Arrival

June 9th, 2006, 3:05pm Liberia

Imagine my surprise. I was on the last leg of my flight, from Senegal
to Monrovia, trying to catch a little shut eye, when I looked up, and
there was the President, Madame Sirleaf-Johnson. She was on my
flight, and took a walk around the plane to say hello to the people.
My impression was that she seemed very caring and genuine. Also on my
flight, half a plane full of Swedish UN soldiers. The one I sat next
too, not so chatty, and didn’t say one word to me. Maybe he was tired
too.
As I walked off the plane the warmth and humidity hit me. It was
raining lightly as I walked into the airport. The airport is smaller
I think than the one in Nanaimo....jammed packed with all the people
from the Boeing 747...all jostling and trying to get their luggage
from the one conveyer belt. Amazingly within about 10 minutes I had
gotten my luggage and gone through customs and baggage check...they
didn’t even open my bags. I got outside...no James or Kathleen. I
wandered down the way, I had met a girl on the flight, and she stuck
with me and got her driver toput my bags in their vehical so as I
would not be hastled by all the people milling around. About 10
minutes later James and all the kids showed up. Driving down the road
many things are familiar. The lush green country side with palm
trees, dirt roads veering off the highway, little gas stations, where
they sell gas out of glass jars, people walking down the highway
waiting for taxi, taxis with odd sayings on them. You can tell that
things here are changing though, lots of construction going on as
people are moving back into the country, even the airport with its
crush of people seemed more organized. I have my passport stamped for
15 days before I have to report to the immigration office, despite
the fact that I have a one-year visa from the embassy in Washington DC.
When I got to the house, Kathleen was here to greet us, she had just
gotten home from teaching her literacy class. The kids painted me a
welcome sign, and then of course I had to meet all the animals, the 4
goats, countless chickens (maybe 20), their new kitten who appears to
be half-starved, their old cat Whiskers and new pet monkey that was a
gift, and two dogs. Let me tell you, I was not too pleased about the
rooster who jolted me out of my sleep this morning at 3:50 am....what
a time to wake up.
Joy and I (my 10 year old neice) share a bed. The kitten slept in our
room and was making weird noises this morning, it sounded like it was
hissing so I lay there in the dark imagining that some creature had
got into the bedroom, like a snake. I tried to find the flashlight
several times without any luck, and then tried using my indiglo watch
to see what the noise was all about. Eventually at about 5, I woke
Joy up to find the flashlight, I think the kitten was just lonely and
needed some TLC. Right now Kathleen is at class teaching again, James
is outside working on a carpentry project, and I am trying to stay
awake so that I can sleep tonight. I still find it hard to believe I
will be here for the next six and a half months, I am curious to see
what the time will bring.