Saturday in the country

This past Saturday, we took a little break from teaching and had the pleasure of attending a Rotary picnic with Rev. Sam-Peal. The Monrovia Rotary Club annual picnic was held on a farm in Kingsville. Kingsville is only about 15 miles outside of Monrovia, but it seems like much further. The ride there was very interesting, we passed through Careysburg community (an early settlement), saw rubber trees, mud houses, and many roadside stands where people were selling wonderful fruits and vegetables.




This pile of wood is all ready to be made into charcoal. The pile will be covered with dirt, sand, and leaves, and will be set on fire. It will be attended while it burns for some time and the wood is converted to charcoal. A bag of charcoal purchased in Monrovia will run about $4USD. The same bag costs about half that in the country. A bag of charcoal might last about 7-10 days for a family.

This truck is loaded down with the finished product and is on the way into the city to sell at the market. Let's hope that #4 can keep his balance - that will be very tricky considering the potholes (craters really!) that are all over the road!


The new Findlay campus of the University of Liberia is extremely impressive. I can't believe the progress that has been made in one year. Last year when we passed this spot and heard about the plan it was just a cleared spot of land. The University of Liberia campus is currently in downtown Monrovia, in the capital hill area. When the Findlay campus is complete, it will become the main campus with residential facilities for undergraduates. The downtown campus will be graduate studies only.


We made some new friends on the farm where the picnic was held.

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Liberian peppers are deadly. Beautiful, but deadly to my taste buds. I have gotten accustomed to adding ONE to my rice, but one is my limit!


I honestly think that Liberian pineapple might be the most delicious thing I've ever eaten. I wish there were a way I could carry some home... Cassava was sold at this stand as well. Cassava is a root vegetable, and a staple of Liberian cuisine. It is prepared in so many different ways: Cassava greens (the leafy part of the plan that grows above ground), boiled cassava, fried cassava (bong fries), roasted cassava, it's also pounded into fufu or dumboy... I'm sure there are other ways that I don't even know about!