I’m going to be honest, I didn’t think this would really happen. I’m currently laying in my bed, under a mosquito net that I put up myself. The impressive part, I think, is that I didn’t use all the parts. The actual frame and hook are apparently unnecessary. All you need is the actual net and duct tape and voila! Problem solved.
It’s either 8:30 or 9:30. I still don’t fricken know. Computer says one thing, phone says the other. I’m going with the phone. Oh I got a phone! More on that later. But I’m exhausted. Today was so big it would take five posts to describe everything so I’ll just give you the run down.
After I left the hostel I went to the office, which is about the exact opposite of the last news room I was in. It looks like the living room of a house, with a table in the middle with six computers and two laptops from the (I’m estimating) mid- to late-1990s. There’s one computer ( I repeat, one computer) on another desk that is hooked up to the Internet. Everybody shares that one.
After sitting around the office for about 4-5 hours meeting everybody, Victor, one of the many people always hanging out in the office, took me to Mr. Lewis’s (my boss) house, where I met his mother, wife (Amie), and son (Cho). This will be my cheat sheet for names later on. I’ve been informed I get to eat with them every Sunday because the city basically shuts down (It’s like Mondays in Rome). I had my first authentic Sierra Leonean cuisine: stew green. I don’t know what was in it but it was delicious and spicy as hell.
I’ll be right back. The mosquito net just fell down. Are you surprised? Me either.
All right attempt two seems much more promising. I used the hook and a little more duct tape. I think it’ll make all the difference. To reward myself for a job potentially well done I’m munchin’ on some M’n’Ms before they melt. Which I’m really surprised hasn’t happened yet. I might have to eat the second pack tonight too…
(I did not eat the second pack. They taste half like M’n’M’s and half like hand sanitizer.)
I didn’t really get bitten last night sans net, so I briefly debated just freestyling it again but decided not to push my luck. Just cause it happened once, doesn’t mean it’ll be the norm. So I’m doing the responsible thing and persevering with this darned thing. Seriously, next time just buy a simple net with a hook. None of this bamboo frame garbage. What is this even for???
What are the chances this makes it through the night? Ten percent? Fifteen percent? TWENTY?
After the meal I ran into Layormie, the guy who picked me up from the airport yesterday. He’s pretty cool. I’ve started calling him Mr. Carlsberg because he’s always passing out beer. We’re going to be good friends. I can just sense it.
Then it was back to the office to watch some Wimbledon, and then I was taken back to my room. But not before stopping by Mr. Carlsberg’s office for one more cold one (and one to take home to my hostel!). Seriously, this guy knows what’s up.
Back at the hostel I went to check out the sunset and found some people from France, Germany and Sierra Leone doing the same thing. We swapped stories, chatted for a bit and then the mosquito net wars began. It is 8:49 and I’m oh so tired. I’ll write more in depth tomorrow but that’s the basics. It doesn’t sound like much but it was a full, awesome day. Everybody at the paper is so nice, and wants to go to the bars and the beach (both of which we’re going to do on Sunday). These three months are going to be awesome.
Every morning I wake up a little nervous about what exactly is going to happen today and e very night I go to bed confident that this is going to be the trip of a lifetime.
Plus I’m safe now, because I have a mosquito net. For now.
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