1. The sunsets. We were greeted with the most gorgeous pink sky our first night in Freetown. It silenced my mind for a minute, temporarily erasing all my fears about being here. If the sunsets were this beautiful, I would be fine. Whenever I have a hard day, I try and catch the sunset from our balcony, it never disappoints.
2. The sense of community. Life spills onto the streets in Freetown. The word community is constantly thrown around, the communities people live in, work in, identify with. You see the best parts of this all around you. You see it in the conversations on the streets, the games of pick-up football on the beach, the women supervising the neighbourhood children. As one of my coworkers described it, it’s this fulness of life that keeps people coming back to Salone again and again and again.
3. The colours. For someone who gravitates to monochromatic tones, Freetown is a refreshing change. The city is a vibrant explosion of brightly coloured patterns and shapes, with very little of the blacks, blues, and whites that tend to dominate my wardrobe. The bold fashion pieces all around me inspire me to take some risks, try something new, maybe starting with my colour palette…
4. The stories. Everyone I’ve met has a unique story to tell. I’ve heard all kinds of stories, stories of laughter, loss, struggle, acceptance, determination. Each time I’m grateful for the ease with which people who have often known me for a very short time have taken me into their confidence and opened up to me about their lives and their country.
5. The familiarity. It’s easy to feel at home when you’re greeted with hellos on your walk home, see familiar faces in your favourite haunts, find little extra treats in your corner bakery order. With little to do in Freetown, it’s only a matter of time before you’re on first name basis with your servers, vegetable sellers, other expats. And while the lack of options can be tiring, there is something comforting about knowing those around you.
