In Which We See Sites and Sights
on Zoe Page (Sierra Leone), 26/Sep/2010 06:46, 34 days ago
Today is tour day. We meet at VSO and eventually our ride shows up. It’s pretty sweet – plastic covered seats, windows with glass in them, even mini fans fitted to the ceiling. With Joe, Jo and Banke as our tour guides we set off down to Aberdeen and round by the beach, then up into the hills. It’s clearly laundry day, as whole families are out, anywhere there is water, washing their things. Our drive turns into a sort of reverse safari, with everyone gazingintothe vehicle to see the strange white creatures inside. As we drive, Jo points out the best place for Sushi, the best and second best Chinese restaurants in town– you get the picture. No wonder the Freetown lot have trouble sticking to their allowance. Somehow I think the options in Kenema will be slightly more limited...We stop at a college campus for views and to nosy around (their equivalent to Halls bearing a striking resemblance to the Randwick Hilton) and then head into downtown to check out the Cotton Tree. Theo is just telling me to put my (hardly expensive) camera away when Joe comes round with a wodge of cash, giving us 10,000 each for drinks/snacks. We go to a restaurant for lunch, but its limited menu is not that veggie friendly, so Theo and I walk back to Salvonne Bakery (which, Bradt later tells me, serves the best baked goods in town). I’m happy to agree it’s good stuff, and the croissant (pure butter) and cupcake (far too fancy a name for a plain bun) go down well. We get back and the others’ food still hasn’t arrived. Service here is slow and, on the whole, without a smile.Our final stop on our now abridged too (we’re over running...who’d have guessed?) is Big Market which has two floors of fab looking handicrafts and furnishings. It’s a bit like La Ciutadella in DF or the Mercado Artesanal in La Mariscal, and while there’s definitely stuff to buy, I don’t think a few days before I head up country is the time. Maybe in a year when I’m heading home. Theo and I head outside and she buys us both a sort of solid frozen yogurt thing which she promptly tells me is ‘diarrhoea in a bag’. Yummy! To be honest it’s worth it for the look of horror on Jo’s face when she sees us eating it.This evening is our‘Social Event’ i.e. party, with us newbies being joined by the VSO staff and lots of existing volunteers. There is food (same as lunches have been, but with extras like foo-foo). There is drink (the Coke, Sprite and Vimto they love here, plus some fruit juices). There are sweets (Danish Butter Cookies, Quality Street and the sort of crispy chocolate dome things you find in all the Polish shops). There is music (LOUD music) and dancing...and then it starts to rain. So, we move inside, and then the power goes off, so we chat by torchlight until the ‘Cultural show’ arrives.This is quite possibly one of the best and most bizarre things ever. A troupe of 6 or 7 play bongo style drums while select members of their group dance (in a hot, now dark, room). Then comes some more theatrical choreography. It appears that the boy dressed as Aquafresh (all blue and green stripes) is beating up the boy dressed as the trunk of a tree (brown). They play fight for a bit, and then Aquafresh‘drinks’ some water and ‘pees’ it out onto Tree man, in much the same manner as a doll I used to have who would wet herself if you gave her a bottle. Then Aquafresh starts to show off. He breaks two empty beer bottles and proceeds to ‘eat’ large pieces of the glass which later he will regurgitate, making me think of that weird guy on Britain’s Got Talent this year. As a finale, he does some teddy bear rolls and a headstand while the girls shake their booty, and then steals some of Ciara’s dance moves. *Sigh* I miss my Cheer girlies.