I get by with a little help from my friends
By David Krueger
The Beatles, one of, if not the most famous rock group of all time, once sang “I get by with a little help from my friends.”
Apparently, they interned in Freetown.
Before I left America, I was worried I might get a little lonely in Sierra Leone. I didn’t know anybody here and didn’t (and still don’t) speak very good Krio.
However, it turns out my concern was unfounded. I was immediately welcomed into the Awoko family, which is just that, a family. Everyone looks out for everyone else. I’ve been incredibly blessed to have a great group of coworkers who constantly check on me to make sure I have stuff to do and that I’m doing okay and feeling happy and healthy.
Unfortunately, I can’t live at work. I’m not sure where I’d sleep. Perhaps there’s room by the cashier’s office and computer desk, but I’m not sure how comfortable it would be. It would also be hard to cook and shower.
So at night I head home to the YMCA, but I still don’t get lonely. I have another family waiting for me when I get back home. That’s right, I call the YMCA my home.
There’s a great group of people that are there, just like my roommates back in America. We ask about each other’s days, get some dinner and talk about life in Freetown before we all venture off to bed.
On the weekends, we go out to the bars together, and look out for one another to make sure everyone gets home safely. If one of us gets very sick, let’s say from food poisoning, another one rushes to the rescue and gets the sick individual home safely.
It’s a very impressive group of people.
For instance, look at Mohamed. He’s a first year student at Fourah Bay College, working on a degree in peace and conflict studies. His goal is to be President of Sierra Leone. I’ve already assured him that when I’m President of the United States, the U.S. and Salone will have an incredibly strong relationship. I’m looking forward to this day.
Mo also was a receptionist at the YMCA, but left to go study in the U.K. He came back and works at the YMCA, taking great care of everyone. He arranges rooms (which he also orchestrates cheaper, long-stay rates for), dinner/dancing excursions, money exchanging and anything else someone needs. Mohamed hopes to study in America through the Fulbright Scholarship, and then come back to Sierra Leone to help his country. I can’t think of anybody better suited for this award.
Then there’s Anaïs, a PhD student working for the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. The eldest of the group, she has taken on the roles of pharmacist, chef, accountant, tour guide, Krio teacher and therapist among others. In fact, it was Anaïs who got me home while I was the sickest I’ve ever been in my life. I’m still thanking her for that.
As a child, Anaïs lived in Freetown while her father worked at the department of French at Fourah Bay College for four years. She returned for a research project in 2008 and is now studying the role of the Sherbro ethnic group in national reconstruction and social cohesion in Sierra Leone. She has been here for four months and will remain here until midway through 2012.
Anaïs enjoys the provinces more than the big city of Freetown, but admitted she likes hanging out on the balcony of the YMCA, where she feels like “I am part of the furniture now.” She also likes dancing in the rain at Krio Wendy’s.
Magdalena, who hails from Austria, writes reports for the Campaign for Good Governance. “Auntie M,” as she’s been called (see, I told you we were a family) hand-picked Freetown over other possible summer destinations in Nairobi and South Africa.
“Auntie M” wants to work for a non-profit group, and hopes her experience here will help her with that. She’s working on getting two Master’s Degrees back home, which should also benefit her job hunt. Like Anaïs, she likes going out in Freetown. She loves the “lively” mood around the city, and the “beautiful, beautiful landscape” in the area around it.
There’s also a large German contingent at the YMCA, starting with Katharina. She is an intern at the Association for Rural Development’s Microfinance institute. She observes and helps with the loan disbursement process, which decides who gets approved for a loan.
Katharina likes her job because it’s exactly what she wants to do when she’s done with school. Her favorite part of the job is actually visiting the clients and getting to know different people in various tribes outside of the big city. Like everybody else at the YMCA, she enjoys going out, and is having a great time in Sierra Leone.
Finally, there’s David. Or “German David” as he’s sometimes known. (You might have correctly guessed that that would make me “American David.”) Born in Sierra Leone, he left for Germany when he was one year old. He came back to Salone in 2005.
Now, he has one year left at Fourah Bay College, where he’s studying economics. Even though we share the same name, there are very few physical similarities between us. I’m about 1.7 meters tall, and he has to be over 2 meters in height. He speaks German and Krio (and, fortunately, English), I speak English and a very little bit of Spanish. He’s tall, dark and handsome, I’m short, pale and hopefully at least decent-looking.
There’s a saying back home that says something along the lines of friends are the family we choose. Or is it that friends can become your family? I’m not really sure. The main point is to describe how important friends are in our lives.
My trip to Salone wouldn’t be the same without them.
No comments:
Post a Comment