Haja's sister Basa showed up today. She is nothing like Haja - very big, covered with gold - big gold necklace, big gold earrings, big gold watch - dressed in blue, green, and white for Independence Day, with a great sense of humor. Haja took us all to the beach (called Number 2 Beach) - one hour down a dusty, potholed road littered with broken down cars with flat tires. Besides the center of Freetown, all the roads are made of dust - red, gritty powder that gets everywhere and makes wearing white impossible. The country is in a permanent state of construction. Everything is half built, and nothing looks like it will ever be finished.
The beach was beautiful - one of the best I've been to, and coming from New Zealand that says a lot. Turquoise warm water, white (and reddish) sand, and a group of large, aging Europeans in skimpy black bikinis. The sign entering the beach parking lot read "50,000L fine for abusive language." so I had to check myself a few times - my explosive temper you know?
Nighttime now. As usual the dogs, chickens, and goats are screaming at each other, but now a bevy of deep throated toads on steroids have joined the club. No one has eaten the goat yet, but it has moved closer - under our stairwell. Haja insists that the goat is actually a sheep and we have had many arguments about this.
