June 9. I Arrived!

Even though there is a serious Ebola outbreak in West Africa, I arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone! After tragic Civil War between 1991 and 2002, Sierra Leone has became a peaceful country and democracy has been slowly reestablished. The climate is tropical monsoon, and I got here during the rainy season (May-October). It rains frequently, so the weather is not too hot, which is good. Sierra Leone is the third poorest country in the world, after Afghanistan and Somalia. According to CIA, GDP per capita (PPP) is $1,400, which is 207^th ranked among 229 countries. According to Unicef, life expectancy is 45.3 years, and under-5 mortality rate is top 1 in the world, which is 257 deaths per 1,000 live births.

I am taking a boat! 

I exchanged $200 to 884,000 Leone when I arrived at the Sierra Leone Lungi airport. (It turned out that I received only 804,000 Leone… I should have checked whether I got the right amount of money. Where is my other 80,000 Leone?) Person from IPC Travel Agency was holding “Chulwoo Park” picket, and I took a van with other travelers. Then, I took a boat! This Water Taxi took me to Freetown, and an operator from the hotel where I would temporarily stay was waiting for me. I took a hotel van and finally got in the room. 

Sadly, Internet connection was bad. Sometimes, it slowly worked, but it never worked during the whole night. I am afraid that if I could take online classes… Also, I may not do extra work at my room… The electricity blacked out occasionally. However, hot water came out well from the shower handle. (I do not complain anything, and I am just saying!)