Monday, February 25, 2008

at long last!

The pictures are posted and captioned! Here's the deal - I left my compound and walked toward the Atlantic Ocean, wandered through the communities that live near the coast, looped past the fishing beach, headed back toward the main road (runs out to the airport and Firestone's rubber plantation), walked the road toward the Junction and then turned around and walked back to my compound. The scenery is truly amazing (I lucked out and the lighting was even more incredible than usual the day I took the pictures) and I'm still struck by how green the green is in Liberia! It's such a fertile country and the vegetation is lush and beautiful - if only there wasn't trash strewn everywhere and crumbling buildings that families have been forced to turn into homes. Oh Mama Africa!

Let me know if you have questions. I also added a few more pictures to my original Liberia album so get in there too! Use the link below or the one on the right side like before.

abbeinafrica.snapfish.com/snapfish

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

alive in ohio

hey friends!

I've had a whirlwind tour going the past week after I made it back safe to the US and have been delighted to reconnect with friends and family to do some regrouping, sharing of positive vibes and plenty of laughing! I'm in Ohio now and should (cross your fingers) be uploading my remaining pictures within the next couple days. Sorry for the dramatic delay!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

pictures coming soon

I took my camera with me today and basically documented a 'walking tour' of the area I've been living. No time to upload all the picts now cause there are over 75 or so but check back in a week or two and you'll FINALLY get to see what I've been seeing! The good, the bad, the ugly - it's all there.

Saturday, February 9, 2008

breaking up is hard to do

For a while now things have been kind of a mess here – my mom would argue that it’s been bad since I arrived, but she might be biased. To my attentive blog readers you may have noticed that bad things just keep happening in my life here and despite everything I’m glad to say I’ve kept my head up along the way. Suddenly though, the time has come when this camel’s load has become all too heavy and I’ve really taken a hard look at how far and wide my ‘happy moments’ have been scattered. And possibly much to your surprise (frankly I surprised myself with this!) I’ve decided it’s my time to leave Liberia. I’ve been sacrificing a lot to be here and have been investing a great deal of my time and energy but I don’t feel that the progress that my volunteer efforts are making is enough to warrant staying any longer. Please know that I’m personally perplexed to be walking away after only a few months as my intentions were to stay much longer, but simultaneously I’m eager to have the opportunity to see what life will throw at me next! I’ve learned so much from this experience and perhaps because I’m departing so abruptly I’m already reflecting on what an amazing, intense and self-defining adventure I’ve been privileged to have

I want to thank all of you who offered your support during the past months. Your emails of encouragement, blog post comments sharing your appreciation of my trials and triumphs, and your donations that significantly helped off-set the expenses of leaving America to try and do a little good in the world proved to be priceless commodities toward my success. Literally, I could not have come this far without your continual generosity, kindness, love and advice from afar. I have no regrets about this journey and look forward to sharing my fresh skills with a new organization and community.

Because ticket fares are set to drastically increase after this coming week and flights only operate out of here a couple days each week, I’ll be leaving Liberia on Monday (in 2 days) at 4am to return to the States. I’ll be regrouping with friends and family for a bit and will be pursuing non-profit job possibilities in the metro Detroit area. Thanks again for tuning in folks, I hope to see many of you in the coming weeks.

The world is your oyster!

(I will post sometime next week once I’ve gotten my footing so y’all will know I’m safe and sound!)

I'm no poet

but here’s what I know...

My Africa

A continent rich in tradition
culture overflowing
roots of all ancestry
Cities now developing
but still budding is the industry
The world’s eyes are trained to Africa
Nations’ aid goes out to Africa
Everyone expects much more of Africa

We hear of orphans bloating in Africa
of poverty prevailing in Africa
of AIDS killing in Africa
Missionaries descending in Africa
Revolutions uprising in Africa
Women still victimized in Africa
We know the faces from the television
We know the stories from sidewalk crusaders

Always ‘over there’
Always ‘those people’
All too often placing blame
lacking responsibility for humanity
Typically a mere handout
Not nearly enough of a hand up
Sustainable development requires listening
Altering the pattern demands engagement.

