the funny thing about materialism

i'm not a lavish person, i don't believe in a lot of excess. i'd say i like nice things...absolutely. i just don't believe in having a lot of them. i don't own the latest this or that. it actually pains me to spend money on certain things and i often times feel guilty when i know i'm spending lavishly.

it's funny to see the ideas i have about myself tested and to watch myself fail miserably. what am i talking about? well on my trip to sierra leone my luggage got stranded in london until a day and a half before our departure. so what does that mean. i had 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 short sleeve shirt, 1 set of undergarments, 1 pair of socks, 1 pair of jeans, capri yoga pants and my trusty converse. that's it. clothes that would normally only be enough for one day, no hair products, no face wash, no deodorant. the temperature was a hot sunny 90 degrees or more.

i had packed enough for 2 changes of clothes a day. figuring we'd be doing so much running around during the day i'd need to shower and change for the evening (and i did - but couldn't). the guest house we stayed at was great - but because of the electricity issues in sierra leone (run mostly by generator) air conditioning was only available at night. the cars didn't have air either. so basically we are sweating ALL day and i was wearing the same outfit everyday. no joke. jeans are great but when it's hot they are stifling!

i handwashed what i could (because the humidity on certain days wouldn't allow things to dry) but i ended up wearing my boyfriends boxer briefs for a couple of days because i had no choice.

my hair was an absolute mess the entire time. i refused to buy health and beauty aids because i thought my luggage would arrive any day and it wasn't worth spending the money. i was miserable but trying to fight it. i was in sierra leone and it would not be worth it to let my luggage situation damper my experience. i got over it, bought a tank top and an african dress (which i could only wear one day because of all the sweating).

what it made me consider was my actual attachment to these items i knew were on their way eventually. i knew that had i prepped myself before the trip, had decided to live very basically - i would have been fine. but i hadn't mentally prepared myself for this. and i realized how sad it was.

people everyday live with less and are happy - because they know nothing else. how spoiled i felt due to my frustrations. how dare i feel a loss for things that those around me don't even know. a luggage full of clothing and accessories. i learned a definite lesson. i dealt with it. i got over it, and i managed all the same. it was an extremely humbling experience.

the arrival

we finally landed. hours later then anticipated in the dark, dark night. total travel time (with a 3 hour stop in london), 20 hours. there were mistakes by the airline, confused passengers, a missing passenger, and missing luggage....namely mine (and that of a woman from the World Bank we got to know).

the air was crisp yet warm and we were anxious but it was too dark to see anything but the little airport. Lungi airport, similar to other airports in developing countries....boxy, basic, equipment lagged behind quite a number of years. it's size i'd equate to about double the size of one of those huge, fancy car washes (with less amenities).

Lungi airport is on a peninsula. transport options to Freetown: helicopter and ferry. there we were, in Sierra Leone, a helicopter ride away from Freetown.

• helicopter ride about 10 minutes = US $50
• ferry ride about 40 minutes then a taxi ride another 15 = 1st class (air conditioned) $5000 leones + $15000 leones taxi ($20 leones, about US $7).
  

another option used to be the hovercraft but it broke down, and driving which do to a lack of paved roads takes about 4 hours. It was too late for the ferry so helicopter it was.

as for my luggage, i'd go all but one full day with out it but that's for another post...

unchartered territory

i was unsure of what to expect. it was almost odd. i've traveled to many places and always had a sense of what i would encounter but there was something about this trip. something that did not allow me to formulate an image in my mind. i was going to Africa, Sierra Leone more specifically, a country seemingly made popular by the hollywood film "blood diamond". Africa, a continent made up of 52 independent countries, unknown to most for many reasons - distance, strife, bad publicity, among others. i think i may have had too many images in my mind - historical, cultural, fantastical - too many to conjure up something concrete, and fearful of doing so and limiting myself or foolishly buying into someone else's interpretation. so my mind remained blank - open to whatever elements filled my eyes upon arrival....

i'm back

i must welcome myself back to my own blog. i ignored her for too long, unsure of the words I wished to share; so many and so few at once. BUT I AM BACK!! back in multiple ways, back to my blog, recently back in the country and back in the spirit that draws me to record my words. where did i go? i went upside down a bit, i went inside a bit, i got clear a bit...then i went to Sierra Leone for a bit.