Journey to Africa

My Liberian Home
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Greetings & salutations to all of you who have decided to vicariously accompany me on my latest adventure! This time, I’m off to Monrovia, Liberia to intern with the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (LEITI). But, before I get started here…

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Hope you’re having a great evening. Here’s how I spent the day before your birthday...

Main Building of the APC
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Ah, Delta. Since Jason’s frequent flyer miles often dictate which airline I fly, I can’t remember the last time I flew with Delta. For all of the logistical issues associated with this series of flights, the actual time I spent in airports and in the air over the last 24 hours wasn’t bad at all. For those I didn’t talk with 3 weeks before I left, I had originally booked a direct flight with Delta from JFK (New York) to ROB (Monrovia). One day, while semi-dog-sitting for my best friend, I got an email from Negbalee, my supervisor here in Liberia, informing me that a Monrovian paper had announced (that morning) that Delta had not been approved for direct flights into Liberia. I hadn’t received any word from the airline (save 2 advertisements), but when I checked my itineraries, I discovered that my flights had been cancelled. After much ado and 35 minutes on hold, I was able to work with a Delta agent to remedy the situation. However, the fun continued yesterday afternoon at PHL (Philadelphia). Jason dropped me off at the terminal, and I went in to check my bags. When I tried to use Delta’s electronic check-in service, the agent helping me said that Jason must appear and present the credit card he used to purchase my ticket in order for me to proceed. Luckily, Jason did a loop around the airport just in case anything went wrong, and I was able to get him to come back and get things straightened out in just a few minutes. This was fairly lucky, given that it was 1 hour before my departure when I attempted to check-in the first time! Relieved that I would not need to worry about my bags again until I reached my final destination, I headed to the gate.

My Room
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The flight from PHL to ATL (Atlanta) left almost exactly on time at around 2pm - I couldn’t believe it! When we landed at ATL, the pilot drove us from one end of the airport to the other, due to an arrival gate mix-up. Ironically enough, this put me at the terminal farthest from the one I needed to go to for the next leg of my trip. So, I jumped on the tram and found my next gate. I grabbed a quick bite at Qdoba, and then they started boarding us, a little earlier than I had expected. This time, we took off for BRU (Brusssels) about 45 minutes late, much to the chagrin of the plasma physicist sitting to my left. We chatted for awhile, I read some of my book, and then I slept for a good portion of the flight. I also feel compelled to mention that, from the moment I sat down on this plane until I disembarked in Monrovia, I felt like I was in one of those Dial commercials. Eh bien, it’s better than screaming children…

No Worries, Mom! I'm safe!
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It was nice and sunny when we landed in Brussels, and I found myself thinking about how nice it would be to sit in the Grand Place and have a waffle and a coffee outside one of the many cafés there. After I got off the plane, I went through security, and made my way to the customs officials. They directed me to a shuttle going to terminal T, where my flight was scheduled to take off at noon. I got a hot chocolate and a muffin from the one cafe that passengers waiting at terminal T had access to, and then joined some of the other passengers waiting to go to ABJ (Abidjan) and ROB. It was nice to talk with people who had already spent some time in Liberia, and several of them gave me their phone numbers, should I have any questions whilst I am here. I hope that I will bump into some of them again! We left the terminal a little late, but soon we were in the air over the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. What a view! As we began to fly over Africa, the flight crew passed out the customs forms for us to fill out. The man next to me was Malian, and did not write very well. He asked me if I spoke French, and then gestured for me to help him with his form. I got down his information as best I could, and then chatted a little with him about what I was seeing out the window. Then he looked over my shoulder as I organized pictures from my previous travels (yes, yes - they’re coming!). He got quite a disturbed look on his face and shook his head when I got to the pictures of the lions & tigers at the Melbourne Zoo. I wondered if perhaps he had seen them without the benefit of enclosures… We hit some turbulence as we landed at ABJ, which looked like it had just been through some rain. After some passengers disembarked and some new faces got on the plane, it was about an hour’s flight to ROB, where we arrived about 5 minutes behind schedule - not bad at all! Brussels Air had a practice that was peculiar to me - they checked passports and boarding passes before they would let any of us get off the plane “for security purposes.” Needless to say, it took us quite awhile to actually leave the aircraft.

My Bathroom
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The Monrovia airport was a flurry of activity as I walked down the stairs onto the dimly-lit tarmac. Some people were standing with signs, others were quickly darting in and out of the crowd looking for people, and a few customs representatives were handing out forms. I was given one of these to fill out, and then proceeded to be waved through customs to the crowded baggage claim area. Given that I couldn’t get a place near the belt, some of the gentlemen standing there were nice enough to help me grab my bags. As I made my way to the door, people were laughing, yelling, and screaming as their loved ones exited the airport. There were people everywhere. Once I managed to get out the door, I looked up, and there were 2 members of the LEITI staff with a sign with my name on it. They ran over to me, hugged me, and grabbed my bags. We ran back to the LEITI SUV through a sea of travelers, families, friends, and many individuals soliciting services, hotels, and etc. Once we were in the van, George and Emmanuel introduced themselves to me, and began to talk to me about the rest of the evening as I slathered on some high-test insect repellent. Just as we got on the paved road, Negbalee called to check on our progress, and to inform me that I would not be able to stay at the Lutheran Guest House, after all. He then said he would call back later. This call was followed by several others from people wanting to ensure that George & Emmanuel had retrieved me form the airport. What a nice surprise to have so many people watching out for me! George then explained that they had found somewhere for me to stay temporarily until they could find other accommodations. We spent the rest of the ride talking about the neighborhoods we were driving through, and a bit of a sore topic for George - women!

My Favourite View (from the Bridge)
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So, here I am at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center (APC), a convent on Randall Street in Mamba Point. When we arrived, the large, tall wooden gate was locked shut, so Emmanuel honked for it to be opened. Just in time, too - NO-ONE is allowed through that gate after 10:30pm! The 2 younger boys who helped me with my luggage were very nice, and showed me to a nice-sized room with a double bed and blessed air conditioning! Before I left, my friend Secret (who was born in Liberia and has spent most of her life here) said that she thought the biggest difference between the east coast of the United States and Liberia at this time of year is the humidity - “It’s really humid there,” she said. At the time I thought, “Yeah, but it’s pretty humid here sometimes. How much worse could it possibly be?” I now see what she meant, and have a much clearer idea of what REAL humidity is.

Bridge to the Women's Rooms
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As I typed that, I was thinking, “Hmmm… I wonder if I’ll wear any of the long-sleeved clothing I brought at all…” And just now, it started pouring rain on the barbed-wire-bordered tin roof of the APC.

In about 12 hours, I will meet the LEITI Steering Group for the first time. It is comprised of members of the Government of Liberia, the National Legislature, Civil Society Organizations, Private Sector businessmen, and international Development Partners, including the World Bank and USAID. It looks to be an exciting start to my work here, followed by a luncheon filled with networking. I hope that, after that, I’ll have some internet time to set up my travel journal and post this entry.  I hope that all of you are well, and I’ll try to update this blog as often as I can!