Odds and Ends

- I’ve been trying to get a picture of these guys for weeks, and finally managed to a few days ago. These are the rock guys, two men who bring in rocks to areas with particularly bad potholes, break them and try to make the road more passable. They’re usually a few blocks away from our house, on the main road I take to work in the mornings. Since the road never looks that much improved, we had secretly suspected that they carried the same broken rocks from spot to spot, hoping for more sympathy in different areas.

I talked to my driver about it yesterday, and he said they actually did break new rocks each day and it does help the smaller cars trying to muscle through the muck. These two guys were among 150 deported from the US last year, and they’ve been plying their trade around town since then, living off the tips drivers occasionally offer. They always wear the bright construction coats and usually have helmets, doing a little dance as the bigger 4x4’s pass by and smiling broadly at a thumbs up from drivers and passengers. They come across as about the cheeriest people in town, but I can’t get a sense at all about how much is for show.

-I finally left Monrovia last weekend to take a quick trip to Thinkers Beach (pronounced Tinkers), just a few miles outside the city. We spent most of the afternoon under a thatched cabana, just watching the ocean and enjoying the time outside, which is way too rare here. I ventured into the water a bit and was quickly overwhelmed by the strength of the undertow. We’d been warned about it, and it turns out people are not kidding around. Even standing at the edge of the water to get my feet wet, the tide pulled back forcefully enough to completely erode the ground beneath me faster than I’ve ever seen in the Pacific. A few wipeouts and facefuls of salt water were enough for me, and I quickly retreated to the shade.

The beach area was filled mostly with expats and there were just a handful of Liberians. This mix made us a pretty obvious target for local vendors. We were barraged with opportunities to buy masks, carved statues and scads and scads of jewelry. I was apparently a great mystery to the guys because I didn’t go for the broken shell necklaces and earrings. Each one of them tried to point a similar necklace out to me, all without success. I guess I don’t conform to stereotype here either.

-Lapa shopping went brilliantly last weekend, with one of my co-workers taking Amy and me to her favorite shop, which was fantastic.

(photo courtesy of Amy’s foresight in bringing a camera)

We had an impossible time making up our minds, so ended up splitting several pieces and each leaving with a solid armful of cloth. We then set out for the tailor, apparently one of the snazzier shops in town. I had most of my little pencil sketches prepared for the fabric we had bought on previous trips, but had to do some quick thinking on the new pieces we bought this week. Fortunately, the tailor is way more talented at sketching than I am and was able to whip up drawings for what I explained. Amy and Chara also co-designed a dress on the fly, and that might be the winner of the whole batch. I promise photos when we get the clothes back, apparently in a week or two. In the mean time, we’re waiting with baited breath and scheming a whole new round of plans for this weekend.