In Which I Walk up the Street

Day 2/56:

Today went well.

I really had a hard time sleeping last night, I'm still adjusting to the new timezone. I got up early and watched Prisoners. I never realized what an all star cast is in that movie. Paul Dano's face should have it's own Oscar category.

I honestly spent most of the day just trying to stay awake. In the afternoon I asked the housekeeper, Vicki, if she would show me around the neighborhood. We took a walk down the street and looked through some of the stalls that were on the roadside.

Vicki is very nice. She is constantly checking on me and making sure I have everything I need. It's funny, actually, I have a big metal door that I shut at night and as soon as I open it in the morning Vicky and Jack, the security guy, come running down to check on me.

Well, now I have to confess something. I don't have any pictures of our walk because I didn't bring my camera. I didn't bring my camera because I learned that, not through any fault of their own, another intern was robbed last week. I don't want to write off the whole country of Liberia, I know that the majority of them are kind, big-hearted people. But I also have to face the reality that I stand out here and It's possible I could be targeted because of that. So, I've decided to be a little more cautious from here on out.

So I figured my first time down the street, I'll just leave everything of value at home and see what it's like outside my little compound (pictures of that will be forthcoming, the art is outstanding). We walked down the road a bit. Vicki pointed out all of the local party places and good food places. It's not much of a neighborhood though. Eagle's landing borders a very busy road near the junction to the airport so it's really just a lot of cars speeding by. At the junction there are some places to eat and drink as well as catch a taxi or motorcycle taxi. There's also a few car washes and by car wash I mean some dudes standing around with buckets and sponges. Looks like hot work.

The highlight of the excursion was when we stopped to watch a football (soccer) game. The field really was a sight to behold. There was no grass, it was more of an empty lot than anything else. There was a fair amount of trash on the field, it was crisscrossed with furrows caused by the drainage from the recent rain, and there was a water pump in one corner of the field. On the same side as the pump the field was bordered by a by a short concrete wall and building that served as an out of bounds line and spectator stands. Whenever a ball touched the wall, it was considered out and one of the players would grab the ball, clamber up onto the foundation of the building and throw the ball in. The most egregious part was that the field had a very obvious slant towards one of the goals which seemed, to me at least, a bit unfair.

The game itself was quite good. Both teams played hard and when we left the team playing uphill was actually winning 2-1. I learned that this was an inter-school game for two local high schools. There were no coaches that I could see but one team had substitutes. The referee appeared to be a volunteer, he stood on one side of the field and judged all the out of bounds calls and free kicks from where he stood, he must have had the vision eagle or at least a squirrel with tiny binoculars. At one point he did walk to the middle of the field to see the game more clearly and at the same time unwrapped a piece of candy then dropped the wrapper in the middle of the field. One short side of the field was bordered by a turnout from a busy road and twice the game had to be stopped so a car could drive through. The game also stopped for a motorcycle and a few times when the ball bounced into the road.

If what I saw today is any indication of how football is approached in other African countries, I can see why so many good football players come out of Africa. The conditions of the field were terrible. The players did their best to maneuver around them but even just watching I could see they were having a difficult time. I give them all the credit in the world though. Their field was terrible and there wasn't anyone really supervising the game but the kids really did try their hardest. It was an excellent display of sportsmanship and perseverance.

Liberia is an interesting place so far. Stay tuned for my first day of work.