An Unexpected Day

Day 12

Today began early. We arrived at the hotel restaurant for breakfast ready to head downtown for a 9:00 with the Minister of Education. Unfortunately, this meeting did not come to pass. Tim and Jay spent the bulk of the morning trying to figure out a way to make it happen. One of the biggest problems being the fact that today is a national holiday. In any event, Tim is bound and determined to get in front of the Minister. He may even stay an extra day or two to make it happen. We'll see how this plays out. In any event, Xane and I will be coming home as scheduled.

However, that doesn't mean the day was without more interesting experiences and activity. To begin, we ended up spending the morning in the hotel. I used the time to catch up on emails, getting gradually reacquainted with my American life that awaits my return. I spoke to my wife Maudi on the phone and wished her a happy birthday and a happy 21st anniversary. And my daughter LouElla and I Facetimed. Very nice!

We ate lunch and headed to town.

Stopped at a tiny shop full of hand-crafted art pieces. My favorite was this rhino businessman ($125!). We came away with a bagful of bracelets and necklaces. 

The shop was across the street from this fence with message painted on it. There are many "do not pepe here" signs around the city.

These girls were playing nearby in a dirt playground with a little swing set. They saw me, climbed under the fence and followed me. I videoed them dancing and showed them the video. They LOVED it. New friends.

Entrance to a seamstress shop. Jay stopped here to check in on an order and place another. Had to photograph it for my wife who loves purple.

This is the bamboo-walled wood carving shop I spoke of in yesterday's post. We returned here today for some purchases. Inside there were a few long tables by which stood a four or five craftsmen selling their wares. It was full of amazing art. Again, the Liberian salesman is top notch in terms of persistence and unyielding pressure. A single glance at an item at the back of the table causes the seller to pounce on your interest with vigor. The strategy became choosing the items we wanted, placing them in a pile and having Jay haggle with the sellers until he got the price down to a reasonable amount.  

Work area in the back of the shop. The handmade carving tool on the stump was ingenious.  

Xane and a salesman. (Good luck, Xane!)

Wall art

Jay haggles with every salesman at once. (Good luck, salesmen!)

This is Joseph. He insisted I take a picture of him and his number. I agreed. You can order from him directly. 

On the street just in front of the wood carvers' shop there were dozens of sellers selling everything from eggs to vegetables to crabs to lobsters. Like their carving brethren, a glance in their direction was enough for them to rush to you and begin their pitch. Xane lit up when he saw this 50lb grouper. We paid this guy $1 to take the picture. The crab guy photobombed them and wanted money too. A few minutes after this a police truck pulled up and the sellers ran every which way to get away. Turns out it is illegal to sell in front of another's shop and if they get caught the police will take your goods. The poor egg seller dropped his eggs in the mad scramble to get away. Not all of them broke, but I felt bad for him.

We stopped at this orphanage. Tim and Jay come here every time Tim's in town.

Tim with his friends Titus and Prince.

Fist bumps before leaving.

The picture at the top was taken outside Jay's friend's house. His name is Cromwell. He is a banker. As Jay and Cromwell chatted outside, about fifteen neighborhood kids ran over to us. I got some good photos and videos of them. This one was the best. 

Finally, late last night a good friend of Tim and Jay's, Nat Barnes, came to the hotel to have dinner with us. Like every other person we've met here, he was amazing. A passionate Liberian who is working to help his homeland. He is a former Liberian ambassador to the United States and the U.N. Xane and I very much enjoyed his company. We learned a great deal about Liberia's history and present political scene. Mr. Barnes has applied to be a nominee in the upcoming 2017 Liberian presidential elections. (Wow!) He's got my vote. 

Until tomorrow...