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Monday, February 27, 1978, 3:00 pm, Day 762
I spent last night in Yengema also. Yesterday, I got to have a taste of the good life. At about 4 o'clock I went with Brian, and Irish contract teacher in Yengema, over to the NDMC compound, to the Yengema club. This is right next to the golf course which we went to that other time. This time we went to the swimming pool. That's right! This was the first swimming pool that I have seen in over two years now. It looked to be about 30 feet wide and 60 feet long or so, and was even equipped with a genuine diving board. There were two big inner tubes sitting in the pool, which I quickly hopped upon. It was much nicer to just float around the pool than to try swimming. Swimming just gets me tired. The pool area was also complete with dressing rooms, a shower, and a toilet. Near by was a lawn bowling area, a squash court, and then even a swing set. The place was deserted, so we had the pool to ourselves.
That evening we then went to the movie. This was also on the NDMC compound, and it didn't cost us a thing. We had a taste of that upper class luxury.
This morning I came back to Koidu and stopped in at the Paramount chief's house. He wasn't there, and they say that he is still up in Kamiendor. I was expecting to find him here though, as we have to arrange for the hiring of another tipper to go to Kamiendor. Now that has to be delayed. I'll be staying at his house tonight, hoping that he will come today, but I will go back to Kamiendor tomorrow anyway.
I bought new pans, cup and spoon, to go for my new cooking arrangement. The old ones were promised to Sia Kundi a long time ago, and I wasn't going to break my promise.
On my way down last Saturday, I was thinking that I wouldn't mind taking Sia Kundi back if Kabba wasn't there. With Kabba there, Sia Kundi couldn't be herself because she is afraid of him. I was thinking that if the subject came up, I would tell Sia Kundi that if she was able to break up with Kabba, then I would take her. If not, then I couldn't want her.
Wednesday, March 1, 1978, 10:00 pm, Day 764
I hit a bit of a snag in my new cooking arrangement today. Pa Lamin, whom I had arranged with last week, was not in town today or yesterday. Yesterday, I talked to some of his wives, telling them about the arrangement, so they cooked for me. Today though, they only did it as an after-thought, saying that Pa Lamin had not informed them of the arrangement.
Pa Lamin returned this evening. When I mentioned the cooking arrangement to him, he acted like it was the first time that he had ever heard of it. Then, worse yet, it seemed doubtful that he would accept the arrangement. He started carrying on about that the last time he agreed to such an arrangement, the man stole his wife away. He didn't seem willing to make such an arrangement again. He told me that he would consider it, and give me his answer later this evening.
That was all I needed! I started having thoughts about there not being anyone in Kamiendor willing to do anything for me. I then thought that if that was to be the case, then I would just pick up everything and move to Freetown. I would then just finish off my designs and go home to America. Kamiendor would be left to manage without me, and so it would be doubtful that the work here would be able to continue. There would be a big delay due to the gap that I would leave, and the delay might prove to be infinite.
I certainly wouldn't want to feel that I had to do this, but if things really got bad for me here, that would always be one of my options, like it or not.
Luckily though, Pa Lamin finally came around to deciding in my favor. Tenatively, the pay is to be 1.00 leone per day, but Pa Lamin wants to look at the arrangement over the next few days to see if there are any problems occuring, and also to see if the 1.00 leone looks sufficient for everything involved. I think that I would be willing to go as high as 1.50 leones if need be, because they will be cooking two times per day, and not the one time per day that Sia Kundi did. Two times per day is worth more money.
Yesterday morning when I came back up to Kamiendor, I passed the bulldozer on the road just before Kainkordu. It had already went some that morning, but when I passed, it was stopped and the people were up looking at it. Today, when Pa Lamin came, he also passed the bulldozer. I asked him about it, and he said that it didn't work today, and that it was sitting in the same place that I saw it. When I saw it, it had gone 8 miles in 20 days. It still has 24 miles to go to reach Kamiendor. It can make it this dry season if it doesn't break down. The trouble is that the bulldozer seems to have broken down. All today and yesterday it hasn't been working. I hope it doesn't take too long to get it running again.