In My Africa
West Africa
with broad noses
planted square on faces
and eyes set dark
full of stories known and forgotten
the past riddled with civil wars
a shell of the land it once was

My Africa
Land of Liberty
where money divides
down a line ancestry started
where the rich get richer
and everyone dreams of America
while rice is life
plentiful fruits spoil for price

My Africa
Republic of Liberia
with its Atlantic breezes
rubber trees lean from the force
women dance, oh they dance
their legs flying fast
kids chasing past
in cloths that never did fit

My Africa
a glory land
where God is praised
for all success
and prayers are shared
with wishes for prosperity
a new year rising
hopes for restoration

My Africa
Mama Afreeka
with sharp sun
beating down
there’s work to be done
much togetherness can accomplish
privilege to be wielded
for the betterment of another life.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

adaptability

My neighbor friend Florence complimented me the other day. She told me: ‘’If you go into the Interior, to the rural areas, it will not be easy for them to witch you’’. I was initially perplexed by this statement, but in essence she was telling me that I’m humble. She explained that sometimes (not only white) people go to places and act better than the locals and that if you do that in Liberia when in the Interior where villages are more traditional they will want to witch you (i.e. when they cook for you they will kill you by poisoning you with witchcraft). She’s been noting how I’m not afraid to try whatever food is being served, sit on the floor if the chairs are all taken, share a spoon to taste some food, pick up the babies even when they’re all dirty, etc. Basically, I’m proving myself as culturally adaptable and go with the flow! She said she really enjoys these things about me and that she thinks it is ‘very fine’ that I am so humble and non-demanding.

I truly believe that the only way to experience different cultures is by jumping in. I studied travel and tourism during university and I remember in one of my very first intro. courses the professor explained that the difference between being a tourist and a traveller lies in your decision to submerge yourself in your destination. By aiming to ‘blend in’ (this can be tricky when race differences are obvious but still accomplishable because it’s all about your attitude and ability to assimilate to the cultural norms) you are taking a risk that things may not be within your comfort zone nor what you’re used to in your daily life. But assimilating to the culture is the only way to really ‘get it’! I love being a traveller because of the immense opportunities to learn and grow and take on adventures. And it’s rewarding to know that my intentional efforts to ‘be Liberian’ are being noticed and appreciated.

In other ‘witch’ news: Nelly has ruled out the most recent possibility of a room for her to move into because she heard from her friend/friend’s mom that there’s witchcraft in the house. There’s nothing more I can even say about that!

Monday, February 4, 2008

my 5 Liberian food groups

So I had to revamp my diet after my trip to JFK because I was tired of being sick all the time! Unfortunately that meant that for the most part I’ve had to cut out eating African soups and meat and fish from street vendors. With the new consumption plan I’ve been feeling great! My intestinal distress has been minimized and I think my general health is better. Below you’ll find the intimate details of what my diet consists of...there’s not all of this variety in one week and for the most part I eat the same things all the time!

Things that are white: 4-6 servings per day
rice, popcorn, roasted cassava, eggs, raw oats, bread, pasta, powdered milk, potatoes, pancakes

Fruit: 2-3 servings per day
bananas, plantains, oranges, grapefruit, raisins, pineapple

Peanut: 1-2 servings per day
peanut butter, peanut candy, peanuts (salted or non)

Things that come from a can: expensive so not often!
tomato paste (made into sp. sauce), tuna, baked beans, chick peas (made into hummus)

Misc. processed food treats: sparingly – no real nutritional value
off-brand cereal, cookies and chocolate treats made in Turkey

There have inevitably been a few random ‘American splurges’ such as Poptarts and Pringles but these goodies tend to be over-priced and usually have some odd ‘I’ve been shipped long distances’ taste to them. I’ve also discovered this tasty Lebanese baked good that has a date-filling (I think! Haha) that they sell at the fancy Americana super market. Since ovens are scarce, baked goods are hard to come by and I get really excited when I stumble on something that’s not deep-fried!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

and one last time!

