Joni's Journals

Chapter III

Hi,

I am back. Sorry I didn't get to write you from the field but email was not readily available.

I finished my day in Ghana with a concert at the beach outside of my hotel. While I didn't stay long, it was a good way to experience some of the local culture. Accra is a modern city where English and French are spoken. The population runs in the millions and some of the issues they are struggling with include waste disposal and the Westernization of their culture.

On my way to Monrovia, I read several Washington Post articles that were pretty frightening. I thought to myself, "what am I getting into?" As we were landing, I saw military personnel everywhere. There was even a red carpet and military band. I thought perhaps someone famous was on our flight, but that was not to be (no ceremonial welcome for us!). The new President was expected to arrive shortly after we did so that's what all the hoopla was about.

It was raining and cars lined the runway. People were just walking out on the tarmac to meet the plane. The arrival hall was small with no signage, crowded and hot. We had been warned to be careful of scams, people posing as customs agents, wanting a fee for assistance. Of course, as soon as we walk in the door, we are approached and asked for our papers. What could we do but hand them over? We tried to follow the woman around the room so we wouldn't lose sight of her and our documents but we weren't always successful. Thoughts of lost documents and detention danced through our heads. Turns out she was legit and had been pressed into service by our hosts. Was I ever glad to hear that.

After collecting our luggage and meeting our hosts we were on our way. Monrovia is about 45 minutes from the airport and the landscape was beautiful, green and lush. It rains 200 inches a year and we were hoping that it wouldn't rain the entire time we were there.

The compound where we were staying was right on the ocean but we couldn't get to the beach. The trail was piled high with garbage and I had no desire to try to work my way around it.

On the whole, the compound was nice. It was enclosed by an eight-foot high concrete wall topped with broken glass. Additionally, there were nine security guards on staff. There were numerous homes inside including a four bedroom, two-bath guesthouse we had to ourselves. We also had a cook/housekeeper and a car and driver. It sounds really impressive and it was, considering the state of the country.

The power has been knocked out since 1990 and this compound was run by generator, which had broken down earlier this summer. That first night we did everything by candlelight, with the promise that a generator would be brought in the next day. There was no running water so we had to take elephant baths daily and the toilets had to be flushed manually. The well, located on the property, is analyzed and treated weekly. Needless to say one of the first stops we made was at the supermarket to purchase candles and bottled water.

I brought back-up food just in case I didn't like the food but if lunch was an indication of what was to come, I'd have no problems. We stopped at Sam's Bar-be-que and had what I would call jambalaya but they had a different name for it. Don't ask me because I don't know. While the official language is English, it is very difficult to understand, especially if they are talking fast. There is a tendency to drop the last syllable or letter and the pronunciation is different. It takes a while to get used to.

The rain finally stopped. We used our first day to plan out the rest of the week and to get organized.