There is very little to do in Monrovia – a city that lost everything during Liberia’s 14 year civil war that just ended in 2004.  During those fourteen years, brutal fighting was rampant in the countryside where sons killed their mothers, raped their neighbors, mutilated their cousins, and castrated their fathers.  Rural folk fled to Monrovia and as a result, a city that was designed for only 250,000 people became home to over a million of internally displaced persons.  People looted every building imaginable so over 14 years, there was no education AT ALL or government progress since squatters were living and fighting in government buildings.  This in a city that used to be called “New York of West Africa” in its heyday, perhaps due to its  historical significance to America. 

Currently, there is no running water or an electrical grid in the whole city.  Few latrines, 90% unemployment and appalling health statistics.  Life is a bit—beach, atleast on Sundays  it is.

Despite its struggles, Liberia is an incredibly rich country resources.  Thousands of miles of pristine coastline, diamonds, rubber, timber, gold – you name it it’s here.  So in an effort to add to the local economy revenue, I didn’t mind sipping on cold beers last Sunday at the beach with my colleagues.

I learned that a half acre of beachfront land costs about $6,000. 

The owner of  BET (Black Entertainment) is also supporting and investing in Liberia before the mobs come.  He just opened up Monrovia’s finest hotel a few months ago. Come before its all taken!

On a similar but different note, have I mentioned how strange it is to not only be living and working in the same place with all your colleagues?  I felt a tad strange stripping to my bathing suit in front of my supervisor, but do as the Romans do I suppose.

OMG, this is the first country I’ve been too where I don’t have access to w0fi 24/7 and skype – and frankly its too much for me.  How did I do Peace Corps again? I seriously feel like my limbs have been cut off, I feel like I am becoming estranged from my family, my friends, my life- aah!

On another note, people at work have been incredibly nice and I’ve had NUMEROUS party invitations…so many in fact, that I am on my way to my 3rd dinner tonight!  First BBQ started at 4, second dinner at 6, and now going out friends at 9:30.  I guess that’s what happens in places where there is no social infrastructure – you rely on one another.  Just wanted to check in because I feel like I am out of it!  TTYS!

For an African enthusiast like me, meeting President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia yesterday was one of the highlights of my life.  She is the only female President in Africa, and one of the few female  Heads of State in the world.  Democratically elected in 2005, in a country just coming out of 14 years of brutal war, she ushered in a period of new hope in Liberia.  Recently named one of the top 50 most influential women, she ranked higher than Oprah - so clearly she is one powerful figure.

When I was ushered into a vehicle to attend an event yesterday, I thought the highlight would be the refreshments.  But when I realized the President would be there and saw EJS’s motorcade pull up my palms got clammy and my heart started pounding.  This was only further amplified when I realized she was sitting 6 feet away from me.  To add to the excitement, there was a female group  of students singing passionate gospel during the event.  In a country where over 50% of girls under 18 have been pregnant (most of them through rape), their parents murdered by their brothers, and all of them without any formal education for 15 years, the main refrain of their gospel song, “We still have joy, after all we’ve been through, we still have joy, we still have joy” brought tears rolling down my face.

Loving Liberia~

The more I travel in Africa, the smaller the world gets.    As I was sitting in on our morning meeting today, my colleague promised, “I bet you run into someone you know here in Monrovia.”  I replied, “Actually I already know of two people working here who I plan on meeting up with,” to which he replied, “There will be someone else you weren’t expecting – trust me, everyone is in Liberia.”

I accepted a dinner invitation with a colleague whom I met in DC months ago.  She told me she was meeting some friends from an NGO for dinner at the swanky sushi restaurant across the street from my apartment – perfect.  As we were walking up to the table of four, I saw J, my Peace Corps friend from Senegal and we nearly rolled on the floor crying/laughing.  I hadn’t seen her in 3 years!  Moreover, she has refused to join Facebook so I haven’t gotten any updates on her although I always wondered.  I was actually the first Peace Corps volunteer she met in Senegal.  I had been there a year when she started training and was sent to my village for a “demystification” visit days upon her arrival.  I like to think I showed her the ropes, you know…how to eat with your right hand, pee in the bush and how to pick the best tailor to make j-crew like dresses with African fabric.

