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Tuesday, March 14, 1978, 10:00 pm, Day 777
I was at the City Hotel today. both Modu and Alice were there. Every time Modu sees my journal with me, she lets me know that she thinks all Peace Corps are spies, that we are here just to spy on them, and send it back to the government in America. So therefore, I let them read what I had written in my journal. I showed them all of the parts concerning Fatu, Diana, Omar Kayhams, and the other things. Alice read out loud to both Modu and me. She got a kick out of the part where Tom and I went together to OKs, because Alice was there, and I had mentioned Alice in the account. On the part where Diana went to bed with Fatu and me, they thought that Diana did bad, that she should have let us be alone. I was a bit worried when they were reading the part about the room at the house where alot of the girls were staying. I was worried that they might take offense at that, but they agreed that everything I wrote was true, and it wasn't their house anyway.
This afternoon, we left the City Hotel, and walked together the few blocks over to Alice's house. Alice made me come in for an inspection tour of the premises, showing me that all of the lights worked, and that the place was clean and everything. The place wasn't bad at all. Modu asked me not to mention her, so I won't.
Thursday, March 16, 1978, 11:00 am, Day 779
The Yarya water system design is just about finished. All that is left is to draw up the plans when I go back up country. Yarya has taken precidence over Jagbwema now because 1) political pressure is on to get Yarya completed, and 2) I have found that Jagbwema will be almost impossible to construct in just this next year. Yarya, on the other hand, could very easily be finished this next year. Therefore, I have decided that I want Yarya for myself, and that I will leave Jagbwema to a new volunteer, who will have two full years to devote to it.
Just today, the final write-up has gone out to all of the big men concerned, showing all the materials that are required and giving the cost breakdown, how much money is needed and where it will be used, and where the money will be coming from.
Kamiendor project is currently stuck on a snag, and Mr.Dainkeh is slowly trying to unhook it. The problem right now is that the Minister of Energy and Power is unwilling to sign for the purchase of 5000 leones worth of materials until he has an estimate from another dealer. I thought that was all done long ago. Madina and Gbinti, the other two projects, both got their materials from the Ministry, but now my project gets stuck. Mr.Dainkeh has now gotten the other estimate, so hopefully the Minister should be signing before too much longer. Until he does, we can't get any more materials to go to Kamiendor.
The main purpose of my visit down to Freetown this time was for my routine two-year Peace Corps physical examination. I came through pretty good, but not perfect. I had my teeth checked and they say I have two cavities. I'll be going back to get them filled tomorrow. Then they say that they found white blood cells in my urine. They say that means that my body is in the process of fighting off something, but I don't know what. Then finally, they say that they found hook worms in my stools. They gave me 6 pills. I am supposed to take 3 this evening after I eat, and then 3 again tomorrow evening after I eat. Supposedly that will be enough to kill them off. They say that I got the hook worms from contact with dirt, that they enter in through the skin. It's good to know that I haven't picked up anything from eating or drinking.
I am a rich man today. Peace Corps pays per diem for medical exams, and so this morning I picked up 33 leones. That is 8 leones a day for 3 days, plus 4.50 leones each way for transport. I can't complain. With that, I am able to live in the manner to which I have become accustomed.
It used to be that I was always able to save alot of money every month, always. I just couldn't begin to spend it all. Now though, things seem to have changed. I have no problem at all spending more than I make, no problem at all, especially here in Freetown. I think the biggest reason for this change is in myself. I don't really see inflation entering into it that much, even though they say that it is 30% perear. The biggest thing is that I now spend a greater portion of my time out pursueing the good life. I enjoy going out and spending time with the ladies, and then buying them beers always enters in, and so I always end up spending all of the money that I happen to have in my pocket. I just can't say "No". Like yesterday at the City Hotel, about 4 of the girls were there, and I went and volunteered to buy them a round of beers. I don't know what I can manage to do with 4 girls at the same time, but I can't help myself. Telling myself "No" just sort of cramps my style.
I can now see where inflation might be playing a bit of a part of all of this now. Much of the money that I spend goes for the purchase of beers. Two years ago, when I first came, a beer cost about 30 to 35 cents. Now they cost about 55 to 80 cents, depending on where I go. At that much per beer, and at the 3 or 4 beers per round that I average, it doesn't take long to spend more money than I make. This comes out to about 2 leones per round. as a Peace Corps volunteer, I only take in about 7 leones each day. Here in Freetown, I usually spend more than that each day. Therefore, I am happy for the 33 leones per diem.
I am planning on finding Fatu this evening so that I can reconfirm our plans of her coming back up country with me. I've got to come back down to Freetown at the end of this month, so if Fatu comes with me, then that would mean a full two weeks togheter, a week and a half of which would actually be in Kamiendor. That would be more than enough time to see how things would work out. To see if that's all that we both could handle, or to see if she would want to come back up with me again after that. That visit would definitely either make us or break us, and I am willing to take the challenge. I just hope Fatu doesn't chicken out.
So I want to find Fatu this night. I plan to go to Kono Saturday, so that would give Fatu all Friday to get ready. Then, if she still plans on going, I would want to spend Friday night with her also. That would be so that I would know where she was Saturday morning. Then on saturday, I would plan on not letting Fatu out of my sight, so as to make sure that she makes it to the bus station and onto the bus with me. If I let her get out of my sight, with the promise that she would meet me at the bus station, I could not trust Fatu to keep that promise.
If she did that, then I would just naturally assume that she wasn't going to show up. That is because that is the way that Fatu is. She is a mixed up kid, and she is "not serious", as they say here. Fatu says that she wants to get serious, and I feel that this trip will help her do that. The trouble is that it is something new to her, and so she might tend to chicken out at the last moment.
Friday, March 17, 1978, 1:00 pm, Day 780
Well, again I have to wait until later to take Fatu up to my village. I knew it wouldn't happen, as soon as I saw the poster in the Peace Corps office yesterday. It was announcing the "Bo Show", which is like a state fair. It is being held from the 22nd to the 25th of March, right smack in the middle of my planned stay in Kamiendor. Fatu wants to go to the Bo Show, so coming up to see me has to be put off until next time. Anyway, I spent last night with her, and she got to talking about the two of us going out shopping today. She said that she wanted material for a dress, and that I should get material for some trousers and shirts. I was to meet her at the City Hotel at 10:00 AM so we could then go shopping.
I showed up a few minutes after 10, but Fatu wasn't there. I didn't really expect her to come that much, but then, at about 10:30 or so, both her and Mabinti showed up in a taxi. They came upstairs to the balcony where I was sitting, and I bought them some drinks, and Fatu and I then showed Mabinti the pictures that I had.
A while later, as we were all still sitting there, we started to hear this big roaring sound. It kept getting louder and louder, and then suddenly four small planes came into view, appearing from over the roof of the City Hotel. As soon as I saw them, I knew who they were. They are an airplane acrobatic team from England that is touring West Africa. I heard that they were supposed to be coming sometime, but I didn't know when until they actually appeared. They were great. I've never seen such good flying before. Each plane had double wings, and they couldn't have been more than 30 or so feet long from tip to tip. They did everything, much of it unbelieveable. They did loops, barrel rolls, vertical climbs, and vertical dives, flying upside down, just anything and everything. They kept this up for maybe as long as an hour or so. We must have had the best seats in town. Sitting there on the balcony of the City Hotel, we were up high enough to look out over the other buildings. The whole time, the planes were flying around just above and in front of us. Everyone in the streets was standing around watching, but we could see much better than they.
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