Fuckin A!!

So yeah, I've been piecing things together and starting to feel quite comfortable in the directions things are going.  I was going to have maybe 10 hours of nannying a week and 8 hours on Sundays at a farmers market to supplement it all.  These gave me a little something to sustain life with while working to find more work and make other things work out.  The farmers market was in this incredible workers cooperative and had soooo much potential to become something more, something that I might even be able to bring into my other projects and incorporate it all together.  But the they just had money stolen, like thousands of dollars that is needed to prepay for produce.  So it has to close as it can't buy veggies for this week.  It may not be permanent.  But a days worth of work for good pay and produce.  Gone.  The hiking store doesn't pay, the political party is compromised and ethically devoid, nannying..... Well that's good.  But its over tomorrow.  A few hours a week still maybe.  Before I had a couple things, now I have to really get after it again.  Why do all these things keep falling apart?  What is it that make businesses so hard to maintain here?  So many people trying to make ends meet, so few managing to do it.  If you have any ethical bone in you, you have to compromise it jsut to make ends meet.  So sad.

Alive and waiting

So I'm through immigration, just waiting for the plane. Not much of interest today. Had lunch with Hawa and her family. I talked them into cooking with no MSG and I tell you what, it was soooo much better!!

Otherwise, got an email from Kaps. Crazy!! Will have to write it out in a full post, but was basically that I made it all up against him so I could claim money from insurance, except that I never filed anything against him!! I just told people what I think happened. Oh, and he never finished paying me for the hard drives. So what does that tell you?? Bottom line, what do I really have to gain by paying $1500 to fly all the way to Sierra Leone to file for a few hundred dollars with insurance, but then not do it? Lol, wow!! Anyway, so much more to it!! Will explain latter...

Otherwise, just chilling, ready to go... ;) lots of airport pics for you Greg!!

An adventure but not comparatively

So I made it to a guest house right across from the airport. It's a dive, but it's got power and a lock on the door!! I could never have found it without my next beautifully white knight: "Hawa".

I had a lead from a friend of someone here to help me find a place. The bike taxi driver took me to the wrong place (first time being on abike seemed dangerous..lol), and then helper guy went a bit crazy, so I went out searching on my own. Some people tried to help me, but then it turned out they actually were trying to overcharge the "Opotu"

But then in steps a group of nice people trying to help. When people here see a white person they charge them a little more and they think you want nice expensive accomodation and canned meat. But the minute you tell them you are in need, that someone in Sierra Leone stole your money, they seem ashamed. And they go out of their way to help you. Time and time again this past week. Hawa took it upon herself to physically take me to several places until we found this one. She knew the owner and helped me negotiate something I could afford.

Then we went out and got some street food. Actually me, she didn't eat much. It's the same here, they may not have eaten all day, but they will make sure you've eaten first, and pretend they're not hungry and have eaten. It was really nice, she's the first women here that within the first 10 minutes isn't say "I love you" or "I want to marry you". We talked for a good hour, set up my mosquito net, etc.

She is originally from Guinea, and just came here a little bit ago when her father passed. She is saving money to go to nursing school. Two years, for $750 total. Wants to start in January. This part is specifically for my grandmother and grandfather. She is ethnically Fula, a nomadic cattle raising tribe of West Africa. And at one point she said, we Fula are all over the world, we are travelers... "so when I see another traveler in need, I must come to their aid!" with a non chalant smile. It is just like Gianlucca in Poughkeepsie!! How the world comes around!!. ;)

So I'm almost there, I'll be in the air in less than 24 hours and can see the airport and hear the planes. Talk to you all soon...