Bonjour, Madame!

The first morning Sarah and I lived in Pleebo, we decided to go on a short walkabout around town to see what we could explore on our own.  We left the house at 8:00, thinking that the market would be lively by this time and that we could find something good to eat for our breakfast.  Little did we know the treasure we would stumble across that fateful day…

Making our way past the market near our house (locally, it’s called the big market), we soon realized that not much is open on a Thursday morning at 8:00.  Instead, the market women are just arriving to their stalls; things don’t really get going until 8:45 or 9:00.  We thought we might have more luck finding a tea shop or a little cook shop along the main road, so we made the journey to that part of town.  Walking all around, we did not find much, though, and we were getting rather hungry.

I remembered that we had passed a tea shop on our walk that was a little off the road, and so we made our way back there.  The Real Madrid Tea Shop would be our spot for breakfast that morning.  We walked inside, sat down, and tried to speak with the man working there.  It did not take us long to realize that he only speaks French (and small small English…), and so with grand gesturing and laughing, we soon ordered an egg sandwich and café (ovaltine with sweetened condensed milk). 

Let me be the first to tell you – this egg sandwich changed my life.  So simple and easy to make, yet this man made it perfectly.  We knew at that moment that we would be fans of Real Madrid…the tea shop, that is.  After eating, we asked the man how much we owed and found the prices to be surprisingly reasonable.  For an egg sandwich and tea, Sarah and I each pay $120 LD (or about $1.60 US).  This is a perfect meal and a nice break from cooking, as well.

Since that serendipitous day in August, Sarah and I have eaten too many egg sandwiches to count.  With our meals has come a friendship with the owner of the tea shop that I wouldn’t change for the world.  David is originally from Mali, and he has lived in Liberia for two years.  He built his tea shop in January, and just in October, he started an addition on the side that will serve as his living quarters.  (Sarah and I would like to think that our numerous egg sandwiches have helped finance his latest endeavor…)  Currently, he is sleeping on the floor of his shop at night, and therefore, his shop is open from 6:00 am to 11:00 pm – it’s crazy how much he works!

Because of his limited English and our limited French, we have become very good at communicating with each other!  We can now speak “petit French,” and he can speak “small small English,” which is enough for us to share laughs over dinner :)  I am grateful, as well, that there is a man who sells phone cards and other small things outside his shop who is fluent in French and English and who serves as a translator in our times of need.

Currently, our schedule is set for us to eat dinner at David’s Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights after school.  Mondays, Sarah teaches until 5:45, and by the time we would get home, it would be getting dark and rather inconvenient to cook.  Our meals at David’s are the only meals that we eat outside of our home, though, so I’d say we’re doing alright for ourselves!  Every once in a while, we’ll stop by his place on a weekend to say hello and grab a bite to eat, but that’s not dictated by a schedule, haha. 

Though I said we order our fair share of egg sandwiches, David also makes a mean spaghetti that is a nice change of pace now and then.  Again, it’s such a simple meal, but I think we have both come to appreciate having someone else cooking for us on the coal pot a few times a week :)  Granted, one time I ordered spaghetti with an egg (thinking I would get spaghetti with a fried egg on top – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it!), and instead, he cracked the egg into the sauce and scrambled it up.  Upon Sarah’s questioning my meal, my only response was “It’s interesting… I’m not sure I’ll order it again, but it’s interesting.”  Bless his heart, David tries, and that’s good enough for us :)

Every trip to the Real Madrid is eventful for us.  One day, we took him some papaya we were gifted by a teacher at school (paw-paw, as it’s locally called, is not too sweet to us), and he was so grateful.  He opened it up right away and offered some to us; after us convincing him it was all for him, he ate it with a huge smile on his face.  A few days later, we saw a woman selling oranges outside her house (or so we thought), and we asked him to make sure she was before we walked over there.  Instead of answering us, he went over, bought two oranges, and gifted them to us with our dinner.  It’s the little things to be grateful for, I’ve learned.

The view from the road

Sarah and David

We have already decided that we will be visiting his shop every day during our last month at site.  Those egg sandwiches are too good not to splurge a bit that last month, and it’s always nice to sit in his company.  Though our conversations are small, it’s obvious that he appreciates our presence and company.  It’s funny how, even halfway around the world, I’ve found my own little space to claim as mine a few times a week.  Those old men sitting at The Tower every morning, drinking their coffee, really taught me something.