the big day

As you probably already know, today is a very big day for Liberians: GW Bush is landing in a few hours, as are the First Lady and Secretary of State. For a nation of only about 3.5 million people - with a capital city of maybe 1 million - this is a huge, HUGE deal. Streets have been swept. Curbs painted. Banners hung. Shacks demolished, and people relocated. Most of the city has been given the day off.

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...