The halfway point
By David Krueger
Thursday marked the exact midpoint of my trip to Sierra Leone. I’ve been here for 42 days, and will be leaving in 42 more.
I realized this fact two weekends ago while lying in bed trying not to get sick. Even then, while I had my head under a pillow, I didn’t want to leave. I was sick in Sierra Leone, and, even now, there’s no place I’d rather be sick.
When I first arrived here, the number of days I would be here (84) seemed rather daunting. I wasn’t worried I wouldn’t make it or anything like that, but almost three months is a long time to stay in a foreign land.
Now I can’t believe it’s already half over. The time has just flown by. That’s a testament to how much fun I’m having in Salone, and how much I enjoy being here.
It makes me sad that starting today I will be closer to the end of my trip than the beginning. I’ve had a number of incredible opportunities in my first six weeks here, and still have a few things left to check off on my Sierra Leone To-Do List in my final weeks here.
I want to go to River No. 2. Everyone says it’s the most beautiful beach in Sierra Leone. I want to see for myself. In order to verify this fact, I’ll also need to see numerous other beaches in the area. Comparing how beautiful and awesome beaches are might be the most fun activity in the history of the world.
For the last two weeks I’ve been trying to get to the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, and see the waterfalls on the way there. Two weekends ago I got sick and couldn’t move, let alone see chimpanzees, and last Saturday when I was supposed to go it rained constantly, making us question how much fun a trip to waterfalls and chimpanzees would be.
There’s still so much of the country I want to see. I want to see the other big cities I’ve read so much about in the news: Bo, Kenema, Kono and Makeni.
On the other side, I want to see the smaller areas and a few tourist spots, like the hippopotamuses on Tewai Island.
I want to be a fixture at Atlantic Crossing, Aces and Old School on as many Friday and Saturday nights as possible, and not lose my cell phone again at any of those places.
I would love to eat a bread and beans sandwich and not get sick.
I hope to continue writing columns that at least a few people enjoy reading about all of these activities.
Above all, I want to have a happy and healthy end to my trip.
The first 42 days haven’t all been perfect. I’ve had my share of dilemmas in Salone too.
The first one that comes to mind is the spiders in Kambia, but that’s not the worst event. It’s close, but that title has to go to my room being broken into. Justified or not, it changed my perception of safety here in Freetown. I’m still careful about locking my bags and my room when I’m gone, and I am probably overly observant of people while in large crowds.
Next was the weekend I spent unable to leave bed. I still don’t know who to blame for this. It was my decision to eat the sandwich, but other people were going and encouraged me to come. Plus, the cook herself has to take some (or most) of the burden for giving me an unhygienic sandwich right?
Finally the Kambia Spider Wars. That wasn’t fun. I still think about it some nights while lying in bed. I don’t sleep very well afterwards.
However, meeting Mr. Njai in Kambia was so incredible it greatly diminished the horror of the Spider Wars. The food in Sierra Leone is so delicious (I still love stew green and ground nut soup) and dwarfs the drama caused by that one bread and beans sandwich. Everyone I’ve met in Sierra Leone has been so welcoming and helpful it’s helped reduce the fear and anger I felt after the break in.
I’m really becoming at home in Salone, and don’t really even want to think about leaving it.
Yesterday I began with a quote from a Beatles’ song. Today I’m going to end with one from rock group Bon Jovi’s mega-hit “Living on a Prayer.” The beginning of the chorus states: “we’re halfway there, woooooah oh, living on a prayer.”
I pray the next 42 days are just as phenomenal, informative, astonishing, beautiful and life-changing as the first 42.
With less break-ins and spiders.
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