Expatriates

An expatriate (or expat for short) is a personal residing in a country or culture that is not there own. There is no shortage of these in Liberia. Following the Liberian wars between 1990 and 2003, there was an influx of international relief aid. Now almost 8 years later, the country has progressed to the development stage to develop the political, economic, healthcare and agricultural foundation of the country. As a result, foreign governments, NGOs, and private industries have set up shop in Monrovia, bringing with them a potpourri of Americans, Europeans, Asians. The community is small enough, however, that it gives the vibe of a small college town where everybody knows each other. New people stand out and are quickly introduced into the group.


To support these people, a housing and entertainment industry has concurrently developed to meet their needs. Because supply and demand factors dictate prices, food is expensive, and a US style condo with 2 bedrooms with hot water and electricity can easily cost 3-5 thousand dollars per MONTH (that's right, US taxpayers).

The pleasant thing about these circumstances is that there is always something to do, and someone to do it with. So far I have hung out with people from every branch of the UN, EU, etc and people from Brazil, Switzerland, the UK, China, Japan, Sweden, France, Spain, Austria, etc. The common language... English.

Last night we went to a fantastic Indian restaurant for dinner (Tajj), drinks out on the water at A La Laguna on a pier overlooking the ocean during sunset. Next stop in the ocean - Antarctica. Went over to a friends house for bourbon, to another housewarming party with all the expats, and then with a group of Lebanese friends to one of their clubs for dancing. Overall cost for the entire night - $10. Drivers? Provided. Time home? 5:30AM. Thank God we weren't planning on rounding in the hospital the next morning.

The people here, Liberians and expats alike, are a genuinely friendly group of people.

Yesterday we went to the waterside market for shopping. It was fun to play the typical tourist and barter for masks, necklaces, etc. We also bought material to have bags, shirts, and dresses made as presents. Its amazing how much this place reminds me of Sri Lanka.



On the drive home we witnesses a pedestrian in dark clothing get struck by a car. He had visible blood and brain matter on the pavement and wasn't moving. Our intuition was to stop, get out of the car and help him to the hospital. There was a large crowd, and our driver recognized that this occurred outside one of the political party buildings. We were directed that the situation was dangerously unsafe, volatile, and could explode into a mob at any moment with fighting. In fact, if an American accidentally hits someone in their car, they are directed to speed away and go straight to the US embassy to straighten things out. Otherwise, they may be killed on the spot. It was a stark reminder in the middle of this fun day that Liberia is still recently post conflict and in the midst of development. One should always be aware of their surroundings and prepared with a contingency plan should things go sour.



We have a new pediatrics resident coming today - new people. Its my turn to play tour guide! Even though I have only been here for 1 week, I feel like I've been here for months!