All of the black American expats here face a similar frustration. In
every restaurant and bar where expats hang out, the staff - the
Liberian staff - will always, always, serve whites faster and better
than blacks. I'm watching it right now - the Liberian waiter who took
our order promptly forgot us when a white man walked into the
restaurant.
This isn't about superiority or anything like that - we just got here
first. We ordered first, we expect to be served first. An American
restaurant would get sued for this kind of behavior. But it happens.
It happens everywhere, to all of us.
My NGO has asked me to edit a quarterly newsletter. Supposedly, the
source material comes from the reports I and the other volunteers
already file. No one will send anything, not even the country rep. So
there's no newsletter. They've also asked for an end-of-service report
and an end-of-project form. No word on whether those are the same
thing.
I need a whole bunch of people and things when I return in August.
Most of all, I need a K-12 principal, a librarian, about 200
dictionaries, and lots of USB sticks. I think I can find the
dictionaries.
Tonight, I need to pack so I can weigh my luggage tomorrow. I'm trying
to bring back a carved cane for an elderly aunt, but it's too long to
fit in the luggage. I may fake a limp.
every restaurant and bar where expats hang out, the staff - the
Liberian staff - will always, always, serve whites faster and better
than blacks. I'm watching it right now - the Liberian waiter who took
our order promptly forgot us when a white man walked into the
restaurant.
This isn't about superiority or anything like that - we just got here
first. We ordered first, we expect to be served first. An American
restaurant would get sued for this kind of behavior. But it happens.
It happens everywhere, to all of us.
My NGO has asked me to edit a quarterly newsletter. Supposedly, the
source material comes from the reports I and the other volunteers
already file. No one will send anything, not even the country rep. So
there's no newsletter. They've also asked for an end-of-service report
and an end-of-project form. No word on whether those are the same
thing.
I need a whole bunch of people and things when I return in August.
Most of all, I need a K-12 principal, a librarian, about 200
dictionaries, and lots of USB sticks. I think I can find the
dictionaries.
Tonight, I need to pack so I can weigh my luggage tomorrow. I'm trying
to bring back a carved cane for an elderly aunt, but it's too long to
fit in the luggage. I may fake a limp.
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