Work on the Kamiendor hill road is coming along slowly but surely. We had people out bush clearing on it again today. Some places are cleared about 60 feet wide now, so one is able to get a good lay of the land, and know just what he's getting into. I was putting gradeline pegs in today, but the ends didn't match up, so I'll have to adjust them next time. All of this next section looks real good. The first section was all through the steepest, rockiest terrain, but this part now is on a gentle side slope, and the rocks aren't plenty. My goal is to get the footpath in correctly all of the way through. That would be good, not only for my motorcycle, but also so anyone could easily look at it and see that it would be possible to construct a good road there.
I am sure that this footpath will also be quicker and easier for the people that are walking, but I also don't think that very many people will be willing to use it. The people here have this idea that shorter distance means quicker, easier, even though that isn't always the case when steep grades are concerned. A person can walk up the same vertical distance quicker on a gentle grade than he can on a steep grade. I haven't actually run tests to determine which gradient is the most optimum, but I think that it is somewhere around 20% for walking. This is what my well-access footpath is, and it seems to be about optimum.
With the question about which is faster; the old road (30%) or the new road (15%), my guess is that the new road will win out. Walking downhill, they might be about the same time, but walking uphill, especially with a load, I would take the new road any day, because it is much faster. The people here though, I don't think will believe it, even when I show them that it is really true.
With the present water source, there are still those die-hard people that use the old route. I have found though, that most of the kids are using my footpath. Therefore, there is at least hope for the future generation, even though they sometimes look hopeless for this present generation.
Note: The first motor car arrived in Kamiendor in 1961, only 17 years ago.
Thursday, March 2, 1978, 9:00 pm, Day 765
Today was a pretty good day for me. It was Market Day, and so on my way out of town, I noticed that they were just finishing cooking at the shop. I stopped off for a few minutes and they gave me my own. I tell you, getting belly full before you go to Market is a different sensation. Usually, I am just about continuously eating there, but today I was satisfied. I didn't hardly eat at all there. I didn't eat any rice or bread or beans, and I only had about 6 or 7 oranges, and those I only drank. I didn't eat the insides of them.
I gave alot of my ladies money today. I must have given money to about ten of them, but it totaled out to just 2.00 leones so I could afford it. Sia Kundi and Kabba came to the market also. We are still on greeting terms, but we don't attempt to go any further than that. That is just as well, as I am through with them, and don't plan on trying to go back to the way things were before. Like, at one point today, I was sitting there when Sia Kundi was walking by. I noticed that she was giving me quick glances, so I just kept my eyes on her, and then the next time that she looked my way, I gave her my famous smile. That did the trick. Immediately she changed course and came over to me. I offered her a seat next to me, and she sat down for awhile. I told her that I wanted to find a woman and get married.
That is a whole other story in itself. Last night, while I was lying in bed, I got to thinking. I started thinking about marriage. I've thought about it often before, but this time it was different. Before, it was always that I would only get married if the woman would be able to fit in to my life when we go back to America. Taking her back to America had always been a part of it. This is where last night comes in. It was then that I first convinced myself that I could get married to a woman here, while having the full intensions of leaving her here when I leave. I would just make that point clear at the beginning, and then there would be no problem. When I left, I would then just leave her enough so that she will be well off, making the whole arrangement worth her while.
I had one woman picked out last night, but I didn't see her today. Her name is Sia Koradu. She used to live in Kamiendor long ago, but then her husband said that he didn't want her any more, so he sent her back to her family. I saw her for the first time again this last Tuesday, while I was coming on my motorcycle. She was at a small village about 10 miles before Kamiendor. She said that she was coming to the market today, but she never made it. I was planning to ask her today when I saw her. I was going to ask her if she had a man at present, and if not, then would she want me to marry her. Then, if her answer was yes, then I would be all set.
Sia Koradu is sort of simple minded, and definately not the type that would fit in back in America. But she would be good for meeting my needs during my stay here in the Bush. If everything goes as planned, I still have another 1 1/2 years or so to go in this country. That is long enough to make the purchase of a wife worthwhile. The way that things have been going lately, I don't know if I will be able to stay here that long if I didn't get married. This unmarried life can be awfully frustrating at times. With a wife on hand, it would take alot of the frustration and worry out of my day to day existance, and so leave me better able to carry on a normal life.
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