This February I’ve been away in Lunsar, Sierra Leone completing my PhD fieldwork.
I had a furious time leading up to going away organising visas, vaccinations and equipment.
Then I was away for a hectic couple of weeks, and on return, I’ve needed some time to reset and process all that has transpired.
Considering the difference in culture, location and time zones, I am feeling quite discombobulated – as you can imagine.
The trip was fantastic.
Humbling, inspiring and challenging – and wonderfully successful as far as my research was concerned.
I am still piecing it all together and will need some time to reorient. It is always returning that is the hardest.
But here are some initial thoughts.
Amazing people
I stayed with Stylish (who works for Village Bicycle Project – my PhD research partner organisation) and his fiancé Kissime in their house. Kao, a Japanese intern who has been there for 4 months already was in the room next to mine. The local community was amazing and our neighbours were so welcoming. Our accommodation was safe and comfortable and like everyone else in Sierra Leone, we had no running water. The house had a generator, but it often clapped out so we had electricity for only 4 nights during my stay – which was awesome because we had lights and I could charge my phone, Go Pro and other devices- which was much needed! Plus it meant our house got swamped on ‘power nights’ with friends who took the opportunity come and watch TV….a real treat for all!
I was blown away by the friendliness of everyone I met who worked with VBP, in VBP bike shops, other riders and supporters – and the incredible The Lunsar Cycling Team. I always had someone to ride with, a friend to go to market with, an aunty to explain women-business, farmers who showed me subsistent agriculture, educators who welcomed me into their schools, mates who took me to local events – and there was always someone to answer my seemingly never-ending questions about culture, food, biking, education and the environment.
I loved where we stayed. Our neighbours were endless enthusiastic and helpful and there were always people coming and going – dropping in for a visit, hanging out for a chat, or getting ready for a ride. Like everyone else, I was up early in the morning to help with chores. Kao showed me how to sweep the front of the house and get the twice-daily water from the well. Many times during my stay, Kissime showed me how to make the local dishes she was preparing – like informal cooking classes. She patiently taught me how to cook local meals like Crain-Crain, fried fish and rice (one of my favourites), which she expertly made for 12 people 3 times a day.
I had the pleasure of working, learning, laughing and riding with so many inspiring and entertaining characters -too many to mention here, but I will be sharing some of them on this blog. The resourcefulness and positivity I encountered in the face of extreme poverty have – and will continue to – have a profound impact on me.
Riding the surrounds
The riding was varied and challenging. When I was in Lunsar, it was 42C and 96% humidity. It took a day or two to get used to the humidity, but I had come straight from Queensland’s tropical summer, so the heat was okay for me. I did one ride in the middle of the day and was floored by the oppressive, sweaty humidity – lesson learnt.
The terrain is dusty, dry and gravelly. I had a hybrid bike that handled the trails well. Many of the trails changed depending on how close they were to Lunsar. The closer to town the trail was, the more well used, flatter, wider and more even it was. But as soon as wound your way even 2kms out of town, the trails often changed and were more difficult. Sometimes muddy and waterlogged, other times, bumpy and eroded. There were many log river crossing where you would have to carry your bike or take your shoes off and wade through flooded areas.
In the mornings, the trails were busy with foot traffic. There were women walking to town with their heads precariously laden with massive plastic tubs of food to sell, groups of kids walking the long way to school, old men weaving in and out of the side tracks that crisscrossed the main trails, and sometimes motorbikes ferrying loads of people between the intermittent communities.
Travelling and being a researcher
I have previously travelled overseas for research, but this trip was completely different. This time I was travelling by myself, working on my project and taking in the surrounds of the ‘here-and-now’. This meant I was a walking ‘data lighting rod’ – everything I saw, learnt, felt, smelt, tasted, heard, read, visited and did was unusual, meaningful and useful for my research. It also meant it was exhausting being ‘on’ all the time – especially in a highly-social place where you are not only a guest, but also a curiosity, so everyone wants to meet, talk and show you things. Even when I wasn’t ‘working’, I had groups of local kids around me wanting me to play Skip-Bo (a card game I had brought with me from Australia) with them. I loved the interactivity and company of being so social, but I also needed some downtime to process, write my field notes and reflect on all I was encounters… which was a lot! I found the only time I could get this was when I woke up early at 4.30-5 am. At this time, it was still dark outside, so with my head-torch on and under the cover of my mosquito net, I would update my fieldnotes and journal, knowing full well that as soon as I left my room, there would be no other time by myself for the rest of the day.
Travelling during Coronavirus was also a new experience. I took my health seriously and certainly wasn’t taking any risks given that this trip was central to my PhD research and I had been working towards it for the last 4 years. I wore an N95 respirator face mask and gloves the whole time I flew there and back (28 hours there and the same return), used hospital-grade hand sanitizer and the same to wipe down all my aeroplane seat buckles, hand rests, touchscreens and tray table surfaces. I felt a little conspicuous, but there were heaps of other travellers in face masks, although I was the only one in gloves as well. But this turned out to be a blessing as I got triaged to the front of many of the health checkpoints because the people (in Hazchem suits) could see I was taking precautions (ie I was quick and easy to process, so I was ushered upfront) and I got processed before anyone else. So I spend very little time transiting through airports, while other passengers waited in very long lines to have their temperature tested. I was very glad to arrive back home just before many major international airports implement travel bans for certain nationalities. There and back safe and healthy – thank you very much!
There is much more to tell, but for now…I need to rest.
I’ll share more once I get over the shock of jetlag and the fact that clean drinking water runs out of taps.
Stay amazing all.