Discover North Seattle with Jay Silver

I've done a lot of digging and thought I'd send out what I've found. So here goes:

The House has passed the modified version of the stimulus bill, and like the initial version last month the vote split down party lines with no Republican support. Now that the Congressional record has been updated with the text of the new bill, we can take a closer look at the tax credit for home buyers. According to the updated legislation:

• Tax credit of 10% of the purchase price up to $8,000 *NOTE: This one does not have to be repaid
• Credit only valid for first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence *NOTE: If you haven't owned a home in at least 3 years, you're also included!
• Credit can be applied to purchases made from January 1, 2009-December 1, 2009
• Home purchased must be principal residence for 3 years or credit will be recaptured
• Only applies when taxable income for the year is less than $75,000 (file single return) or $150,000 (file joint return)

Good news for buyers who purchased a new home already this year - you may still qualify for the $8,000 tax credit. And while the extra $500 might not be that exciting, we won't have to repay any of the credit like in the housing recovery plan that passed last summer.

Here is a visual breakdown of the benefits and how they differ from last year's bill for homebuyers.

*Image Credit: Missy Caulk

If you know of anyone who's still renting and wants to buy a home, let me know and I'll help them out. Hope you're all having a great week!

- Jay Silver

Imagine this - several Sierra Leoneans are huddled in a small enclave off the busy street, checking their email and their Facebook pages on an internet connection that seems to be powered by a mouse on a hamster wheel. Then in strolls an early-30's man very different from them. He is white, pretty darn white. He sticks out with his pale skin and tattered baseball cap. He stops at the door and looks for the person in charge. When he finds her, he steps to her and says, "Good afternoon. Ow u de du?" After that he begins to speak to her fluently in Krio and everyone is so impressed that this white boy got skillz.

No, this was not a dream. And no, the white guy was not me. His name is Dennis and it turns out he is the VP of a non-profit group that helps provincial villages around Freetown learn to utilize their resources to meet all their needs. This may seem an odd way to help Freetown, but I think it's brilliant. I wrote before about how the people from the villages sought refuge in the city during the war and then decided not to return to their homes because there was nothing to return to. Now the city is extremely crowded beyond capacity. Once the villagers see they have someting to go back to and they don't have to stand all day on the side of the city streets trying to sell oranges to survive, they will begin to return to their homes. Anyway, back to Dennis. He sat down next to me and Juliana and we struck up a conversation (hey, it was the first conversation with an American-born white guy since I've been here). The whole world got a lot smaller when we asked him where he's from. "Madison, Wisconsin." he said. Whoa, that's cool. I tell him I was born just up the way in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I have a feeling that not many people from Wisconsin find their way to West Africa. But here were two people from a small mid-western area sitting in this internet enclave on the other side of the world. Small world.

Other than that, it's been a boring last couple of days. We have had transportation issues, meaning our transportation options fell through - all of them. There is almost nothing to do within walking distance. A few markets, some vendors and a lot of cars and people milling about. So I've been a little frustrated that we haven't been able to follow through on some plans yet. I've been communicating with the orphanages about bringing the soccer balls over, but we've postponed that until we get transportation again. This should be resolved by tomorrow (Wednesday).

The heat has been all but unbearable as well. Last night I was lying in bed splayed out like a quartered chicken thinking to myself, "Gosh, the water stopped running but at least we still have power. If we didn't have power, the life saving breeze of this fan would cease and I would ablsolutely melt into this b..." - and , you guessed correctly, the power went out at that very moment. I had closed the windows earlier, thinking I would just put the fan on "high" to stay cool. Even with screens on the windows, I didn't want to take another chance with the ninja mosquitoes. But now I had no recourse. I took a deep breath and let out a sigh that seemed longer than the amount of air I took into my lungs. Then I got up and opened the windows, walked over to the table and proceeded to douse myself in Deet. It took about 15 minutes as I prepared myself for a long, hot night and a battle with the Evil Bloodsucking Minions of Hate. After all of my preparations I laid back down on the bed, only to have the power come back on and the fan begin to blow. Man, I should have been patient.

Peace,

- Jay

My previous post was interrupted by my "schedule". After I left this internet spot, I realized how my last words may have sounded odd. Yes, we have a professional driver taking us wherever we need to go. Yes, this is happening in a place where there is inconsistent electricity and water. But it seems strangely normal here.

Let me hit the "Green Bucket" topic before I forget. My relationship with "GB" is strained but necessary. We meet each morning with the usual stare-down. I shuffle my feet defiantly, but GB is unmoved. I could put this off if I wanted to, but eventually I must give in and make nice. You see, we have water, but not always. We have electricity, but not always (hence the long gaps between posts). And it seems these two are rarely available at the same time. So each morning I pour water into my green bucket from a big container in the bathroom. Then I commence the pouring of the water on me. It takes a few effeminate screeches and a little squirming, but eventually my body stops fighting.

