Post by Lara
3 November 2012
If you’ve been reading our blog since the beginning, you may
remember that we did not pack a whole lot of clothes for our two years here. We
were assured that we would be able to buy anything we needed and that we
shouldn’t waste space in our suitcases.
We did get some advice on professional dress in Salone, which helped us
decide which clothes to pack.
Since June, we have added to our wardrobes mostly with
handmade clothes commissioned from local tailors, but we have also bought a few
“junks” pieces (that’s what you call thrift clothes in Salone. Apparently West
Africa is a huge market for American secondhand clothes, which explains why we
frequently see people wearing shirts that say things like “Amish Country Ohio”
and “Carroll Basketball”). We have noticed
that in Salone, the “dress code” varies quite a lot based on where you
are. At school, we are expected to wear
nice clothes with no stains or tears, long pants or a skirt past the knee, and
have our shoulders covered. At home, we
are able to be a lot more relaxed. On a
typical day after school, we wear something like this:
Kevin’s outfit looks pretty similar to what he would
normally wear in Ohio during warm weather: t-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops
(called “slippers” or “half-backs”). On
days when I’m painting or working a lot, I wear shorts as well. Right now I only own one pair of shorts
though, so I’ll be making a new “junks” purchase to remedy that soon.
Keep an eye out for another wardrobe post about school,
market, or special occasions.
Man, you guys could move right into the Pacific islands! Lavalavas (which I think is the Samoan term-- I'm blanking on the Hawaiian term but I know the bark cloth fabric is called tapa or kapa) are pretty common, and ev-er-y-bod-y wears "slippahs". If you call them flip-flops you are ~obviously~ a tourist.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I can't remember what I've told you (or if Pat filled you in), but... I'm moving to Savannah! I know you saw the facebook post, but it was pretty nebulous in terms of actual information. SCAD started a new program in Themed Entertainment and somehow I actually got in. It's kind of hard to believe I'm actually going to get a degree in building theme parks...! :D
Diggin' the braids! When is Kevin getting his hair done?
ReplyDeleteAalllsssooo curious if you got my mail? When I took it to the post office the lady looked at me crazy when I told her Africa wasn't a country.
ReplyDeleteI'm serious.
We have not personally received your mail, but it may be waiting for us in Bo or Freetown. Once it gets delivered in-country, it gets to us by a rather convoluted internal mail system (SL only has like 3 working post offices for a country about as big as South Carolina). We'll let you know when we get it! Also, the woman at Chase Bank did the same thing to me. But it goes both ways-- last week my students asked me if Brazil is in the US.
DeleteHaha, on more than one occasion I have run into arguments online about how ridiculous it is that the US gets to be called "America". :P
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