Good Day – November 14th
November 14th came around and I needed to catch up on two pictures from yesterday. Two or three or whatever.
Ataya Tea and Newspaper-Wrapped Chicken
There’s this drink in Sierra Leone, as well as Senegal and Gambia, that’s called Ataya. Ataya is essentially green tea mixed with mint, and most people add a lot of sugar to it. When you find a place that has thermoses with hot water or already-prepared Ataya, that’s the place to go.
You only pay about 5 leones for one, which is very little, especially considering it takes about 26 leones for one U.S. dollar. I’ve had quite a few of these, and they’re great when coffee or regular tea isn’t available. I’ve had some good conversations while drinking Ataya.
The other thing was a kind of fish-and-chips situation—well, not really. But they used the same newspaper wrapping technique. I bought a bit of already cooked chicken, and they wrapped it up in newspaper. It reminded me of fish and chips, but very chicken-like.
Back to the Car Shop
On this day, I had to pick up my car again, so I needed to take a motorbike ride. That’s how most public transportation works here. Even though I was a little late, I was still too early, because the car place had another task to deal with first.
They had an engine for some kind of machinery that needed to be moved onto another truck heading to Liberia. It was extremely heavy, so the owner had to be involved. While they were doing that, my car wasn’t being worked on—and I couldn’t leave anyway because everything was blocked. Not the end of the world; everything is Africa time here.
Meeting the Giving University Group
I went over to the Basia Restaurant a few properties away and ran into a group of about 10–12 Americans wearing shirts from Giving University. We had a conversation, and I shared what I was doing.
Every year, this group takes Americans to a country to visit NGOs. Depending on what they find, those organizations may qualify to receive support. If an organization has no proper books or questionable operations, it doesn’t get on the list and receives no funding. It’s a good process. You can find them at: givinguniversity.com.
The Trial Run and the Police Stop
Once the car was finally done—well past the expected time—the manager insisted on a trial run. I figured it was best if he drove.
Within a kilometer we hit a police stop. There are many of those here. It turned out the manager had forgotten his driver’s license, which was immediately an issue. We ended up with a ticket for 400 leones. We didn’t have money on us, so we took a motorbike back to the shop.
When he returned, it turned out there were two tickets—one for driving without a license and another for not having a license on him. Only here! He negotiated it down to one ticket. They also questioned my situation, but since I’m only passing through Sierra Leone, that was fine.
Fixing the Steering Rod
I suggested cutting the trial run short. I felt good about the repairs, though the manager wanted to finalize a couple of things. They had welded my steering rod earlier, but he wasn’t satisfied with that, so they took one from another car. Now I have a non-welded steering rod—not brand new, but good enough.
Visa Payment Trouble
Then came the matter of paying. The owner had said I could use Visa, but always hesitantly. Their machine had issues again. For some reason, two charges appeared from a nearby supermarket for $1,295 each, which definitely wasn’t me. I contacted my bank immediately, and my card was cancelled.
I ended up paying with cash reserves. All good in the end—though it could have been smoother.
An Orange Dress and a Smile
On my way to West Wind Energy, I passed a woman crossing the road in an orange dress that perfectly matched my car. I told her I liked the dress. She looked puzzled at first, then noticed the car color and gave me a huge smile.
Visiting West Wind Energy
West Wind Energy is connected with Burn Design Lab. They use BDL’s research to make improved stoves on a small scale. The Wonder Stove is one of them, along with commercial versions.
I visited their location, met Taps, the owner, and got a tour. They explained more about the stoves I had seen earlier in the Masingbe area—hundreds of them dropped off for villagers, made in Kenya using Burn Design Lab designs created by Peter Scott. Amazing how it all connects from Kenya to deep inside Sierra Leone.
Wrapping Up the Day
I made it back just before dark and had an easy night. There’s so much going on, but thanks for coming along. Till next time.
