Upcountry Dysfunction

My upcountry job was to interview villagers for road impact studies to be submitted to international development lenders. Since the villages I worked in were the subjects of the studies, I always arrived on foot. My knowledge of the Kpelle language was less than minimal so two teenagers from the Kpelle tribe were hired to translate for me.

When not tending to my official duties, I wrote in my journal and read Joseph Conrad. There was no television, no newspapers, the internet didn't exist and, only towards the end of the assignment, did I get a shortwave radio, just in time to hear Nixon’s resignation speech.

I enjoyed the solitude. When I craved other humans, I sought out the village ladies. We had no language in common but spent many an afternoon shelling peanuts and cordially smiling at each other.

When I returned to Monrovia after spending a few months in upcountry villages, it was difficult to sync with friends again. I hadn't spoken English for a while and I'd forgotten how to belong.

That was more than 50 years ago but the social dysfunction lingers. To this day I no longer instantaneously grasp the concerns of others and often stumble around looking for a common thread.

I miss those village ladies.