We just spent the last two hours reminisching and gossiping, err…catching up on everyone from Peace Corps Senegal.  It’s amazing how comfortable I feel here, and how many people I know, not having ever been here before.  Like I said in Mali, Peace Corps was the most exclusive club I’ve ever been in – way better than any social club – and the one that keeps on giving and whose network I continually use.

I made it safe and sound in Monrovia.  Immediately upon landing I was greeted by a sign with my name on it and ushered out of the airport to the safety of the white SUV.  The drive from the airport to the city was over an hour and the scene looked very familiar to me, however the differences are obvious.  First, it is much greener than Senegal or Mali, totally lush – hundreds of palm trees after another.  Second, the city is dotted with enormous, unfinished and decapitated buildings from the civil war.  Finally, one can’t go 5 miles without seeing a UNMIL camp – the UN Peacekeepers commissioned here to ensure peace since the war.

I was blown away when I was dropped off at my apartment for the month.  Beachfront, 4 bedrooms with bathrooms, TV, DVD, washer dryer, A/C, etc….  Nice.  Within 5 minutes, I had to go out back to check out the crashing waves, and as soon as I did, the door slammed shut behind me and I got locked out   Thankfully, a neighbor was home and she called the security people up who came with an extra set of keys an hour later.  I knew the trip couldn’t be totally stress-free.  The internet in my place hasn’t been set up yet so I am across the street at a beautiful hotel, wet with sweat from the humidity, drinking an overpriced beer but  listening to the waves crash which makes it all worth it.

It won’t all be so pleasant – I was given a binder with my name on it with a copy of my jam packed schedule for the month beginning tomorrow morning at 7:30am.  So, I’m off to prepare.  More tomorrow!

Hi All, I know I’ve been MIA, but believe me its for good reason – I am head over heels in love with my crazy, busy job.  I work all the time and love every minute of it – but as a result not only have little time to blog, but have little to write about.

But it occurred to me to start again, since I am en route back to Africa….  I am sitting in the Brussels airport about to depart to Liberia.  This is a work trip and I will be there for about four weeks.  Although I expect to be working in an office nonstop in Monrovia, hopefully I’ll leave the confines enough to share some insight and stories into the culture.

More from Monrovia later!

One of the reasons I chose my apartment in the D.C. area is that it is literally a hop, skip and jump away from Georgetown – my most favorite place on the East Coast.  Moreover, there is an excellent 5 mile running path that starts at my apartment, and goes THROUGH the center of adorable Georgetown,  crossing over two bridges and through a forest.  I thought, man, I am going to this EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I tried it today.

I got over the first bridge.  And stopped.  Into Sisley.  Into J-Crew.  Into cute boutique #1.  Into cute deli #1.  Into cute boutique #2.  Into Anthropologie.  You get the gist.

I walked home in with my shoulders hunched over not as much in defeat, but because they were worn from carrying a gazillion shopping bags.  I need to find a new running path.  I think I better run on  Roosevelt Island (in the middle) next – it  doesn’t have anything but trees and paths, should be safe.

I’m back!

SO sorry I’ve been MIA for the last couple of months.  I cannot even begin to describe the whirlwind that took over my life.

But I will try.

Last you heard, I was on a fight back to Chicago from Mali, on what was a planned 2 week vacation to “take care of a few work things.”

Well, the “work things” panned out and I was offered my dream job in a seperate organization based in the United States.  I decided to stay in Chicago until my start date (next week) to catch up with friends and family and plan most of my wedding details.  I’ve set the date and chosen the venue, and if you are interested in more of my wedding details, I have been and will continue to blog about it every Tuesday on Elizabeth Anne Designs.

Now that things have simmered down, and are back on track, I finally have time to write again.

