In Which African Adverts Are Awesomely Amusing
on Zoe Page (Sierra Leone), 16/Oct/2010 20:54, 34 days ago
This morning when I get up I put on a Primark tee, some Sainsburys shorts, and my MBTs. This is clearly an eye catching outfit as during the 2 hours I’m roaming around Hangha road at least a dozen people tell me I am doing exercise (note it’s not a question, they’re making a statement like telling me I have brown hair) while others, including Fidel, tell me I look sporty. While the chance to stretch my legs is a nice bonus, I’m really a woman on a mission. I have a list of things to do today including locating the IRC office so I know how long it will take me to walk on Monday, finding the ‘tourist office’ and climbing the Clock Tower. At least the first one is easy enough, while the other two have either moved or are locked. Atleast trust Choitrams serves me well. They have fake Kinder Eggs in. Now Sierra Leonean eggs are bright white, so maybe this will be a white chocolate version. It's not. It's cheap milk chocolate and it turns out it's Turkish anyway, but the disturbingly difficult toy keeps me amused for 20 whole minutes while I try to slot it together.On my walk I get to take in the advertising billboards that line the streets here. Many are hand drawn or painted, ditto the buildings (one has a diamond tree sketched on it, another shows a group of men knee deep in water, scavenging for said sparkly gems). Others are printed but no less garish. And so, since this is the core activity of my day, aside from sitting in the sun and cooking (with actual spinach! And actual garlic! Not a biccie in sight, Fay), I leave you with a few on which to feast your eyes.