there on a Saturday morning to check out the car. Surprising
detail here: There was no car. The dealer only invited us to find out if we are
“fine ladies”. So instead of checking out a car, we got checked out. I am
pretty sure you can imagine that I was furious. And speechless. At least
almost. I expressed my deep disappointment and left. This clear condemnation of the dealer's behavior however only resulted in an invitation for lunch. Obviously, I did not go.
Anyway, after some weeks I got another SMS saying he just got the perfect car
for us and came up with a reasonable price. As I am convinced that people
should get second chances, I agreed to see the car, but took two colleagues
along who have advanced mechanical skills. The dealer actually presented two
cars, one of them seemed to just have come out an accident. My colleagues
looked at both cars and agreed: “Well, Juliane, this is nothing for the future
after tomorrow.” So here we are. No car.
No reliable dealer. But a lunch date. Story to be continued.
Ok,
actually I will close for today. This is a pretty long post. Thanks for reading
and I hope you are well. Take good care and I miss ya all!
2 comments:
A date and a car? Juliane, how could you not fall for that? LOL, good to read that you are still the vivacious, emancipated woman I know :) Safe travels to Sierra Leone, and LETS CATCH UP when you get back. Miss you loads. xoxo POK
Schön von dir zu lesen! Lass es dir gut gehen! Und shop mehr Wohnungskram (-;
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