Culture Shock?

Well I’m back in Freetown. It’s rainy season, but people are saying that it has been raining less than usual. The air is fresh. It’s much easier to sleep at night.

I’m looking forward to having some time to consolidate my experiences here. My time back home didn’t provide for that. And I wasn’t taken aback by culture shock, or reverse culture shock. Something most-everyone said will happen. Does this mean I don’t have a pulse?

One huge difference between Canada and Sierra Leone is the waste factor. I swear Salone operates on no-less-than 150% capacity. If Salone were a hockey player, coaches would be proud. Although it would be a stretch to say that this efficiency is conscientious conservatism, it does, nonetheless, offer ideas for western consumption and more importantly provide some insight on the Salone culture. (Photo: Staff from my organisation hangout by the roadside)

Sierra Leoneans have a rich social life because their habits put people together. In the west single-serving habits create convenience, large amounts of waste and they also separate people. Freetown taxis run general routes and pick up extra passengers when a seat becomes available. I enjoy the customary procedure of greeting each passenger and joining the conversations. Some of my best memories so far have taken place in a Poda Poda or taxi. I am still taken aback when Salone strangers talk to me as if we are great friends. In the waiting room at the Driver License Office, strangers breakout into dynamic conversations - laughing, complaining, exchanging gossip and cell numbers. Remember, Freetown ain’t no village. It’s a big city. I’m wondering if they even have the word “stranger” in Krio.

Conversely, westerners try desperately not to make eye contact in public places. When I moved from smaller cities, the Sault and Windsor, to Toronto, I thought I was in the Twilight Zone every time I rode public transport. Never before had I been in a location with so many people with so little noise. No interaction between people. It took a couple of months to get used to. (Photo: Ibrahim models my cap)

Wednesday night in Freetown. I could not believe the amount of people on Aberdeen Road. People were everywhere. They aren’t just going from the apartment to Shoppers Drug Mart and back. It looks like a street party. But it’s Wednesday night? I looked at my watch to see if it’d tell me that it’s a special holiday or something. That was stupid. As if the watch is going to tell me that! And I don’t even have a watch! Maybe this is culture shock. I had already reverted back to western thinking - surely this was an organized party. Nope. It was just a beautiful, clear-skied Wednesday evening in Freetown.

Oddly enough, even for a white man, Freetown befriends you much quicker than it’s Canadian counterparts.

Pink Barbie Carry On

I’m headed back home for a summer-time visit. Really excited to see family and friends. But right now I’m at Heathrow, in a typical long distance traveling state – slightly delusional on a mixture of sleep deprivation and cappuccino.

Any attempt of Zen accumulation is being destroyed by the traffic rubbing up against my seat – at a choke point. There are few seats left at the massive zone one lounge. I’ve noticed that Heathrow is declaring Kuala a lump of poo. (the gate board isn’t big enough to accommodate the city’s full name, so it’s Kuala Lumpu).

I like airports. People watching is fun. How do people become so different? So many people, adults and children, are running over toes with their large wheeled carry-ons as they race through the maze of people, making sure not to make eye contact. Then there’s this little girl who carefully navigates her pink Barbie bag past everyone’s limbs as she follows her dad who’s equally as cognizant of the other humans. This family may have missed their flight, but everyone smiled as they passed.

I’ve also noticed throughout my life that women (thanks mom) possess these special powers of humanity unlike any other animal we can talk to (although males may experience communication failure). This is why people in Sierra Leone are working hard to build the capacity of women to take on key decision-making roles in the government. These were just words I read before I got here. Now I understand.

I’ve heard it many times before “ if women were in charge of the world, it would be a better place”. I heard it, but never really listened (see failure to communicate). Little Barbie bag girl just tipped the logic balance in my brain, and I truly believe it now. There’s no way women would have allowed this to be part of a constitution “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” There would be no war in Iraq and there’s little chance children would go starving.