And so it begins, yet again.  I am moving this weekend to……

Washington D.C!

I got my dream job, kind of out-of -the- blue, when I was working in Mali.  It is a job that I applied for over a year ago but as soon as it became evident this was for real, I flew home and dove into the paperwork making sure it would come to fruition.  Although based in D.C., I will be traveling to Africa a few times a year to view programs.  The only thing missing is my fiance, who is finishing up school in NYC then moving to Houston in the Fall.  We are trying to figure out a way to be together by Christmas, but that will become clearer once we begin our jobs.

My Manolos are no longer on a Mission in Mali, but they certainly continue to be on a mission.  Hope you stay tuned.

Despite my 20s passing by in a blur, one thing that I always anticipate and look forward to are long airplane rides. Since I can remember, flying in a commercial jet was often just as exciting as the vacation itself – and my excitement about the trip ending didn’t end until the last beverage was served.

When the advent of the internet as a household tool came around ten years ago, I was the first to use it to monitor my flight status or movie options.  A few years ago, I surprised my brother by ordering him a special meal without his knowledge.  I was SERIOUSLY laughing so hard I snorted, when I heard the stewardess exclaim, “34d, 34d, your Hindu meal is coming right up,” as my brother’s eyes grew wide with terror.  He was, of course, sitting in 34d (& the meal was way better than mine).

Since then, I regularly pep myself up before each plane ride by researching shops and restaurants of the airports I have layovers in, meal preferences and in-flight entertainment.

So I was psyched to discover how great Air France’s in-flight entertainment option was on their website.  Check it out yourself.  You can click on the little TV screen and learn which movies will be available on your flight, and then, you can watch previews of the movies!  I can’t decide which to watch first after 6 months without a TV: High School Musical 3, The Visitor, Rachel Getting Married, Nights in Rodanthe or W.

http://www.airfrance.fr/US/en/local/transverse/frame/genericIFrameAuto.htm?url=http://videocdn.airfrance.com/distractions/index_en.html

I also learned that I have enough time for a short layover in Paris.  Notre Dame Cathedral is right off the train line that comes from Charles de Gaulle airport so I am planning on having breakfast at a cafe nearby.  Is it ok to eat French Onion Soup and drink Perrier at breakfast?

Holy Mary Mother of God – I forgot about the weather.  In all the excitement around going home for a couple of weeks, I totally forgot about the insane, bitter cold.

I had been  envisioning brunching with my friends at an outdoor cafe on Wells Street.  Or running alongside Labradors and cyclists on the lake path.  I FORGOT that instead I will be darting quickly between my garage door to the car door and will need to warm up the seats immediately to defrost from that few second trek.  Eeek!

As much as I miss Chicago, I have never missed the cold.

Life comes at you fast.

That’s what my fiance and I would exclaim as I was putting together a DVD slideshow for one of my good friend’s weddings last year.  Here they are at…. 2 years old, 5, the 10, 16, 22, and so on and so forth.  Seeing it in a rapid slideshow makes it seem all the more quicker.

I remember the days however, when life came at you sloooooowwwwllyyy.  I remember how LONG it took for summer break to finally arrive.  I remember how long those 15 days until my birthday felt.  So why does it seem like my 20s are an absolute blur of activity that cannot slow down?  Since I turned 20, I’ve lived in 8 different places, on 4 different continents,  acquired two degress, tried to learn four languages and worked at 6 jobs.

I mean, I’m engaged now.  Shouldn’t that make me “settle down” as some would say.  Yes, that was the original plan, and my plan always is to spend the rest of my life with my wonderful fiance.  And we are getting there.  But life also throws you curve balls and one dropped in my lap earlier this week.  And…that’s why he loves me

More to come later, but I am taking an impromptu trip back to the States this week to sort out some things.  I should be back within a few weeks, so I’ll have more updates then.

