In Which The Greek-Named Gals Have Fabulous Faki
on Zoe Page (Sierra Leone), 01/Nov/2010 21:50, 34 days ago
After a civilised breakfast a deux of porridge, cinnamon and local honey, Vasile is picked up for work a mere 12 hours after arriving here. I shouldn’t be surprised: despite the lack of work, per se, her partner organisation have impressed with their provision of a laptop and, wait for it, business cards. A vehicle and driver is just the icing on the cake. Since I am the housewife in the relationship, I head out with a shopping list to run some errands. First I go to pay my internet since it’s the first of the month. It is remarkably straight forward and pain free, despite my initial queuing at the wrong counter in the bank. In m defence, the small, typed signs are easy to miss, and even if I had seen them the ambiguity inPaying cashieris clear. Is it you doing the paying in, or the cashier doing the paying out? I walk on to Sierratel and my laptop-fixing friend is lounging by the gate so I just give him my receipt and exchange a few pleasantries.I head into the office but am unsurprised to discover the people I want to see are not there, and the supervision schedule for November is yet to be drafted. A woman comes in on the back of a bike, wailing like a banshee and clutching an admittedly floppy toddler in her arms. She howls on until she realises she can’t hear what the staff are saying to her, stops suddenly and listens quietly, and then starts screaming again as she dashes round the corner to the children’s ward. Apparently the child has developed a fever. In a rare moment of bonding, we all tsk about how shouting isn’t going to do any good, and he’s not dead yet. And then...people disappear off, and I am alone and without an assignment. Quelle suprise. I head over to the admin offices and ask Pius if there are any meetings this week, but he shrugs and says he needs to ask, making it clear that even if there are, I would not be welcome. So, I bid farewell to the hospital and head off to the market.The produce section is 3 times the size it normally is– either because it’s Monday or because the season has changed. In addition to the tomatoes and dwarf cucumbers, and onions and garlic, there are carrots, cabbage, avocado, potatoes, green beans, all in abundance. But like a true housewife I have a shopping list and a budget, so I just get whatwe need and ignore other offers. I go to Choitram’s for a little air con and to text Vasile of my success, and buy some wafers while I’m there, then head home.I’ve barely been in 10 minutes when there’s a racket outside. I suspect it is someone banging on the gate so go for a subtle peek, and indeed it is, the guy coming to read the electricity meter. I let him in, noting his complete lack of ID or uniform but bright, sparkling Man United belt buckle and Washington State baseball cap. He asks me for a chair and stands on it in his mucky shoes (irritating this housewife in the process) and then tells me I have used almost 100 units. This of course means nothing to me, but he looks on expectantly. I want to ask if this is good or bad, if there is athreshold at which I have to pay before I get any more power, if I get a prize for every 100 I consume. Instead I point out that since last night our power has been appalling – lights so faint they’re not worth having, a fan that barely oscillates etc – and he says he will tell them (whoeverthey are) to check the transformer, so that makes up a little for the muckiness stomped into my chair cushion.Vasile comes home from work about 6pm and promptly sets about cooking and telling me about her day. By this time normally I would be locked in my room either online or reading, so it’s novel to have someone to chat to, and her Faki is amazing in taste as well as name. I guess I was growing tired of peanut butter sandwiches after all. The power has been boosted back to normal, but it only lasts an hour or so and then goes bang, so we light candles, stick them in Maria’s makeshift holders (old hacked up porridge oat tins) and swap travel stories until bedtime.