First Day Back in Sierra Leone.

It is my first "real" day back in Sierra Leone. I arrived yesterday evening but the act of just traveling through the airport, over the bay by ferry and then settling in the home at night doesn't really count. You can't feel the heat of the sun at night, you see very little, and the fatigue of traveling makes everything a little blurry anyway. But one thing last night stood out powerfully for me, reminding me that Anna You Are in Africa, Welcome Back: the smell.

Sierra Leone is a very odiferous country. It is not "smelly" like, for example, Gaie Paris, where the smell of sewage frequently rapes the nostrils and dampens the excitement of your "romantic" rendez-vous. But Sierra Leone is nonetheless a country bathed in various odours, some of them objectively pleasant-smelling (like the strong scent of wood baking in the heat of the sun) some of them less-so, like the gangrenous smell of burning garbage. All of it somehow smelled wonderful to me last night. The warm air combining with engine oil from the airplanes smelled like home to me as I stood on the tarmac after exiting the aircraft. The airport smelled like sweat and dirt and African hair. The taxi that took me to the ferry was probably the most well-kept taxi I've seen during my time here and it still bore the scents of spilled engine oil and gasoline. As we drove from the airport, the scent of baked dirt wafted into the vehicle making it impossible for me to conceal my smile. Moses, one of Save the Children's drivers (and incidentally my favourite) glanced at me in the backseat and caught me staring out the window with a dreamy smile. He laughed. "Sierra Leone loves you too, Miss Anna," he said. I hadn't realized that my love for the country was so transparent and Moses' comment made me simultaneously blush and beam with pleasure and gratitude. What an adorable idea.
I woke up this morning long after morning had actually passed – 2pm. The jetlag is obviously taking its toll. As I write this I am sitting in the Save the Children residential compound outside the gigantic guest house where I will be lodged throughout my stay. The apartment house is enormous and since I today found out that my boss lives on a separate compound, I thoroughly intend to throw a house party before I leave.

I have only been outside for the past three hours yet my white t-shirt and new jeans are already sprinkled with a thin coat of red dirt. My sunglasses become regularly fogged, smearing my makeup (looks like I will be switching to waterproof mascara) and I can tell that my skin has received a mild tan through the clouds blocking the sun. Despite the dull cloudiness the air and skies are still bright. A strong, persistent wind blows today, which is odd. It cools the air only slightly as I am sweating regardless of its presence. The only sounds are the twinkling of endless leaves in the wind, occasional cries of children playing in the streets and the staccatoed banging of a hammer far off in the distance. This morning I was awakened by the crows of a rooster. I feel like I am at the centre of a very peaceful place that encourages health (mental and emotional, anyway.) I feel absolutely wonderful.

I'm so happy to be back.