I saw a post on my faithful reader AbFab Geek’s blog the other day with the rules to the following ME post.  This one is different from a MEME post since the questions are personalized to each person.  If you want to participate, please read the rules at the bottom, do as it says, and I will in return ask you 6 personalized questions that I want to know about YOU, as AbFab Geek has asked me below.  Without further I do, I will try to answer her questions as briefly as I can (because some answers could turn into novels and psycho-analytical ranting).

1. You have traveled to some amazing places. What was the most surprising thing that you found in each country?

I’ll just choose a couple recent ones, since my Facebook travel map tells me I’ve been to 44.

Mali – I was expecting the country to be dry, arid, stark and desolate, barren and void of natural resources…so I was surprised at how very rich it is in social capital (clothing, jewelry, fascinating history, mysticism, cultural traditions, music, art, etc).

China – I was surprised at all the rankings!  Everywhere I went, no matter the venue, there was a sign bloating about its ranking, similar to the following, “The 4th highest restaurant in Eastern China, south of Beijing, serving Indian cuisine, for under $20, with live music, atleast once a week…”  You get the jist.  It was unexpected comic relief.

2. What is the biggest obstacle that you had to overcome to successfully live in remote places?

Loneliness.  Learning to be happy on your own is key.

3. What different languages do you speak and when and where did you learn them?

Polish – Language I spoke at home with my family

Japanese – Studied in college, but have lost almost all of it

French – Learned it on the streets of West Africa

Wolof – First language I learned in Senegal and used it for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer there.

Serer – The language my Peace Corps village spoke in Senegal and spoke it there.  (Pretty funny- growing up in America I spoke Polish at home and English on the streets just like in Senegal I spoke Serer at home and Wolof on the streets).

Fulani – I am trying to learn this language right now.  It is one of the most useful languages to know in West Africa as the Fulani people are nomadic and can be found from the coast of Benin all the way to Chad.

4. Tell me honestly, have your parents ever expressed a desire that you stay closer to home or at least out of harm’s way?

Really, they are the ones who push me to take the offers abroad when I am on the fence.  They love what I do with my life.  Immigrants from communist Poland, they come from the line of thinking that the world is my playground, and as long as I have access to it, I should take advantage of it.  I think this also stems from their knowledge of love of traveling.  Since they’ve been to most of these places, they no longer have misconceived stereotypes about where and how I live, and that helps them relax knowing that actually, I am safe and taken care of.  Sure, my mother would be totally ok if I moved in with them and became her BFF and tagged along by her side all day, all night long.  But I am sure after 7 days she would tell me to go back to the bush

5. What do think calls you to serve and work in remote and rural places? Do you consider yourself a risk taker?

Generally, I am a risk-taker. Not so much with life or death matters, but with general life choices yes.  I really get it that we have one life to live.  And I’ve seen how much my life changes with each random decision I make.  So I know the power one choice makes.  And to me, it’s fun.

I am the most emotional girl in the world, the one that cries in commercials and the one that gets tearful when I see injustice anywhere.  Mean people do suck and it breaks my heart when people hurt.  I still cannot fathom how unfair life is to the people living here.  It’s just not fair.  So it’s hard not to dedicate your life to them when you see how they are exactly just like you, but for some reason got the short end of the stick in the game of life.  That motivates me everyday.  I had another job offer before I came to Mali that paid 3x what I make here.  The day I declined it to come out here, was a surprise to myself as well as to others.  That’s when I realized I would always need to find my work meaningful – that trumps the rest for me.

6. Where do you see yourself twenty years from now?

20 years…Well by that time I will be nearing 50.   I would like to have found a home to settle in, hopefully in Chicago, near my parents and family, married, raising 3 kids.  I would like to have already written a book, and be working at a fabulous jobs managing a campaign or perhaps my own business.

If you would like to participate in the ME interview, here are the rules.

1. If you want to be interviewed, leave me a comment that says “Interview me”.

2. I will respond by emailing you 5 questions (I get to choose the questions).

3. Update your blog with the answers to the questions and let me know when you have posted it.

4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.

5. When other comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.