Leaving Liberia... Tiwai here I come!

Dear friends and family (and any other readers that might pop up, greetings to you too),

I am now ready for my field work. I will be crossing the border to Sierra Leone tomorrow morning and arriving at Potoru, which is 16km from Tiwai Island. There I will stay at the EFA guesthouse, where Momoh Magona and his wife Daneh live and travel around to the communities during the day to gather my material. Hopefully after 10 days I should be ready to go back to Freetown and for the analysis.

I regret to say Im without internet in Potoru, so I will take a real break from blogging and hopefully come back full of stories and experiences to write and tell about...

My number in Sierra Leone again is +232 76 426935

Momoh Magona's number is +232 76 922792

...Just in case someone needs to find me hehehe...

So Im going to the bush. I dont know if I will stay many days in Tiwai but I really hope I stay at least a couple. It is easier to travel to the communities I must reach from Potoru than Tiwai, so I will keep it for my "freetime", the scaring of the bugs... I´ll experiment to see if they are more scared of me than me of them, I mean, I AM considerably bigger, right?

I bid goodbye to Monrovia, and Libeira. To its beautiful beaches and its tropical nature. To the palms, popó trees (papaya), mango, casava, plantanes and to the giant snails they sell in the market (never got a picture because I didnt feel safe taking my camera out in the moment). I say fairwell to the Liberian people, with their beautiful complections, curious eyes, quick smiles and hasty english, where "field" was "fee" and "white woman" was always "why woma"... I bid fairwell to Harry, Nancy, Ampem, Koli, Isaac, and all the EFA staff.. and to Ivo, the cool UN driver...and to Survivor the loving puppy, that one will really break my heart saying bye to. I thank God for the chance to come here, and visit the sites where EFA works, seeing the wells built and the trees planted, and the smile in the children's faces when one arrives, and for their singing... I thank most of all for their singing... Liberia will forever be in my heart, as one of the most difficult places I ever went to, but also as one of the most enriching experiences I ever went through...

I am sorry I did not find enough time to blog today but its been a rough day with everything one must prepare before a trip. I wish you all a beautiful weekend and a lovely week. And remember we are always more blessed than our sight allows us to see...I have definitly learned that here.

Lots of love and peace,

Giovi