Pay it forward, my Kiva connection

My Last Day in Sierra Leone

Waking up I felt hot and sweaty, my hands where sticky and my skin felt dry. Waking up was hard, I was so tired and I didn’t understand why. I then looked at the clock and realized it was 5 am. I walked into the kitchen and saw Foday standing there with two buckets about to walk outside and feed the cows. I asked if I could join him and he smiled and handed me a bucket. That’s what I loved about Foday, he never had to use many words but when you had a conversation with him he could make your imagination expand.

That morning Foday and I made mango with rice pudding and spices. We shared with some children outside and they had asked us to play football with them. We quickly answered with a happy “yes” and one of them ran to get the soccer ball. Most of the children had no shoes and I couldn’t really focus on anything other than their soar and scratched up feet. The children where so sweet and friendly, they had felt so safe with us which made me feel good.

After a long game of football we said goodbye to the children as Foday and I started to walk to the end of the village where we could go under a beautiful waterfall. Once we arrived I was astonished of the size! The waterfall was so tall and looked extremely cold and refreshing I just couldn’t wait to go in. Foday was the first to surprisingly jump off one of the rocks near the waterfalls edge and land in a pool of water surrounded by trees and mossy wood. I did the same and when my skin hit the water I felt so relaxed and cooled off! Foday and I swam around and took about an hour just staring up into the sky looking at clouds. The sun stayed out all day and it was just the perfect temperature that Foday and I didn’t even have to bring towels. We just got out and within a few minutes we where dry. Walking back we played “Guess the Animal” and Foday taught me about different animals that lived in Sierra Leone and what they where called in his language. The only one I remembered was ndege, which means large bird.

Exhausted and relived I was home from a tiring adventure I decided to write in my travel journal. I added pictures and little things like stickers and a coin that I had gotten at a little stand with Foday. About two hours later I had basically filled my journal with all the things that had happened in these three days. Conversations between Foday and I, the food I had eaten, the couture I had experienced, and the people I had met. It was a book full of amazing memories I would never forget!

My last meal with Foday was probably the best! We had rice with chicken curry and a sweet coconut soup that was just so creamy and delicious we finished all of it. We talked mostly about the culture of Sierra Leone and the language. I had learnt so many new phrases and words I felt like my brain would explode. All in all it was the perfect way to end my little journey from Santa Barbara, California to Kenema, Sierra Leone