Di bodi fine. (How are you? I'm fine). That's about as far as my Krio has got at the end of my first week in our Freetown office. It's actually strangely easy to understand but when I try to speak it, I just sound like someone trying to do a (very bad) Jamaican accent.
It's weird to think I started this week cycling into Westminster in the rain and am finishing it walking through the hot and dusty streets of Freetown.
Joe and I were greeted by the whole office on Thursday morning, with singing and dancing in true Restless Development style and then spent the rest of the day getting to know everyone better. I'm going to be working particularly closely with Jalloh (the Youth Leadership and Advocacy Programme Manager) so it was really useful to spend time with him building up a clearer picture of the work we're currently doing in Sierra Leone around civic participation and policy/advocacy.
The intermittent internet connection here is already proving to be a real challenge and it takes me ages to even open an email, let alone respond to it. (I'm writing this blog at a pricey internet cafe with the only wifi connection in Freetown, appropriately named "Bliss"). I've been trying to set up outlook so I can download emails and work on them offline, but even that doesn't appear to be working properly. So I'm getting to know Mahmoud, the IT guy, pretty well. Reckon he might start hiding from me soon!
On a positive note I'm now a millionaire! I changed £250 and got 1.6 million Leones! The largest note here is 10,000 Leones (about £1.50) so you have to carry large wads of them, which is really weird when I'm so used to relying on debit cards and barely carry cash in the UK. I definitely feel like the "new kid on the block" and am sure I've got my 10,000 and 1000 notes confused on more than one occasion already. Lucky taxi drivers!
It's weird to think I started this week cycling into Westminster in the rain and am finishing it walking through the hot and dusty streets of Freetown.
Joe and I were greeted by the whole office on Thursday morning, with singing and dancing in true Restless Development style and then spent the rest of the day getting to know everyone better. I'm going to be working particularly closely with Jalloh (the Youth Leadership and Advocacy Programme Manager) so it was really useful to spend time with him building up a clearer picture of the work we're currently doing in Sierra Leone around civic participation and policy/advocacy.
The intermittent internet connection here is already proving to be a real challenge and it takes me ages to even open an email, let alone respond to it. (I'm writing this blog at a pricey internet cafe with the only wifi connection in Freetown, appropriately named "Bliss"). I've been trying to set up outlook so I can download emails and work on them offline, but even that doesn't appear to be working properly. So I'm getting to know Mahmoud, the IT guy, pretty well. Reckon he might start hiding from me soon!
On a positive note I'm now a millionaire! I changed £250 and got 1.6 million Leones! The largest note here is 10,000 Leones (about £1.50) so you have to carry large wads of them, which is really weird when I'm so used to relying on debit cards and barely carry cash in the UK. I definitely feel like the "new kid on the block" and am sure I've got my 10,000 and 1000 notes confused on more than one occasion already. Lucky taxi drivers!
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| Joe and Mohammed looking out from the office balcony |
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| Restless Development Freetown office |
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