The Straw that Broke the Camel's Back

 The straw that broke the camel’s back was when the front gate broke and there were locals coming in and out of the compound. They were fighting, arguing, drunk and high. Unacceptable when there is a child living on the premises!

The crappy landlord refused to fix the gate stating that he cannot tell people not to come onto his property because they might get mad. Mad?!? Really!? What is the point of having a security gate if everyone can just walk in or better yet, if it is broken?? We requested several times and the requests went nowhere. We were at the point of just gathering our things and leaving Sierra Leone for good!

The dean at my school was not being helpful and her saying was the most frustrating of all. She would always say “TIA! TIA!” (This is Africa)  I started to think that, that kind of mentality was the problem with Africa! Instead of trying to fix situations or improve them, things were constantly swept under the TIA rug. Unacceptable! Especially for a dean who already had a 100% turn-over of her ex-pat staff the first year she was there. We were lost and confused and depressed. We wanted to go back to Egypt.  At the last moment though the clouds parted and a small ray of sunlight beamed through.

One of my student’s parents offered for us to come and look at her flat that she had for rent. This was October 30, 2012. The flat was located at Bottom Mango about a 20 minute walk or a 10 minute car ride from the school; Goderich was about a 40 minute car ride (on a good day at times 2+ hours one way) from school and no chance of walking! It was a large 4 story building with several flats.  She showed me the first one, a decent sized 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment. This one looked HUGE compared to the Goderich house. We looked around and she told me that certain things needed to be done before we could move in.  The balcony was extremely large and faced the street. It had the ocean view from a distance. I didn't care; it was not Goderich so I was happy. Then she showed me the second flat that she had.  We opened the single wide glass door to an almost seemingly never-ending hallway! I was speechless! We walked down the hallway to the first bedroom. It was spacious and I could already see Jackson’s toys thrown everywhere and him having a blast! Then it was the bathroom on the left. When the door opened the sunlight from the window lit up everything beautifully! There was a standing shower and a soaking tub (nothing extravagant but since TIA it looked like the best one I have ever seen!) There was plenty of space to move around, plenty of storage space and plenty of light!  A little further down the hallway was the second bedroom. This bedroom was the same size as the first one and the closet was also the same great size. Farther down was the kitchen. There was no refrigerator or oven or stove. But to me it was perfect! It wasn't Goderich! The kitchen had a door that opened to the living room which was a decent size and a long balcony that faced the ocean! In my head I kept thinking, “This is what Sierra Leone is supposed to look like for me! This is how I am supposed to feel!”

Immediately after I felt so wonderful, a feeling of dread ran over my body. There is no way I can afford this. How will I pay? How do I get my money back from the crappy landlord? How do I do this? How do I do that? Just as quick as I felt the slightest bit of relief and new wave of panic and depression set in. I saw where I could be living, but now because of the situation I am in I can’t! I hung my head as Mo finally reached the flat. He had driven from Goderich to the flat and it had taken him almost 3 hours thanks to traffic. His first reaction was the same as mine and I quickly saw the desperation and wave of sadness enter his eyes when the reality of money set in. How? That was now the huge mountain sized question that was before us.