Thanks

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes. Ah, to be 26 and in Liberia...I think there's a song that goes like that. No? Well, there should be.

 

I arrived last night and will be here through the elections, which are scheduled for next Tuesday. Amid the crush of westerners who have descended on Monrovia this week, I managed to find a room at one of the better hotels in town (the Krystal Oceanview, which would be a good name for an exotic dancer), with air-conditioning, a decent restaurant and even intermittent wireless Internet. It's not cheap, and this is an all-cash economy, so we'll see how long I can afford to stay here, but for now it's about as good as I can hope for.

 

I'm on deadline today so I'll write more later. But to answer the burning question -- yes, I've already seen a few of the "fast women." Three of them were in the hotel restaurant last night speeding around with an older Lebanese gentleman.