Don’t Call Me China

If you ask 100 Sierra Leoneans what they think your nationality is, 99 of them will say Chinese.

These were the words of one of my Awoko colleagues, Ophaniel Gooding, during one of my first few weeks in Salone. It seems as if all Sierra Leoneans think all Asian people are Chinese. There’s clearly a strong Chinese influence here – be it involvement in imports or development – so I understand that thought. Heck, even in America it’s somewhat common for people to assume an Asian person as Chinese. In my couple months in Freetown, strangers have not been shy about saying hello to a foreigner who is clearly different from the locals. And, most of the time, when people call out to me, they shout and say, “Hey, China!” I’ve been wanting to write a column about this for a long time now, so I’m glad I was finally able to do it. Hope you enjoy!

To read the column, click here.

In other news, I’ll be going back to the provinces (Pujheun) this weekend with Solomon Rogers. When I went back to the states for a one week hiatus, I met up with the kind folks who helped put my first aid kid together for my summer adventure, Chris and Cheryl Antony. Naturally, I told them about my trip thus far and when I mentioned the deplorable situation in the Pujehun hospital, Chris simply said, “I can get you a bunch of stethoscopes tomorrow, if you want.” (If you recall from my Pujehun travelogues, in certain wards of the hospital, doctors and nurses only have one stethoscope to go around)

So I brought back with me to Salone three stethoscopes as well as an instrument for measuring blood pressure to give to the Pujehun hospital. It’s a small gesture, in the grand scheme of things, but I figured anything that I can do – like giving a gift that I’m able to obtain so easily and quickly – is something that I should do. That should be a pleasant and hopefully fulfilling experience well worth writing about.

I’m running short on time at the internet cafe I’m at right now, so I’ll have to wind down now; but I have some other posts coming up, including some fun news (meeting a Japanese person in Salone) and, unfortunately, some not-so-fun news (getting pick-pocketed… don’t worry it’s not as bad as you think, but still…) Stay tuned!