I have arrived!

Some people say that its not where you are going that counts, but how you get there. If the journey from Newcastle to Freetown is indicative of my time here, its going to be an interesting year. After a standard flight to Heathrow, the African experience began on the flight from there to Sierra Leone. The flight was full of Africans jostling for space for vast amounts of hand luggage, and the flight eventually left an hour late with me in whatever seat I could find (no hope of sitting in my booked seat!).

Then came the pandemonium of Lungi Airport. The six VSO volunteers (two dropped out at the last minute) were met by two very friendly police officers who seemed keen to rush us through customs. Our passports went missing so I went to see what was happening and was taken to a stern looking guy in full African regalia, who I can only presume was a tribal chief. He asked me in a booming voice, “What is your mission?” I answered this and several similar questions with a mixture of VSO propaganda and whatever I could think to add. It seemed to work; he smiled briefly and returned our passports.

We were then supposed to get a ferry or hovercraft across to Freetown, but both were not running. That meant a choice of staying overnight in the airport or getting a helicopter to the city – an easy choice! The ride was great, although the view was not as there are very few lights in the city so it was hard to see what was below. We were then picked up in 4x4s and taken to our temporary accommodation in Freetown.

I find myself living in the house of a volunteer who has already been here for a year, which has been a great help. Laura speaks fluent Krio and has shown us the ropes of getting around the city. Ailsing is another newbie who will be living with Laura permanently, so I am the de facto man of the house. The place itself is great, despite the lack of electricity and running water. My room is clean, welcoming and had a king size bed – much better than expected!

So we have pretty much had two days off, so we have explored the city a little, and checked out the beaches, which are stunning. On Saturday night, we went out for a meal and a few beers, which ended in us leaving Paddy's nightclub at 4.30am after some highly energetic dancing. On Sunday we managed to find a little shack with two TVs packed full of rowdy young men watching Manchester United battle out a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. A quality match day experience. I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised by Freetown. Although it is very hot, some of the roads are poor and it is pretty dirty, the people are so friendly and there is a great vibe. I feel really safe and I have already made some good friends with local people and other volunteers.

So all is well, I think I will be happy here during my training, although I will have to wait ten days before I see my new home in Makeni.

I am having trouble uploading photos so I'll try again next time!