Kushe!!! And candle-lights

Dear family and freinds!

Ow di bodi? Di bodi fayne! is the preferred greeting here in Sierra Leone.

I arrived safely in Sierra Leone around 20;00 hrs on monday the 9th of july. I was supposed to land around 16;30 but we had a delay of some 4 hrs in Brussels! Once we landed, i came out of the cold plane and walked into the Sierra Leonean fresh air, i was greeted by a wave of hot humid air......and .....a scent i can not describe....the scent you get when it rained on dusty roads after it had been dry for some time. Yes that kind of smell, The smell of Africa. It is good to be back!!!

They lost my luggage at the airport. They didnt know where it was and neither did i!!!! After many calls and a visit to Brussels Airlines yesterday, they said that they 'might' have my bag on hursday's flight.....i should come back friday noon to enquire!

It was a 30 minute drive from the Airport-where i was greeted, kissed and hugged tightly- by the Sister who came to pick me up- to the ferry dock. That drive was the most beautiful one i have seen in some time. It was dark everywhere. The only light on were the candles the people on both sides of the streets have on. Candles here, candles there, candles everywhere. Candles in bottles, candles in pots, cadles in jars. I have never seen so many lit candles on display. Whereas we in the West use candles to "lighten" up an atmosphere or add a romanticised extra touch to things, the people here are using candles as a basic necessity so that buyers can see their goods and the sellers can see to whom they are selling things!!

On the dock we went by ferry. It was a rough ride, but the kindness, compassion and friendliness the people here show compensates all things rough.

Other than that, i am doing well and things are so far kind of going according to plan....though i have to constantly remind myself the early advice i received from one of the kind Sisters here...namely not to expect a high level of efficiency, not to expect things to happen the way you want, to switch off any time-consciousness and to just "glow with the flow"!!! or should i just flow with the glow!!

Hmmm....that will be a challenge....

For those of you who do not know what i am doing here; I am in SL to do research for Cordaid on the 'cultural dimension of violence against women'.....

more next time!

Wi go see back!