The most common name in Sierra Leone and The “Wrong of way”

(Quick note: My first post was originally going to be about my trip to Sierra Leone from Seattle, but I actually wrote a story about that today and that should be in the paper tomorrow. I’m hoping that it will be available online so I can attach a link, but if it’s not, then I’ll just paste the story directly into a post later this week.)

On my first day of work, I went with a colleague to the parliament building to cover a press conference. On our way there, he was telling me that, in Sierra Leone, when you don’t know someone’s name, you just call them, “You” (which I suppose isn’t that much different from what people do in the states). Regardless, my colleague, Ishmael, joked around saying, “You have the most common name in Sierra Leone.”

It’s funny though, because it actually happens a lot more than one might initially expect. Where typically Americans will say something along the lines of, “Excuse me, sir/ma’am,” Sierra Leoneans really do say “Ay, you!” The people here are very open and friendly, and aren’t afraid to talk (or shout) to strangers, so these kinds of exchanges happen all the time in the streets.

Another big difference that I’ve noticed in my first couple days here is the driver-pedestrian relationship. It is the complete opposite of what it is in America, particularly if you know what it’s like to walk around the U-District in Seattle. As a driver near the University of Washington, you know there are going to be students everywhere so you have to slow down and give pedestrians the right of way. In Sierra Leone, drivers know that there are people everywhere in the streets, but it really doesn’t matter: Drivers get the right of way. No questions asked. I guess you could say pedestrians have the “wrong of way” here.

Drivers constantly honk their horns not in anger, but rather as a precautionary warning as if to say, “Hey, I’m right behind you. You might want to move.” In Seattle, I remember if I started crossing the street at a four-way stop, the car approaching would naturally slow down. In Sierra Leone, if you start walking into the street with a car approaching, the driver will actually speed up. I’ve actually had a colleague grab my hand and pull me out of the street on a couple different occasions because I’m so used to just floating into the street, assuming that cars will slow down for me.

Since then I’ve thought to myself: I can imagine seeing a Sierra Leonean in America being timid about crossing the street, but it’s not because they’re not used to cars (there are cars everywhere here); it’s just because they’re used to cars speeding up towards them, rather than the other way around.