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Sunday, February 29, 1976, 11:00 pm - Day 33
I felt pretty good today. For the last few days I have had the shits and it was all coming out fluid with no solid substance at all. I was beginning to think that I had amoebas or something, but today everything dried up on its own, so I seem to be over whatever it was.
We came to Freetown yesterday and will be leaving for Daru on Monday. we are staying at the CARE resthouse here and so have been able to get to know some of the other volunteers better. Yesterday night we went down to the Atlantic Club on Lumbley Beach and stayed until 3:00 am this morning. there were quite a few volunteers there. The Atlantic Club seems to be a hangout for all of the white people staying in Freetown, because just about the only black people there were the waiters. Quite a few of the people were Lebanese, who are Sierra Leoneons but with white skin and I assume originally from Lebanon. They are mostly the shopkeepers and businessmen in Sierra Leone and hold alot of the wealth in the country. I don't know what the story is about their origins here in Sierra Leone, but I think I might start asking around.
Let's get back to another reason on why I felt so good today. We went to the beach today. I started out the day a little perturbed about staying at the house and not having any transportation available except for the taxis. Therefore I walked to the beach. It was a distance of 3 miles and took an hour but I loved every bit of it. It made me think of what I was missing by not getting out and using my body like I used to do before I came to Sierra Leone. Riding my bicycle in the States satisfied this urge then, but over here I don't have my bike. I will have to make a point of getting out on a regular basis for some jogging or at least walking. You are in much better, closer contact with the Sierra Leoneons around you. I had a really fine time just walking along, saying "Hello" to the people I saw.
Now, about the beach. Those in Sierra Leone are fantastic. The sand is white and squeeky clean. The water is warm and clear and the waves are nice and there is no strong undertow. Being in the water makes you feel like you are in the middle of a very big swimming pool.
Other good points about this day was that I got a chance to use my bargaining skills about 4 or 5 different times today. Sometimes we could reach a good price, but once they wouldn't drop the price and I thought that it was really too high so I didn't buy it. She wanted to sell them for 2 for 5 cents or 5 for 10 cents, while I was used to buying them for a penny each. The last good point about today was dinner tonight. All of the people staying at this CARE house went into town to this restaurant. I had a coke and hambuger and it was really good and even filled me up.
Afterwards they got into a heavy conversation about the difference in the ways of living between America and Sierra Leone. The basic premise was that the different climates were a major cause of the differing stages of development. With the cold in America we were forced to find shelter and were always trying to make life more comfortable. While in Sierra Leone there wasn't any real need to develop because the people were happy with what they had, and didn't find any reason to want to change. I think there might be some truth to this.
Monday, March 1, 1976, 6:00 pm - Day 34
Today we took our oath of allegince to the United States and to the Peace Corps. We did it at the embassy and Ambassador Samuels performed it. I guess this means that my termination date would be March 1, 1978. Afterwards we were given "Standards for Civil Engineers", which is a book about 3 inches thick. I also recieved my settling-in allowance of Le178 and my first month's pay of Le173, which makes me a very rich man for awhile, with over Le350 in my pocket.
We traveled back up to Bo today and will be staying at the CARE resthouse there until about Wednesday, while we do some more shopping.
Tuesday, March 2, 1976, 11:00 pm - Day 35
Alot of today was filled with shopping. we went out and bought about Le120s worth of pots and plates and other kitchen things. That's not really that much after you divide it 4 ways. All of my speaking was coming out automatically in Krio today and I really felt comfortable speaking it. I also met a missionary today that reminded me alot of Mrs.Goulter. She looked like her and seemed to be as friendly, even though I was only able to talk to her for a few seconds. I don't know anything else about her and I might not ever run into her again because I am leaving for Daru tomorrow. The first thing I want to do after I get there and put the things in the house is to check out all of the stores around and see what we can buy and what we can't. We still need buckets and headpans and a broom. We also need a counter and shelves put into the kitchen and closets built in the bedrooms.
Wednesday, march 3, 1976, 9:00 pm - Day 36
We came up to Daru today. The house was in the process of being cleaned and it is still a bit dirty, but it is alot better than it was. There is some furniture also in the house now. each bedroom has a queen-size bed and a dresser with space for a mirror which is supposed to be on the way. Also, there is a large eating table with 6 chairs and a coffee table with 4 end tables and 6 cushion chairs. We also have a kerosene refrigerator and a gas stove, both of which are none too big. We are supposed to figure out what kinds of things we need in the way of shelves so that the carpenters can build them.
Friday, March 5, 1976, 9:00 am - Day 38
I feel exhausted. There are so many things that need to be arranged or gotten and I have been worrying about them all. One thing has been the question of water supply for the house. We have two options for that. One is to dig a well and the other is to haul water from the river. I looked at 3 wells so far. One is next door and is 20 feet deep and dry. The other two are over in town farther away and are both about 30 feet down to water. Therefore, our proposal here would be to dig the well next door another 10 to 15 feet deeper and then it could be used by both us and them. They are all for it, and so what we need to do is find a well-digger whom we could pay to dig the well. Our other option of bringing the water from the river is what we have to use at the present. The river is 800 feet away and we hire boys to bring water.
Another problem has been with the stove. It is a gas stove with the gas coming from a tank. The problem was that the pressure-reducing valve that we had was made for a different type of tank. We had to travel an hour each way to Kenema to buy a new valve and also to get some rubber tubing to connect between the tank and the stove.
Another problem was with the refrigerator. We are able to get kerosene here in Daru so that is no problem. But we have the wick lit and everything seems to be okay, but the refrigerator doesn't seem to be getting cold inside.
The last problem is the food availability. We can't get everything we need in Daru and so for the rest we will have to go to Segwema, about 10 miles away, and possibly to Kenema, about 40 miles away. Also, being able to find something, even when you know the town has it, can be tiresome because the stores are nothing like we have in the States. Stores are alot smaller and it is hard to find everything you need all in one place. This makes for alot of running around from store to store trying to find what you need.
Yesterday I spent about 45 minutes at the bakery, watching the man bake bread. It was really fasinating and really different than home. The oven was made out of earth, with the walls about 1 to 2 feet thick, with about 10 to 15 square feet of space for baking. The oven was about 5 feet high and about 8 feet across. the man would sit in front of the opening with a long stick with a paddle on the end, continuously putting in dough, pulling out bread, or turning it over half way through. He said he bakes bread each day, and I think he supplies all of Daru. He bakes 4 types - 3 for 5 cents each, and 1 for 10 cents each, depending on the amount of dough he uses.
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