Traveling.

So I’ve been traveling all over the country taking care of business for the past month – forgive me for not updating.

Three weeks back I was in Sahn Village, Malen Chiefdom, Pujehun District. (Southern Salone) Two weeks back I was in Kono (Eastern Salone). Last week I was in Makeni (Northern, central Salone). This week I will be in Freetown (Western Salone). In two weeks, I will be in Seattle.

My Krio skills are such that I’m able to successfully take public transport (government bus, poda poda, taxi, motorbike) and find myself places to stay – alone. I tend to be risk-averse and unadventurous (despite your thoughts that I may be otherwise, I really am risk-averse), but traveling alone has empowered me with a sense of independence that I have decided to enjoy during my time here. Before I go back to the comforts of home.

Last summer when I was in Salone, I was mostly (save the motor bike commutes to the TFC during my stay in Makeni – see posts from last year) in the NGO vehicle. Doc, the national coordinator of the NGO I interned with last year, was out of the country for a little more than half the time I was here so I had the luxury of using the vehicle. Learning public transportation for me was more of a necessity this year. With one vehicle in the organization that breaks down and needs repairs twice every day (okay, maybe once every two days), with Doc being busy trying to coordinate things between Kono (Eastern Salone) and Freetown (Western SL), the vehicle has been pretty occupied. Besides, its not like I need it for clinic (a 5 minute walk from my “office”/living space) because we use the motorbike to transport our cartons of supplement.

Public transport is always daunting before you start using it. The Seattle-area Metro bus system was intimidating before I had to take it to the University of Washington campus for summer quarter, the summer before my senior year of high school. Yup, that was my first experience with public transportation – I’m not proud that it was so late – and it was great. Public transportation can be convenient (after you learn how to use it). Last year, I never seriously thought about learning how to take public transportation in Salone, but having learned the ins and outs this year, I think the system here works pretty great.

In most areas, there are motorbikes (read: motorcycles, I’m in Salone-vocab mode) that will take you short-ish distances (on average, 3-7/8/9-ish miles?) but it can go more. Bikes are great, but of course they’re dangerous (nobody ever thinks so though). The drivers never give you helmets and you ride usually with both hands on your lap. Chris and Katie have mastered this, but my right hand is usually on the metal bar/cargo rack thingie behind the seat and my left grabbing the coat of the driver (if the roads are rough) or on my lap (when I’m feeling comfortable) or waving to kids when they call out “WHITE MAN” lol. Bike-riding is cheap, convenient, exhilarating to say the least. I’ve also learned how to drive the bike, but don’t ask me to take you places. The last time I took Amadu out for a ride, with me driving, I almost ran into something (it was inanimate – don’t worry.)

Taxi’s in Freetown have a pre-determined route (5-ish miles) in the city that they’ll take passengers. Taxi’s in Town will ferry around 4-5 passengers. The long-distance taxi’s will go along the highway to major cities. Rides may take 1.5-5/6/7 hours. You can ask to be dropped off in between. These long-distance taxi’s are also sedans that will carry 7 (that’s the minimum number I’ve personally experienced) to 9 (my personal maximum) passengers. How is that possible? Oh, its possible. For example: 3 grown men + me in the back (without any ANY nudge room at all), 2 grown men in the front passenger seat, 1 grown woman (ALWAYS a woman because of a damned reason called gender inequality) with half her butt in the space between the passenger seat and the driver’s seat and the other half on the driver’s seat with her legs stuffed somewhere so it doesn’t interfere with the stick shift. The driver with ¾ of his butt on his seat, the other fourth on the door. I held a child in my lap, another child sitting on the lap of the two grown men on the front passenger side. – for a total of 10 people in the small car. Its ridiculously funny watching the car chug up small hills (‘I know I can, I know I can!’). No joke – a walking toddler would beat us up the hills we try to travel. I usually complain when the driver tries to overstuff the car “De driva e crazy! He de do anytin fo monie, nota so?” – it usually gets a good laugh of agreement from the passengers and the driver– so its not offensive.

Government buses are like greyhounds in America. Except for when they overstuff, its supposed to be pretty comfortable. The Gov’t buses go long distances and to major cities (Freetown to Kono, Freetown to Bo, etc). I am based in Masiaka (about 1.5-2 hrs outside Freetown) and wanted to get to Kono (Freetown to Kono is about 8 hours) but the bus was full by the time it got to Masiaka, but they were still able to take me. I sat on a deconstructed bus seat cushion on the floor of the bus with my feet on the front steps of the bus for the 6-hour ride. The view through the glass bus doors was amazing.


My bus to Kono - taken during a pit stop.


The view from where I sat.


non-ridic Poda poda - PATIENT DOG EAT FAT BONE - I think I get it.

Poda podas are van-size with 4 or 5 wooden benches in addition to the front drivers seat/passenger area. Because I’m white (through the window with technicalities, you’re either black or white here), I’m always offered a seat in what me and my friends have come to call ‘business class’ which is in the front either next to the driver ( and the annoying stick shift) or the front passenger seat. I honestly have never counted the load of a poda poda because I think it’s the most ridic of all public transport here. The area beneath the benches are stuffed with 5-gallon jerry cans of palm oil, 20kg sacks of rice, or bags of charcoal, and 10+ live ‘country fowl’ (read: chicken) so much so that all the passengers feet rest on the cargo underneath. There are probably 20-30 people inside the poda poda. The rest of the cargo (bags, more jerry cans of palm oil, more rice, more charcoal, live goat, etc) are tied on top of the poda poda. I’ve been cargo being tied up as high as the poda poda, itself, so that the total height of the poda poda+all its load = twice the height of poda poda with no load. There are usually young guys who are unable to pay full fare that ride on the outside, maybe two on average. They stand on the back bumper and hold the top of the car. Sometimes, they stand like that for 6-hour rides, and sometimes through the rain – ridic. Then we’ve got people top of the cargo on top of the poda poda. I can usually see their feet hanging down at about my eye-level when I’m sitting ‘business class.’

This Is Africa. ;)