"Home" in Freetown

As a Restless Development nomad I don't really have a home at the moment. My worldly possessions are currently crammed into my old bedroom at my Mum and Dad's house in Kent. But while I am in Freetown, my "home" is a flat on a road called "Lower Pipeline". Much like the mystery of where River Number 1 is in relation to River Number 2, I am yet to discover where "Upper Pipeline" road is, but most taxi and ocada (motorbike taxi) drivers seem to manage to find my road.


I think I explained in an earlier blog post that during my first visit to Sierra Leone, I shared the flat with a British guy called Joe, who's doing a four month voluntary placement with our finance team. Now I'm back, Joe's still here and we've been joined by Perry, who is also a Restless Development nomad like me (originally from Tennessee in the USA), but as a member of our Senior Management Team, he provides Country Director level support while I focus on Programme Managers. 


Perry and Joe have been great at looking after me this week while I've not been feeling great. They've been cooking in the evenings, letting me win at backgammon (sure they just feel sorry for me because last time Joe and I played he beat me 9 games to 1) and not losing patience when I need them to repeat what they're saying because I never seem to hear the first time. I'm yet to get them to pour olive oil into my ear (which is what I'm meant to be doing) though. Think I can at least spare them that, even though it does result in me pouring half the bottle down the side of my head instead!


Wherever I am in the world, my Mum always complains that she can't picture me there, so these photos are mainly for you Mum, but for anyone else that's interested, here's some shots of "home".

Joe cooking during a power cut

The bathroom. You can tell I live with boys based on the toilet seat! One bucket for washing. Big bowl for washing clothes.

The living room/my workout area!

For anyone who's had me stay with them, you'll know that when I can't run I go a bit stir crazy, so I resort to my Davina McCall workout DVDs. Exercise really helps me get into a routine and de-stress when I'm on the move so much. I've lost track of the bizarre places I've done these workouts: Paul and Yvonne Wood's garden in Cape Town while doing the research for my MA dissertation, Chris and Clare Rowswell's living room during my last month in Morocco, numerous hotel rooms (including during my last trip to Tanzania during the Programme Quality Conference), and even a tiny cabin on a boat from Portsmouth to Santander. She's a well-travelled lady! Anyway, in Freetown I try to get to Lumley beach to run when I can, but when I Ieave work late it's not always easy, so out comes Davina (much to Joe and Perry's amusement). It's a bonus when the power's working as I can point the fan right at me and I'm a (slightly) lighter shade of puce when I finish!

The giant satellite dish outside our balcony. Our landlord (Mr Jabba) says it doesn't work but it's too expensive to move it!

The balcony/clothes drying area