The Frog and Bee

The Frog and the Bee

The frog was enjoying his gourd of palm wine when his friend the Bee arrived, “Welcome my friend! Please drink this sweet palm wine with me!” The Bee eagerly accepted and lowered himself over the gourd to drink. “No! Mr. Bee! Please, when I drink my palm wine, I do not like music, I do not like noise. Please! You may join me ONLY if you can be quiet! No buzzing please!” Mr. Bee looked at Mr. Frog, confused, “But Mr. Frog, I will fall if I go quiet and if I fall I won’t be able to drink the wine!” Mr. Frog told Bee that he was sorry, but he needed to enjoy his palm wine in silence. So Mr. Bee said goodbye and sadly flew off…

A few days later Mr. Bee invited Mr. Frog to his home for dinner. Frog arrived at Bee’s house and looked hungrily at the delicious food that was prepared. Frog hopped to the food bowl and was about to eat when Bee shouted, “Wait, Mr. Frog! You must go to the river to wash your hands before you eat with me!” Mr. Frog quickly hopped to the river to wash his hands. He returned to Mr. Bee’s dinner and was about to eat when again, Mr. Bee shouted, “Mr. Frog! I said you need to wash your hands at the river! I only eat with people who have clean hands!” Mr. Frog, confused, looked at his hands and said, “You know Mr. Bee, I went to the river and washed my hands, but I had to use my hands to hop back to your house and you know, the ground is dirty! I can’t help it!” Bee told Frog he was sorry, but he could only eat with friends who had clean hands. So Mr. Frog said goodbye and sadly hopped off…

...A Themne Proverb

Freetown Arrival

My arrival in Sierra Leone was dramatic…like Sierra Leone herself. My first glimpse of the country took my breath away. The Sahara’s endless brown haze and rolling sand dunes finally gave way to a region of dense jungle mountains sliced by long, narrow rivers winding through the hues of green. There were so many rivers that it was impossible to distinguish islands from the mainland. It suddenly made sense as to why helicopters and boats are needed to carry people to and from the airport!

Most of the plane’s passengers—a mix of humanitarian aid and private sector workers, diplomats, and Sierra Leoneans—were out of their seats and in the aisle, bent over with necks outstretched, looking out as many windows as possible. The Sierra Leonean woman next to me pointed out the Freetown mountains which were named “Lion Mountains” by a Portuguese explorer in the 1400s, and consequently led to the naming of the country, Sierra Leone.

Our plane landed on the single runway with such a rough jolt that dishes from the Attendants’ quarters flew out of the closed cabinets and crashed on the floor! But it didn’t matter; it just added to the already high energy ambiance! I was thrilled. I was back in Africa after 8 months and Sierra Leone was a new country to me. Although, I would quickly find out that it would be wonderfully familiar.

A few hours after landing in Sierra Leone, I arrived in Freetown. As I stepped out of the helicopter, I was startled by the loud whirr of the propellers and the force of which my hair was pulled up and whipped around my head. I took a moment and looked back at the chopper and I saw the “Lion Mountains” off in the distance, under a beautiful moon.

I started my walk across the pavement and saw one of my best friends standing next to our organization’s Land Cruiser. The chopper swallowed my laughter as I walked towards a friend I hadn’t seen in over a year and towards a vehicle marked with the logo of a mission I had longed to be a part of for three years... And in that moment, it all became real. I was walking on new ground, and walking into yet another chapter of my life.