Freetown!!!

Early morning walk, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

To go to work in the morning, we have to drive 45 minutes. This is one of the views on Freetown, from Aberdeen, where I am staying for now. The sky is green here... maybe it's the mist?

Pour aller travailler le matin, nous devons rouler 45 minutes. C'est un des vues sur Freetown, d'Aberdeen, où j'habite pour l'instant. Le ciel est vert ici... peut-être il est la brume?

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Youpi and the Lagoon at Sierra Lighthouse, Aberdeen, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

This is the sun-set from my window! Youpi is still with me, and has returned as ever to witness my crazy habits :)

C'est le coucher du soleil, vu de ma fenêtre! Youpi est toujours avec moi, et est revenu pour être témoin de mes habitudes folles:)

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Between Aberdeen and Freetown - the baobab, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Another view on the way to work. This road is a little bit bumpy, but I really enjoy seeing the Baobab and the sea everymorning.

Une autre prise de vue sur le chemin du travail. Cette route est un peu inégale, mais j'ai vraiment plaisir à voir le baobab et la mer tous les matins.

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Freetown homes, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

I took this picture while hanging out in downtown Freetown on Saturday. The Krio (sounds like Creole, doesn't it?) are the descendants of the freed slaves who returned from the Americas to Africa and estabished themselves in Freetown.

J'ai pris cette photo tout en accrochant dehors à Freetown du centre samedi. Le Krio (ca ressemble a Créole, n'est-ce-pas ?) sont les descendants des esclaves libres qui est revenu d'Amériques en Afrique et qui ont construit Freetown.

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Freetown from the mountain, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

On Saturday, we went to visit Desmond, a friend of my colleague's who runs a children's home. I took this picture on the way there. This is what Freetown looks like from the hill top.

Samedi, nous sont allés visiter Desmond, un ami de ma collègue qui gere une maison de jeunes. J'ai pris cette photo en route. Voici a quoi ressemble Freetown vu de la colline.

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King David Fast Food, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

You all know who this made me think of ! This is a tribute to all the Davids out there ;)

Vous que tout sait à qui ceci m'a incité à penser! C'est un hommage à tout les Davids !

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With the kids, over at Desmond's, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

We refer to them as the kids, but in fact, they are young adults or teenagers. They were abandonned, before or after the war, and were taken in by a Swedish NGO. Desmond, a local reverend, had been managing the project and fathering them. Left to right, we have, Mary, Beaver, Hawa, Johnny, Daniel, Assantu and Moses. Squatting at the front is Desmond Jr.

They are wonderful and full of life. You will see more of them later ;)

On les appelle "les enfants", mais en fait, ce sont de jeunes adultes ou des adolescents. Ils étaient abandonnes, avant ou après la guerre, et ont été pris en charge par une ONG Suedoise. Desmond , un pretre local, gere le projet et leur sert de pere. De gauche a droite, nous avons, Mary, Le castor, Hawa, Johnny, Daniel, Assantu et Moses. Accroupis à l'avant est Desmond Jr. Ils sont merveilleusement pleins de vie. Je vous reparle d'eux plus tard...

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Lumley Beach, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

There are lots of beaches in Freetown... On Lumley, it's Easy to get a drink or a lunch by the water. We had lunch here after visiting Desmond.Freetown is the first place where I go where the beauty of mountains complement that of the sea. (Ok, not true, Mamelles in Senegal is pretty nifty too !)

Il y a beaucoup de plages à Freetown.. A Lumley, il est facile d'obtenir une boisson ou un déjeuner au bord de l'eau. Nous avons pris le déjeuner ici après avoir visite Desmond. Freetown est le premier endroit où je vais où la beauté des montagnes complète celle de la mer. (Non, c'est pas vrai, la plage des Mamelles au Sénégal etait aussi tres belle!)

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Stitched_001, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

On Sunday, for once in a long while, I went to church. For those who don't know me too well, I need to specify that it was, for me, a cultural experience more then a religious one. (For a more detailed explanation of my opinion on religion, CLICK HERE.)

What I found truely interesting in this experience was the fact that:

1) there were people. Lots of them. And of all ages.

2) they were happy to be there, concentrated, and full of energy.

3) the preacher was a woman.

4) people participated in singing and dancing.

Le dimanche, pour une fois dans un long moment, j'est allé à l'église. Pour ceux qui ne me connaissent pas trop bien, je dois indiquer que c'était, pour moi, une expérience culturelle plus que religieuse. (pour une explication plus détaillée de mon avis sur la religion, CLICK HERE

1) il y avait les gens. Un bon nombre d'eux. Et de tous ages.

2) ils étaient heureux d'être là, concentré, et plein d'energie.

3) le prédicateur était une femme.

4) les gens participaient en chantant et en dansant.

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Children dancing, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

The other thing that was amazing was that it was Children's day, so kids were really given ownership of the whole ceremony. There was a party going on in there, I tell you!

L'autre chose qui était étonnante était que c'était le jour des enfants, et donc les enfants ont été vraiment associes a la cérémonie. C'etait toute une fete!

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Sunday Beauties, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

After the service, we hung out at Desmond's with the Girls and Boys, who were all partied up for Sunday.

Après le service, nous avons bavardé chez Desmond avec les filles et les garçons, qui étaient tous sur leur 31 pour dimanche.

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Space Cowboy, originally uploaded by The Travelling Beaver.

Daniel even gave us a pretty good lip sync show of some bluegrass folk. The joy I found with these people was simple and sincere. I was looking forward to sharing it with you, dear readers :)

Daniel nous a même donné un spectacle de lipsync sur fond de folk bluegrass. La joie que j'ai trouvée avec ces personnes était simple et sincère. J'avais hate de la partager avec vous, chers lecteurs:)

The Beaver
My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !