This past weekend I attended my office's Christmas party at Kashco Bar and Restaurant, a charming outdoor bar past the Congo Cross roundabout and just over the bridge into town. Like most office holiday parties it was well supplied with food (fried rice, fish, skewered meat, infamous Sierra Leonean pepper soup), drink and a DJ. The best part of the evening, though, was getting to see my Sierra Leonean colleagues dancing, eating and having fun, and getting to interact with them in that setting. 

Though I have been in Sierra Leone for close to three months I realized that I do not often spend time with my Sierra Leonean colleagues outside of work, a situation that is common among many expats here. The Sierra Leoneans we do hang out with tend to be young and educated in the UK or the States. This evening, though, with most of my expat colleagues out of the country for the holidays, I find myself gossiping with the women from the administration department, swapping holiday plans with program staff and dancing to the latest Sierra Leonean pop hits with our drivers. It was a fun and refreshing experience.

The night did throw the divide between Sierra Leoneans and expats here into sharp relief. In the last month I have met some wonderful expats--people who devote considerable effort to learning Krio (the primarily languague spoken in Freetown and understood throughout the country) and absorbing Sierra Leonean culture. Others come here and quickly become frustrated with the constant effort of trying to communicate across cultures and languages. This frustration can quickly lead people to withdraw further into the expat community or at worst begin to take out their frustration on Sierra Leoneans by talking down to them or growing unreasonably impatient with your colleagues.

When I you come to a place as poor as Sierra Leone you expect to learn certain "big" lessons. You expect to witness traumatic poverty and hear dramatic stories of survival during the war. Yet the biggest lesson I am learning is one that I assumed was the easiest and most basic--how to treat other people with respect, no matter how difficult the circumstances, no matter how wide the cultural divide. As an expat in Freetown it's very easy to isolate yourself from everyday life--eating in expensive restaurants and driving around in SUVs instead of taxis, for example. I am realizing that it is not enough to come to a place like Sierra Leone and work for an NGO or some sort of social cause. To really make a difference in a place like this you have to start small by really getting to know the people you interact with on an everday basis and treating them with kindness and respect. To that end, here are my new year's resolutions, aimed at helping me integrate more into Sierra Leonean life:

1. Learn to speak Krio

2. Take more taxis and poda podas (mini bus taxis) instead of the duty driver that is available to me as an expat

3. Eat more often at restaurants and bars frequented by Sierra Leoneans

4. Invite my Sierra Leonean colleagues to my apartment for social gatherings

5. Make sure I am treating my drivers and cleaners with respect. Understand that it can be frustrating for them also to try to communicate with me across language and cultural divides.