Meep, meep!

One full day in Monrovia. It's 7:30PM, and I'm sitting down to a tall Amstel in a can that I bought in a grocery store today, with my boss, Precious. She graciously took me to two grocery stores, a small fruit market, and then to lunch. Mustafa was our driver; I don't think Precious drives - there are legions of motorbikes, 3-wheeled "vans," and lots of traffic. The motorbikes signal their existence constantly: meep, meep! meep, meep! (yes, if you are hearing the Roadrunner cartoon character in your head, you are spot on.)

The main drag in Monrovia is Tubman road, named for former president William Tubman. We met Winston Tubman, a grandson of his, in the grocery store - where Precious knew people inside, outside, and working there. She used to play soccer on a men's team; that, and her work seem to have her pretty well connected. Lunch was "dry rice," which has 4 different sauces, a fried fish, a boiled egg, and a "sausage." (The sausage was a straight up hot dog.) She said it is a very Liberian dish...though the rice wasn't actually Liberian rice, which is supposed to be delicious and which I bought at the store. It was good! And I got to watch Precious handle the (whole) fried fish so I copied everything she did - remove the head, remove the tail, lift the meat off the bones. (I was frantically hoping not to choke to death on a bone, but Precious looked pretty relaxed so, I just kept at it.)

Everything is in US dollars, though you can use Liberian dollars ("LDs") as well. The exchange rate right now is 193 Liberian dollars to $1. When we bought the fruit at a road stand, Precious confirmed the exchange rate the fruit seller was offering ("950? yeah" - 950 LDs for $5), and then we got change back in LDs. Precious said civil servants here are often paid in a combination of US$ and LDs...but also that they frequently don't get paid at all. Some things work; some things don't.

The food prices in the grocery store were kind of hilarious. The snack aisle had bags of potato chips for $2 next to a bag of corn chips for $12. No kidding! I didn't recognize the brand of the corn chips, but Precious said it was because of that. I bought natural Smucker's peanut butter for $7, not too different than in Publix. Well, I should also add that I was actually shopping in a Stop & Shop. Same logo and everything. When I bought fruit at the stand, I got 5 tangerines (they are green on the outside; I haven't peeled one open yet), 5 cucumbers, and a bunch of bananas for $2.50.

There are lots of Lebanese here. Who knew? And Chinese. Lots of Chinese.

People speak English, but among Liberians they speak "coloquois." I doubt I am spelling that correctly. But it is "colloquial English" or pidgon English. I don't understand it. Some Liberians only speak coloquois - but all the signs are in English. I can tell my apartment manager is more of a coloquois guy; we understand each other...a little bit.

I took a walk this evening, mostly to make myself do it. And I am so glad I did. Precious emphasized that I am in a neighborhood that is nice to walk in and safe during the day time. Lots of people were out. Shopping kiosks, restaurants, and bars line the streets. But it's all small scale - as in, I almost bump my head on the roof overhangs. A shop might be 10 feet wide; a bar might have 8 chairs in it. (TBH..I am guessing they are bars? They are dark with some neon lighting. They look pub-ish.) The sky - that we all share - was beautiful; wispy clouds, tinged orange. My girl loves sunsets, and I imagined her watching the sun set in Montana while I watched it set in Monrovia.

The civil wars (from 1989-2003) came up in the first 10 minutes of conversation with Victor, the person who picked me up at the airport last night, and were a dominant part of my conversation with Precious today. They really decimated the country, and, at this very early stage of my being here, seem very present. The other thing that is very present is a split between "American Liberians" (meaning those who trace their descendance to the freed enslaved people who "founded" Liberia in the late 1800s) and indigenous people here. The American Liberians are the elite; the indigenous not. The insane and devastating pattern of "othering."

I am on Key Hole road, which is off Hole Road. Key Hole also defines the neighborhood. I am in a compound of about 6 apartments; there is 24 hour security outside (which means a guy who sits in a chair or on the curb and hopefully only lets people in who live here). I can't tell yet if there is an actual address.

This post is jammed with facts, not much reflection. Skip through the boring parts. And let me know what you want to know so I can share that.

PEACE.