I've had many homes that I've loved in my life, and now I can add Sierra Leone to that list. You never really realize that a place has become home until you leave it and come back. I returned from Ghana on Wednesday and found myself breathing a sigh of relief as I stepped out of the airport into the cool air. I enjoyed being away and having some time to myself, but I was happy to see the ocean stretching out before me on the ride home and was excited to see my friends in Freetown.
As I started to unpack, I had another great surprise. My room doesn't have a dresser or any shelves in the closet, so for the past three months I've been keeping things that don't need to be put on hangers in my suitcase. But when I came home, I finally had shelves! So after three months of living out of a suitcase, I was finally able to unpack properly.
My time in Ghana was really refreshing. I spent one day in Accra and then went to the coast to spend a few days. The town I stayed in was small and the coastline was dominated by Cape Coast Castle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Coast_Castle). This is one of the several castles that were built on the Gold Coast of Ghana for the slave trade. It's hard to describe how I felt as I was touring it. The disconnect between the beautiful building and the stunning views of the coast and the ugly things that had happened there was hard to stomach. The most striking contrast was the entrance to the church in the castle. Just outside the door of the church was a spy hole for the men's dungeons where over 200 men at a time were trapped with only a tiny window at the top for light and ventilation. It's hard to imagine how the people working at the castle were able to walk into their church service past the cries from below.
My time in the Cape Coast wasn't completely heavy, though. I made new friends and learned how to play a ngony and managed to commission one to be made and sent to my Mom. I spent a lot of time sitting on the beach, sipping a beer, and just relaxing. Here in Sierra Leone we generally work 10-12 hour days and are expected to work at least one day of the weekend. Since it's the norm, you get used to it and start to forget what it's like to have a proper work-life balance. While I was away, I didn't check my email at all and I was able to just focus on myself for the first time in a long time. It was definitely a needed break.
This weekend in Sierra Leone we're having a 'stay-at-home' period, also known as a lockdown. The cases had been reducing, but getting to zero is proving to be much more of a challenge. We've had case surges in certain areas and it seems that our progress is starting to stall. So the government declared this lockdown for three days. No one is allowed to leave the house for three days to try to reduce cases. It's quite boring, but at least I have my roommates. The house we live in has three floors of people, so we've been taking turns cooking dinner for each other and hanging out. In addition to that, I've also been making great use of my Netflix account. I think if they ever need a spokeswoman, I could absolutely do it.
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