It was just another day of travel as I watched the driver slamming on the brakes with both feet, yet the car didn't seem to respond as one might hope...you know, by slowing down. “No problem,” he says, “the pads are a just little worn.” He yanked the emergency brake like he was ejecting from a flaming fighter jet and finally about 100 yards later we rolled to a stop, thus transforming his previous statement into the understatement of the year. Very rarely is it a good thing when a vehicle runs out of gas in the middle of the African bush, but that day I was thankful.
Something else I'm thankful for- dead bats. I have a serious bat problem in my house. It sounds like there's an entire bat community living in my attic, leading to problems such as bat feces leaking through the gaps in the ceiling, squeaking all night long, and worst of all, bats occasionally inside my house. Twenty months in Africa has dulled my fear of spiders (they're giant, but kill mosquitoes), mice (I kill 'em), and rats (I don't touch 'em, but I don't shriek like a school girl anymore when I see them); bats, however, do not fail to give me a near-paralyzing case of the heebie jeebies.
Two weeks ago, I was reading in my bed, just another mellow night at Casa de Surba. I was getting sleepy, so I did what any non-Sierra Leonean would do and went to sleep (*Interesting fact time* Sierra Leoneans don't sleep. Ever. They call each other at all hours of the night, which would be so much more heinous of a crime if they weren't calling to just say hi, because they miss you. But the interesting part is that I heard a caller on BBC say that this lack of phone etiquette can be blamed on Sierra Leoneans jumping from no phones anywhere in the country to every person over the age of 12 having a cell phone. They simply never learned what's appropriate and not in terms of the phone. Interesting, huh!). About 30 minutes later, I woke up to an abnormally loud squeaking sound, obviously from a bat. I grabbed my flashlight, did a quick scan of my room, and sure enough, six inches from my face was a bat. My heart's beating faster just thinking about it. After jumping out of bed faster than a kid on Christmas morning, I froze. I didn't know what to do. Obviously I had to expedite this vile creature's exit from my living quarters, I just had no idea how to do it.
After a few minutes of just watching it, Africa Me kicked in and I grabbed my broom to kill the bastard. I tried whacking it through the mosquito net a few times to no avail. Finally, I opened the net to let it fly out, leading to more hysteria, broom swinging, and awkwardly pre-pubescent whines. Then it trumped me and flew under my bed into the corner of the room. After the bat played its trump card, I slept in my spare room, dejected and petrified, but at least I was bat free for the time-being. The next day it was nowhere to be found. Sweet Baby Jesus I hate bats.
Luckily its not all rabies-ridden flying rats and four-wheeled death traps over here- we're building a library!! We broke ground last weekend and are flying along marvelously, with a target finish of May 31, 2012. The books are on their way via Books for Africa (www.booksforafrica.org), the furniture is being made thanks to a grant from the Friends of Sierra Leone (www.fosalone.org), and thanks to my friends and family, we are going to build a freakin library in a rural village in West Africa. That is just so badass, and I am so very thankful for the unwavering support of such a fabulous group of people. We still need some funding to finish the project, but I have no doubt we will meet our goal of giving Bauya something we all take for granted- books.
https://www.wepay.com/donate/15581
I had an awesome Christmas and New Years. Salone 1, the group of 35 volunteers who were the first to return to Sierra Leone after the war, put on the first annual Peace Corps Sierra Leone Girls Conference, more popularly known as GLADI-SL (Girls Leading and Developing Sierra Leone; gladi means happy in Krio. Cute, huh?). Again, supported by our friends and family, we each brought two girls from our school to Moyamba for a two day conference with the goal of empowering these fabulous girls and women to become the leaders of tomorrow. It was such a great event, we all worked our butts off, and the girls had a blast while learning a lot and getting themselves a healthy dose of empowerment. Liz and I spent Christmas in Bauya, cooking fabulous food and joining the community contest of who can get the most inebriated. As usual, we lost, but the best part about that game is that nobody really loses at all. After Christmas we headed with some of our buddies to Banana Islands, a tiny island chain about 10 miles off the coast. Believe it or not, it was legendary. Some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever laid eyes on, unbelievably good food, and wildly cheap. Definitely the best trip we've taken so far.
That's the latest, folks. I'm doing my very best to ignore the elephant sitting in my parlor, remain present, and let six months from now be exactly that...but it's sooo hard. Every day, every different emotion flies through me as I contemplate my life here, and my life back home. I am so very happy here, and have learned so many invaluable incites into who I am and who I want to be. I am blessed to have such wonderful Peace Corps friends, blessed to have such inspirational and hilarious friends in Bauya, and blessed to have such an encouraging support network back home. Most of all, I am blessed for the love I am surrounded by, all over the world.
Thanks for that love, support, and remaining interested in the tiny space I'm occupying.
BB
PS. A bunch of us want to do a transatlantic cruise on our way home. Ideally we'd like to leave from Morocco around the first week of August, or anything close to any of that. If you have any suggestions, please email me. Thanks! brandonjosephbrown@gmail.com
