Every once in a while, statistics help put things in perspective. Most people have heard that more than one billion people live on a dollar a day. To me, that’s not that useful because I rarely calculate how much my daily life costs. When discussing our finances, we usually speak in terms of how much we earn.
The other night, a friend and I were having sushi (I know – ridiculous), and we were discussing the ongoing efforts to reform Liberia’s civil service.
“How much do government employees make here?” I asked.
“I think about $50, or maybe $80,” he said.
That’s pretty good, I thought. Here, most of the expat consultants charge $200-$400 a day, so while $50 is relatively low, the cost of living here is also much cheaper than it is at home…
“Per month.”
“Oh.”
I felt a bit sick, thinking about the number of times I’ve spent more on a single dinner than a Liberian civil servant makes in a month. A month.
Given those statistics, is it really surprising that so many of them rush home to run other businesses?
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Orders of magnitude
Monday, March 31, 2008
six months
Thursday, March 20, 2008
budgeting
Meant to post this earlier, but oh well.
Last Wednesday, March 12, (before the Spain trip), the UK's annual government budget was released. The government official who presents it each year is the Chancellor of the Exchequer, (essentially the Secretary of the Treasury).
What's notable about this is that people here know when the budget comes, care about it, and actually change their behavior accordingly. It's amazing. No doubt, their concern is partly motivated by the UK's relatively high taxes and the frequency of the increases (apparently, annual).
But for the average person, the reason they care about the budget is that taxes are raised on very important items: beer, wine, and cigarettes. In coverage by at least one of the major newspapers, "Lifestyle taxes" were reported first. One of my coworkers actually bought several cases of wine on the 11th, in anticipation of major tax hikes. The taxes on cigarettes (11 pence on a pack) were to take place at 6 pm that day. Seems pretty far from the popular notion of slow government bureaucracy...
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
my kingdom for a salad
Six days into Spain, and I'd kill for a decent green salad. Barcelona was all meat, all the time. Do Spaniards really eat like this? We've been having cold cuts around the clock, simply because they're here. 
Delicate ham, spicy chorizo, peppery salchichón...I can't believe I'd ever admit this, but I'm a little sick of swine.
The fruit stands at
La Boqueria were gorgeous, but they were mostly just looks, except for the papaya, wild strawberries, and the gargantuan red peppers. Here's my brother Henry, holding up a beauty:

In Barcelona, we hung out with my siblings, parents, and my sister's boyfriend, Christian.

I'm very close to all of them, so it's been great to spend so much time together.

As you can probably tell, there's no shortage of silliness in this group, which makes it all the more fun.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
chimps
The fruits are "a little sweet and a little sour," according to one of our drivers. I think they are called "cruces" or something similar. The one I tried tasted a bit like an unripe persimmon - it gave me that same, dry mouth feeling.
Two men agreed to take us to Marshall Island in dugout canoes.
After an hour of slow movement down the river, we saw chimps! Our guide, Morris, brought us very close to the shore, and tossed packets of cookies onto the beach.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
the big day
We saw the first signs of the impending madness last week: piles of dirt on one of Monrovia's main roads, about every 3 feet apart. I suppose they don't have giant dustpans here, so the collection had to happen sometime after the sweeping.
The curbs at the bus stops have been painted red, white, and blue - not, as we had initially feared, to represent the good ole Stars and Stripes - but because the Liberian national colors are (of course) red, white, and blue. (The obvious imitation of the US flag is another uncomfortable reminder of the country's always visible, sometimes proud, and occasionally humiliating legacy - but more on that later.)
There were rumors that there would be absolutely no mobile phone or internet access today, and I'm happy that this post proves them false. More to come later today...
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
our new family member
Meet Libby, the newest member of the 16th street household(inspired by her country of birth). She likes puppy chow, belly rubs, and chewing on everything. Her favorite toys include a cardboard paper towel roll and a crushed Pepsi can.