In other news, we got to see a little corruption first hand. Our driver was using his cell phone while driving (illegal here) and was spotted by a police officer directing traffic. The officer saw me in the car and started hoping for a payday. She pulled us over and took the driver's license and they started talking too fast in Krio for me to understand. Then the officer directed us down the street. We pulled over and the officer opened the back passenger door and got in the car. She told us to drive her to the police station. I'm not making this up! So we got to the station and she takes the driver in. I got an explanation from one of our cousins who was in the back seat. He said she will take him in there and give him a choice. Either pay the ticket (25o,000 Leones, or about $90) after waiting at the station for several hours or pay her 15,000 Leones ($5.00) and she would let him walk.

Well, during this time Juliana called her sister to ask advice. As it turns out, her Uncle used to be a part of government and so the two of them came down to meet us at the station. As soon as Uncle Henry came in the station he started yelling at the officer, "What are you doing?! You're trying to do this to my Niece?!" The officer recognized Uncle Henry immediately and began to apologize profusely to Juliana, "I'm so sorry, ma! Please forgive me, ma!" I heard that even after we left, the officer was still begging forgiveness from Uncle Henry and asking that she keep her job.

We've been visiting Juliana's relatives all over the place. I kid you not, it seems like every time we go somewhere in the car we drive in a complete circle. But somehow we get to the other side of town. Many of the roads here are treacherous. Sometimes I wonder if we're in Freetown or on a Jeep challenge course! People are everywhere, too. During the war most of the villagers sought safety in the city and when the war ended, they stayed in the city. So it's very crowded here. The pedestrians and vehicles use the same streets and seem to lead a dance to which each knows the next move. As though it is choreographed, a pedestrian will slide slightly to the left just as our car fills the space. When I say it's crowded, I mean these people are within one inch of our car if not leaning on it! I'd say our average traveling speed in 20mph. So there isn't much danger, but it's still nerve-racking.

Our plan is to visit the orphanages next week. Juliana's mother works with another orphanage, so we will go there as well and provide some necessities for them. We can't wait to spend time there and hang out with the kids. They'll really enjoy the soccer balls. And we'll also buy some toiletries and clothes to help out.

I am so grateful for my wife. She cooks for me in the morning. Without her I would be eating the standard breakfast fare of chewy fried fish, rice, potatoes or some combination of those. We went to the market and bought eggs. When we came back I started to cook some up and Musu, basically our housekeeper and cook, watched intently as I scrambled and fried. I don't think she's ever had scrambled eggs before so I shared some with her. She really liked it and I think she'll be adding that to her family's menu.

I think it sounds weird, even as I write this, to say we have a housekeeper and a driver. But most of these people are family members or close friends. The whole family has come together to ensure we have a terrific time while we're here. Musu stays the house and cleans, cooks. No more than a few minutes elapse between the time I finish drinking my water and the time the glass has been picked up and washed. The kids are there to help as well. There is Marie, about 12, who smiles a lot and has grown quite attached to me. Then there's Messie, she's a very self-confident and outgoing 10 year-old girl who has a lot of talents and is so much fun to be around. Lastly, we have Ediesa. He's probably 8 and has a lot of energy. They have all enjoyed learning to flash the "peace sign" and give each other "dap" (fist pound). None of these people are normally at this house. The are there basically to take care of us. I feel very privileged and have enjoyed learning about each one of them.

I hope to get some pictures uploaded soon. But I'm working on an internet line that's DSL, with 10 other computers accessing it. I'll have to set aside a special time to make that happen.

I've tried to get as much as possible into this post, since I don't know the next time the power will be on. There's so much to write about that happens each day. I wish I could fit it all in! I'll finish with a few phrases I've learned... O u de do (how are you), I de go now (I'm leaving), I de come (I'll be back), I sabi Krio small-small (I know a little Krio), tenke (thank you), como fine (it's beautiful), nye ye so (here), ow de bodeh (another way of saying "How are you doing?") and my favorite so far - wo- wo! (ugly!).

I awoke this morning to see cousin Muhammed leaning precariously off the balcony and waiving a stick. It turns out he was knocking fresh oranges off the tree to add to our breakfast. They were still green, but when I took my first bite the juices sprayed everywhere. It was ripe enough to eat. Muhammed has been a huge help to us. He's about 16 years old and is off from school for now.

Oh, looks like our driver is here. We have to make the long journey to the airport because Juliana's luggage was delayed until today. I will finish this later today... I won't leave you hanging about the green bucket, I promise!

- Jay

I have dipped my toes in the Atlantic, dodged crazy traffic with no rules, stood outside in the middle of a torrential downpour and driven on cliffside roads. And it's only been two days.

I was walking with a Terence and Mohammed, my cousin in laws, down a steep and broken road to check out the villages and got caught up trying to take a picture when Mohammed instructed me, "Tek tem". This means "Be careful" in Krio, the dominant language spoken here. Krio is basically truncated english with a bit of French and Portuguese thrown in. That's the advice I think I'll keep in mind for this whole trip, just take my time.

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain drops the size of 50 cent pieces banging on our corrugated tin roof. We were excited to see rain, as the days here are very hot and humid. I went outside to experience the rain first hand and I was soaked within seconds.

I will write more next time. And as soon as I figure out if these computers can download pictures, I'll add those as well. For now we just want to let you know we are safe and happy here in Sierra Leone.

- Jay