Two's Better Than One

Helen,

These last two weeks have been insane. Even the word insane doesn’t seem to explain the madness that has been our job for the last two weeks and the weeks to come. How about exhausting, stressful, and a constant test of patience and your ability to stay on top of everything, all the time. Organizing, running and monitoring a survey in the city with a team of people relying on you to make it all go right. From programming and survey problems to logistic issues and equipment transportation, all of it is in your hands. It is an unbelievable load to handle and you do it so well. There are new challenges everyday that would make most people give up, but you don’t. The 6 am wake ups, 18-22 hr work days, constant fight against dehydration and sickness (because of the 18 hr work days) are all rough, but you’re not alone. I will test PDA’s, check programming code and organize as little or as much as you need me to. Staying up until 2:30am for the 5th day in a row, after 10 hours of surveying and an hour of traffic back to the office? You bet, sign me up. Frustrated? Me too, but heck two’s better than one in my mind and so long as I can keep my eyes open, I’ll stick it out with you, gladly. You’re dedication and desire to do the best you can always amazes me. The next 2 weeks are going to suck, in the best way. Bring on the late night tea, popcorn dinners and many more nights of wanting to throw PDA’s out the window. Your quite entertaining while sleep deprived anyhow. Kudos to you, you’re wonderful, Helen. Now let’s survey some criminals!

Rains Down in Africa

No one’s on time in this country. In a country where 10 o’clock really means 11:30, you might as well not set a time and just set a ball park. "You can be here after lunch, yea?" That’s about as good as saying: be there at 3 because that’s when they’ll get there. The rainy season makes this timely issue even more of a problem. Liberians hate the rain. They HATE it. So when it starts to rain the streets are empty. Everyone has found even the smallest bit of covering to stand under until the rain passes. Because of this fear of rain everyone is even later than normal and thinks the fact that it was raining is a justifiable reason. I told you to be here at 10. “Yea.” Ok, well what time is it now? “It’s 11:45. There was rain.” So you’re late. “Well no you said 10.” Yea and it’s 11:45. “But you said 10 and it rained." I wonder how many more times we can say it’s 11:45 and she can then reply with: you said 10 (yea, you're late!).

It rains for 6 months out of the year here and you’re telling me that being almost two hours late because it rained is ok? Apparently it is, because every single person was late to this office on Saturday. It’s moments like these where I think: how does this country function at all!? For 6 months people are just late because it rained. Not just late, super late because during the dry season they are late. I’m way too timely for this.

Their fear however is understandable when you also realize that with the wet season comes sickness and death. People are dropping like flies. Someone is very sick every week and it’s the norm. The rain brings an upsurge in malaria, typhoid and cholera. If you’re growing up in a place where you associate rain with deathly illness then, heck yea let’s all stay inside until the dry season returns. Unfortunately I love the rain. You need an encyclopedia with pictures to figure out what all these bites on your arm are (mosquito? I don’t know, wait for the fever). “My arms hurt.” In an achy way or a workout way? “I can’t tell.” Well if the aching spreads, it’s clinic time, baby. “Maybe it’s 12 hr work day pains???” I’d take that over any illness.

Can’t wait for July. The rains only get worse. My raincoat in a bag has its work cut out for it.