Rainy day

I am not adhering to a healthy diet in Monrovia. There are not many options. I ate a Philly cheese sub (which was delicious) at the fast food place underneath my hotel and the waitress tried to force German beer on me, confusing me for a German expat dude who must frequent this place. She didn't believe that I wasn't him.

I had a surprisingly productive day holed away in my hotel room, clearing away a backlog. And then I went for some drinks at Mamba Point, which is a swish venue in the area of Monrovia dominated by international agencies and the wealthiest expats.

Stumbling back into the hotel at 1am and in no fit state, the receptionist, Rainy, was quizzing me about working in the UK. I had to enlighten him that the life of a low-paid immigrant in the UK would be miserable. He sees working overseas purely in economic terms, and living five to a room in London earning minimum wage in bad conditions would still mean he could send £100 home every month. He couldn't save that in Monrovia as salaries are low and living costs pretty high (very high for certain things). Apparently many Liberians work in factories in South Korea where salaries are high and living costs relatively low. Liberians have a wide diaspora, especially in the US, although the only Liberians I've ever met in the UK are those travelling to us for work visits.

Rainy season is beginning and as Monrovia is the world's wettest capital, it doesn't take much to paralyse the road network. On the way home in the taxi, there were a few hairy moments involving blocked sewers, floods and overflowing garbage piles.