Things take longer here

Everything takes longer here. There have been various electrical, appliance, plumbing, carpentry and lock problems at the house from the day we arrived.

Most are now rectified, but some are still awaiting completion. It’s been great entertainment for the kids though, with so many workmen constantly coming and going. And thankfully, the most important appliance, yes, even more important than the AC, has never had an issue – the washing machine. Other than not always having electricity to run it!

Even shopping is never straightforward. Hassan does the fresh food shopping at the local market, not too far from where we live, and fruit and veg are available at stalls dotted along the main road.

But for everything else we rely on a handful of supermarkets in the west end of Freetown. They are all Lebanese, and you have to go to at least 3 to get everything you need on any given day.

Adnan's for cheese, yogurt and meat...

Goodies the most european - I go there mainly for chocolate!!

Monoprix huge and (almost) everything you might ever want!

And small Payless, just meters from where we live (and it's sign a distance away from the actual shop!) 

It does force you to be more inspired in your cooking though. Found a middle eastern ingredient – Pomegranate Molasses – and cooked the most delicious chicken dish last week (Pomegranate Chicken Stew). And, after searching in vain for granola in all of said supermarkets, I realised I should just buy oats and make it myself! Taking longer sometimes results in better.

Banking is a regular challenge in Freetown. There are so few ATMs and those that exist are often not working so you end up travelling across the city in search of one willing to dispense you some cash. When you finally find a working ATM it gives you a massive wad of notes when you withdraw the maximum of €50 equivalent. Withdrawing bigger amounts inside the bank takes so much longer and gets you a huge bag of (dirty!) cash in even smaller denominations.

But we have money. And, in a country where most have far less than they require, that is a constant reminder of how fortunate we are.

There was a reception at the Irish Embassy for Paddy’s Day and things taking too long in terms of development projects was a recurring theme with people I talked to. There’s definitely a need to reset expectations in order to avoid constant frustration here. It’s undoubetdly more of an issue in the development and public sectors than the private sector, but a general culture of accepting things may never get done does seem pervasive. Or maybe it's just who I'm keeping company with! It’s a lot easier being here without a work focus.