Patience Shop

Sunday afternoon, my housemate Jenna and I went to a birthday party for one of Jenna’s Liberian co-workers. It was in a neighborhood called Patience Shop, so named because there is a store called Patience Shop at the intersection where we took a left, and essentially all of the homes behind the shop are considered to be part of the neighborhood (a sensible system when you don’t have addresses).

When we arrived there were about 10 women seated in a circle outside, and kids milling around everywhere. There was music playing on a stereo system assembled on the porch. It turned out the women were part of a local women’s club, that gets together to observe birthdays and holidays, and support each other during times of bereavement. Jenna and I actually sat in on a brief meeting of the club.

As the sun started to set, the music got a bit louder, and that’s when the dancing started (I love that you can always count on dancing here, whatever the occasion). A few women got up, and after a little while they beckoned for Jenna and me to join them. You don’t need to ask me twice. There were definitely a few whoops and clapped hands when we got on the dance floor. A woman I was dancing with for a while kept shouting, “She can dance!” (I think she was just trying to encourage me). I also had my second experience with a Liberian dish called foo foo, which is pounded cassava (similar to very thick jello) in a peppery broth with pieces of fish (often with bones) in it. It requires a lot of effort to navigate the fish bones and avoid big clumps of pepper, though!

And speaking of food, I scoured three supermarkets today for soy milk. Monrovia is officially out. Luckily, Stop & Shop expects a shipment next week…until then I’ll have to drink my Nescafe black!