So he came this morning, but of course the time when I get up at 8am on a Saturday to deal with my unfortunately crazy plumber he doesn’t show up until 9am! He put in the new drain, and I’ll be damned - it looks exactly the same size as the old one that he claimed was too small and causing the small dripping leak! Who knows at this point! He finished ‘fixing’ things and for whatever reason my security guard didn’t come with him so you know what that means: I had to pay the plumber AGAIN! He still tried to insist that I agreed to pay him 100 or 150 but I handed him 75 Liberty and told him to never come to my home again asking for more money and that I will send for him if my kitchen sink or toilet stop working and he will come fix them for free.


He didn’t have his hard hat today...maybe he forgot it at the bar!

Friday, February 1, 2008

RETURN of the Plumber

Thursday morning he came back, yes he was wearing the hard hat again (but the chin-strap was not secured this time!). He asked how the commode was and I expressed some concerns which he quickly brushed off with ‘everything is fine. It’s very good.’. Then he starts talking about his wife, having a baby or something yesterday and needing blood for $5US and how he was like ‘I’ll go ask my sister’ (this is me). So he continues about how much money he needs and how the money I paid him yesterday was good but he needs a bit more and could I please help him. I’m explaining to him politely that I can’t do that and trying to usher him out of my house. He quickly asks about the kitchen sink and tells me to put some water in to show him if it drains correctly. Out of habit I follow his instructions and dump some water in and he’s dismayed by how it drains so slowly. So before I know what’s happening he’s climbed under my sink and is taking pieces apart and removing pipes. Post-cleaning and a very long re-installation process (did I mention yet that he smells distinctly like he’s enjoyed too much Club Beer for it being 9am on a Thursday!?) he continues demanding that I pay him. I say, the pipes are dripping, there’s a leak. He ‘fixes’ the leaks, says ‘it’s fine, I do good job, very technical work’. I finally hand him $20Liberty (yes, this is small and basically insulting. But don’t come into my home and start ‘fixing’ things without asking!). Needless to say the pipes were leaking that evening so I had to ask my security guard to send the plumber back Friday morning to fix what he broke!

Today he made a total mess of my kitchen. I had to pay $75L right away so he could go buy cement to ‘fix’ the leak. He also says I have to pay him like $150L for his work. I said no way! He argues loudly, I explain myself louder: you can’t come to my house, breaks things and then demand that I pay you to fix what was fine before you touched it! I tell him I will not give him 150 or even 100. I will give him ‘small small’. Then he comes back with the cement, creates the mess and can’t seem to fix it (mind you I’ve returned to my bed, I figured it was the safest place to be!). So next thing I know he tells me that the drain in my sink is spoiled and that’s why the leak is happening (earlier the leak was because he’d removed all the gunk clogging my drain so that now the water was free and leaking?!). So he needs $125 to buy a new drain. I send him with the money. He returned an hour or more later without the new drain and explained they didn’t sell it here. That he needed $20L for transport to get the part. He says he’ll come back tomorrow morning to fix it. I tell him he will come back today and finish fixing it because I want to use my sink! He says he will be back, but he has to go take bath before he buys the part because he can’t take car all dirty with cement.

It’s 9:30pm, he hasn’t come back. My dishes are unwashed. There’s cement everywhere because I refuse to clean it up twice. My security guard says that the plumber did get the part but it was late so he’s coming in the morning for finish the job. I explained the whole situation and he said I don’t have to pay the plumber again tomorrow and that he will come in the morning with the plumber and make sure it’s all taken care of for no extra cost. This delights me (my colleagues had rationalized that I should just pay him $75L since it’s half what he’s asking) because the $20US for the toilet I had anticipated and was budgeting for, but this extra $240L I’ve paid to fix my perfectly fine (although slow draining) kitchen sink is killing me! Not to mention, I’m tired of the semi-creepy, very argumentative drunkard of a plumber coming to my house during the early hours of the morning! Today I was having a really weird dream and he interrupted it (now I will never find out what the tattoo on that guy’s leg meant)!