My Charming Neighborhood

August 1st, 2007

Partially finished homes line the dirt road and dot the land on either side. Many families have converted a part of their front porch into a small shop where pedestrians can buy small amounts of spices, hot peppers, homemade balls of laundry soap, or palm oil. Some of the woman even grow cassava leaves in their front yard. Cassava leaves are ground for “soup” to serve over rice. The roots are roasted—-or boiled, pounded, and fermented to make “fufu”.

The other day as I was searching for boxed cheese wedges, I met a charming neighborhood family with a pet monkey. After greeting each person, I noticed two small coconuts in their front porch shop. “Oh, I so hungry for coconut, o! How much you sell it for?” I asked.
“Ten dollars” [Liberian dollars], the old man responded.
“Please wait small. I go and I come with the money, yah.”
” The coconut on me, o! It for you.”
“For true?”
“Yeh, o!” the old man laughed.
“Thank you, thank you!” I smiled with delight. “I go home straight to drink coconut milk! Bye.”