Back in Town

I have so many posts in my mind filtering themselves into something I am happy to put on-line. What is hard is writing something that I think does the relevant story justice in the time I have to write. I want to make things real for you kids who feel like reading, to paint a picture that finds the reality between the romantic and the dull. So for now I will let them simmer away and get back to you.

So this is just a little update post to say that I am in Freetown for a few days. I came to say goodbye to Stuart (Who everyone thought was called George. "My name is Stuart." "George?" So we got him an African name - Pinday. He jumps while his brother runs...) and Dustin (American visitor more commonly known as Dunsten). I'll be here until I can arrange a ride back to Banta. I thought having Pinday here would be strange but it was actually the most natural thing in the world. The time was just too short and the goodbye was a farce of trying to hug whilst running because the ferry was pulling away... And so I am yet again the only white boy around though I do sometimes see other white folks cruise around the city in their huge four wheel drive air conditioned beasts...jealousy is dreadful.

The small world we live in has been a theme for the last while. A couple that visited our project a week or so ago turned out to be good friends with my future sister-in-laws parents as well as the head of my intern programme in London. Then in Freetown Quami, our host for a day or two, showed us some pictures of a visit he took to Malawi two years ago and this Irishman picked out a picture of his Sierra Leonean friend which also included the smiling face of another friend from Seattle. The following morning my little brother woke up to the sound of a preacher from Northern Ireland blaring out from the CD player.

Ireland. America. Malawi. Sierra Leone. England. Add a Denzel Washigton movie marathon (If someone tries to persuade you to rent Out of Time with the argument, "Come on, it's Denzel! When does he make a bad film?" Let me just say, "You would be surprised..") into the mix and you're in for a pretty surreal weekend...