It was a $7.50 indulgence. Not too bad by Monrovia standards but downright ridiculous by Bong County standards. I can usually cook an entire meal for three people on about $2. Of course that meal is variations of the same thing…rice, beans, and curry powder…some kind of leafy green if potato or water greens are […]
“where can I find doughnut grease?“ I smiled at the women in the covered market that I’ve passed every time I’ve been to Monrovia. Today, having walked back from meetings at the Ministry of Health I decided to take a look around. Not just browsing, I was searching for doughnut grease. Doughnut grease was in […]
My father always said marriage was the toughest job you’ll ever love. Yeah he borrowed that line from peace corps but that doesn’t make it any less true. The idea that two people – fully formed – come together to make a single life is intense. the marriage itself is fired in work but the […]
Despite being nestled amid lush greenery that slowly inches its way closer…to the house, the walking path, the garbage burn pit…my job is actually encased in cement. Cement walls and floors and an imposing enclosure engulfing it all; a dingy wall – with once-bright pictures depicting safer sex and mosquito nets to prevent malaria. It […]
She greeted me, her hand reaching back to touch my arm as she walked by. The younger one, lagging just a little behind her, hands occupied with bucket and basin for water, greeted me with a mumble I couldn’t quite understand. “what?” I stopped and looked back at her. “my mom died,” she smiled at […]
Despite being nestled amid lush greenery that slowly inches its way closer…to the house, the walking path, the garbage burn pit…my job is actually encased in cement. Cement walls and floors and an imposing enclosure engulfing it all; a dingy wall – with once-bright pictures depicting safer sex and mosquito nets to prevent malaria. It […]
The white bag lay flat on the ground. It was noticeable only in its whiteness. The beginning of the dry season and the harmatton (the winds from the northern part of the continent) scatter dust in fine particles into piles, against skin. So the white, absent of the brown tint of everything else, stood out. […]
“Are you afraid to walk?” Her expression betrayed a little amusement. Not quite mocking, it was friendlier than that. “We walked before,” I countered, “but we were told that we shouldn’t.” She spoke quickly to a man sitting on a ledge at the Cape Hotel, where we’d spent the evening eating and using the internet, […]
“… I think that college friends are more like family than friends; They were there when you were becoming yourself. It is like you were in a store, shopping for yourself. And they stood there, helping you try on things that fit, were too tight, too loose; They watched as you found the perfect fit […]
liberian from liberia
I crossed the Montserrado river for the first time. Halfway across, we could see the destroyed bridge to the left – so iconic during the war. It remains in disrepair, like so many gutted buildings and abandoned building projects. Heading out of town that way, we passed the port, sparking for me, a reminder that […]
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