Quick Trip to Town

August 7, 2006

So today I spend my morning doing some paper work. Yipee. I was so hungry by 12:45 I was having a hard time thinking straight, so I was very happy to have lunch at 1:30. We had cassava leaf with rice, without red oil much to the dismay of the children (what no red oil they ask, and Joy is off to the pantry for the red oil) You have to understand that cassava leaf is quite dry without the red palm oil. Anyhow. At lunch Kathleen asked if I would like to go with her to the Ministry of Finance in the afternoon. Oh, another trip to some government office. Yippee ki aye. I said I would go if she thought I would help. Perhaps I could smile sweetly at the government man. I suggested perhaps she should take William who is quite good at this sort of thing. We are trying to get the Duty Free status to clear our container. Anyhow. We head out for town. First stop, Fed Ex building. Yesterday Onesimus broke the antennae on Kathleens car. It is one of the ones that goes up and down when you start the vehical. Now it is broken, it has fallen over and drags beside the car. When we stop, a man tells me, the antenna is broken. I know I say. Before I know it, several men are surrounding the anntenna and trying to fix it. I jum out to protect the antenna from the well meaning strange men, who just want to help fix it. I jam it back in its hole. An old beggar man tells me, “your a mechanic now” and as I get back in the car, he is saying “bye mechanic, bye mechanic”. I tell Kathleen how I love it here that when you break down, there is always so much help, everyone wants to give you advice etc. When ever I break down in Canada, I could be on the side of the road for hours with no gallent men to come to my aid.
We continue on to the Minsitry of Finance. We have to show ID to get in. We go in, do our business, and leave with no major problems. We get to the car. We have a flat tire. Completely. Not just a little. Kathleen gets out one of those air compresser dealys that you plug into the cigarette lighter. I am on the ground attaching the hose, and feel the air and hear the horns of vehicals passing very closely. Kathleen is concerned that I will get run over. She would get in trouble for that, letting her little sister get hit by a taxi. So, there she is down there, fiddling with the thing. I think, she is just as likely to get hit as I am. Oh well. I sort of giggle to myself, becuase Kathleen’s blue underwear are peaking out from her nice african dress. There is a group of young men standing and watching the whole process. I think to myself, she has just made their day, they saw some white woman trying to fix her bust tire, and her underwear was showing. There is a fairly steady leak. I suggest we fill the tire, then move to a location nearby that we can change the tire safely without fear of being hit. This is what we do. We pull over on UN Drive, between a no parking zone and right in front of where they are putting in a new electrical pole (apparently they don’t have telephone poles here, no land lines, just cell phones). I get out to get the spare tire from the trunk. A young man comes to help me. Then we realize, we have no tools. Kathleen phones James and he says he will come and bring the tools with him. We are saved. Now we can sit back and relax. Just then I notice that they are going to install the pole. No big machinery though to lift it into place. Nope, there are 10 men, all working together to lift the pole, place the end in the hole and heave it into position. I am amazed. I take out my camera for this opportune moment. A crowd gathers to watch. It is a heavy pole...the men are working very hard to get it into place. Cars and people continue to travel underneath the pole, when with one slip it could fall and crush someone. It takes about 20 or 25 minutes to get the pole in place. It is facinating to watch. They have put in 360 large poles so far and 460 smaller poles. You can see why it is going to take a long time to bring power to all of Monrovia, when the machines are mere men. After that, a boy from Mali comes by selling belts. I have been using Joshuas, so I decide to buy one. You stay in one spot long enouigh and you can buy almost anything. Towels, clothes, toiletries, peanuts, pirated cds and dvds. I stick with my belt. While we wait for James we watch the people go by. The sun is starting to go down, and every where is bright with the setting sun. I am glad I came for the quick trip. It has been a lot of fun for me. Perhaps not too productive, but seeing a electrical pole installed by a bunch of men, well worth the trip.