Monrovia Fun

Wow I really have not written in awhile. This is mostly because I have been travelling around like crazy. A couple weeks ago I travelled to Monrovia for the Pygmy Hippopotamus Conservation Strategy Meeting. It was very interesting and educational (plus we ate tons – I have never drunk so much tea in one day in my life!). It was a treat to see what everybody else was doing in their respective countries – we had representatives from Guinea, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire and of course Sierra Leone! It was strange to just put out all the ideas we could think of and then these ideas are taken and written into a report by somebody else. I met some interesting people, so it was good to “network.” Not that I’m very good at doing that, but I don’t think I made too big of a mess of myself. Haha.



Monrovia seems to be much more developed than Freetown. Nice roads, phenomenal supermarkets (I found pancake mix where you just have to add water, and donuts, and so much more). I think the meeting was productive but there was a heck of a lot of brainstorming. I’m not used to sitting down and thinking all day anymore. And the air conditioning made me sick. Bleh. And our hotel was hideous. And I don’t exaggerate. Imagine a 4 story cement square block. With flashing red lights. The inside was better but seriously they should really rethink their design. It was Chinese – I was wondering if they were envisioning a hunk of the great wall being dropped into mid-town Monrovia.


Next on the agenda was to travel back to Sierra Leone (Kenema) and then to Gorahun-Tunkia for some environmental education fun. The last day in Liberia I started to develop a hard painful lump on the back of my upper thigh. It really hurt to sit down in the car on a bumpy road. I texted my doctor friend in Bo and asked her what to do for a boil. She advised me to come in to Bo to check it out. So the next morning, I travelled from Kenema to Bo (in serious pain). She took one look at it and pronounced it a furuncle, gave me some antibiotics and cream and sent me on my way. The next day it was feeling worse, but my doctor friend had returned to the States, so I headed to the hospital to get it bandaged up (I was sorta leaking and stuff). That was one of the most painful experiences of my life. They basically just cleaned it up and took some pus out, etc. But I definitely cried like they were taking a bullet out of me. Maybe I am a wuss! I headed back to Kenema to get ready for the environmental ed program.

Me, Victor from EFA, and Kailie from the Transboundary Peace Park went to 2 schools in Gorahun and the next day to Pewa (a smaller town). I think it went fairly well. I was really glad for it to be done though.