upon arrival

the plane was supposed to arrive at 19:30. we arrived at 23:45. it would have been even later if we would have landed in sierra leone like we were supposed to.
when the doors of the plane opened, those who were deplaning were happy to get off to be on the ground after a long flight but also because the men were up again and demanding to talk with the captain. i gave me condolances to one of the crew members and stepped out on the stairs that they had rolled up to the plane. there was a light drizzel and the air was heavy and hot. breathing was like taking in a breath after you put water on the sauna rocks. all the lights were off at the airport except for landing strip and the decrepit building that was the terminal.
i joined the line for non-citizens and waited to approach the simply plywood booth that housed a woman who was tired yet talked fast. i made it through without any problems. my wet bags arrived on the belt and bypassed bag inspection to go through the metal security gate to the throngs of people on the other side.
as soon as i passed through, i was surrrounded by mostly young men asking me questions and trying to sell me cell phones or willing to call for me. i looked for my contact rufus. i pulled and carried my bags by ducking and denying numerous people vying for my attention. at one point a man asked me who i was looking for. i said "rufus". fortunately rufus was near by and he asked if i was josh davis. no sign. but a smiling face. rufus, who is the acting director of reap that i am "working" for, was able to sneak me away to the awaiting minivan.
the rain was torrential at this point. i felt as though my clothes were soaked through. a man named james was driving. the road right by the airport was a continuous series of potholes. once we got on the main road, we were able to move about about 30-50 kilometers an hour. the rain was coming down so that it looked like we were going through hyperspace in star wars. being in this older minivan with the heat on to keep the windows defogged, i thought for sure that my pores would be entirely clean within a minute.
as we drove i noticed the jungle along the road, street lamps but no light, and large termite mounds. when we approached the city, the roads went from tolerable to a muddy washboard and pot hole mess. we were stopped twice. once by united nations troops and once by police. we were questioned and let go without incident. [does anyone know why the u.n. has baby blue as their color? men with baby blue helmets and machine guns seems like a contradiction.]
the drive to the norman residence was almost at the end of a dirt road that would give a hummer a challenge. many times, i could have walked faster than we drove.
the house is more like a compound. it actually has three main buildings, all of which house people. it is surrounded by a ten foot wall with razor wire on top. i was greeted by a series of men who helped me with my bags and showed me where the room was and the bathroom.
i unpacked. (thanks tracy for all of your help. i could not have done it without you.) everything was there.
i put on my sandals, grabbed my towel and headed to the bathroom to get a most needed shower. there was running cold water from a shower head at the end of a medal hose. though i was quite hot, the water was startlingly cold. as i put shampoo in my hair, for some reason i looked up at the wall above my head. there it was. just like my experience in thailand (though this time much more civilized): an enormous spider. larger than my palm, it slinked back and forth. probably it did this in fear but to me it looked like it was determining how it was going to jump when i had my eyes closed. since there was no light in the bathroom, my headlamp gave off a limited and erie beam in the darkness. i closed my eyes and washed out the shampoo. all was well.
my room was simple and spartan. two bunk beds. i tried to set up my mosquito net but with a fuzzy head and tired eyes, i just drapped it over me. it was 02:30. the sounds of the night were odd; seemingly gigantic frogs croaked and locust-sized crickets sung to me as i tried to sleep. the net stuck to my body. i sweat.
eventually i drifted to sleep.
thanks God for a safe arrival.