June 28 - City Compare

Location
Woking - Suburb of London (south-west) in Surrey
Freetown - Capital of Sierra Leone, On the west coast

Time zone
Woking - BST = GMT + 1
Freetown - GMT

Currency
Woking - British Pound (1£=$2.50 CAD)
Freetown - Leone (3000Le = $1CAD)

Ranking in Human Development Index
Woking - #18 – 0.940 (high)
Freetown - #176 – 0.335 (low)
(Canada is 6th at 0.950)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

How I arrived
Woking - Air Canada to London Heathrow
Taxi to Woking

Freetown - British Airways to Lungi via Dakar, Senegal
Helicopter to Aberdeen
Plan vehicle to home

Where I lived
Woking -

1) Guest room in IT Director’s flat downtown Woking
2) The Arden Bed and Breakfast across the railway tracks from downtown
3) ADP Flat in the west end of downtown

Freetown -

1) Flat in the lower level of a house near the office
2) Family Kingdom Hotel on Aberdeen

Where I worked
Woking - International Headquarters in Chobham House building.
Sat in the library with the rest of the team.
Coffee and tea available in the kitchen.

Freetown - Plan Sierra Leone Country office. Gated grounds with loads of drivers, cleaners and security guards.
Our office was Twin Tower #1 (their name not mine), a shed in the parking lot with a metal roof. Two desks shared. AC. Coffee and tea via thermos on my desk.

Main tasks
Woking - Get to know the project and the team. High-level planning. Meetings, meetings and more meetings

Freetown - Detailed test and implementation planning

What I ate
Woking -

Breakfast – Cereal and/or Toast
Lunch – leftovers from the night before, sandwich from M&S or local shop
Dinner – Salad and chicken at home or pub food. Shopping at Sainsbury or M&S

Freetown -

Breakfast – Continental at the hotel included
Lunch – Traditional African dishes cooked by the Plan cook (Musu who was shockingly like an African version of my Aunt Audrey). Rice with meat and sauce daily.
Dinner – depends on the day. Restaurant or oatmeal packet.
Shopping at local supermarket for snacks, oatmeal and water

Costs
Woking - Super duper expensive. Same prices as at home but 2.5 times as much when you convert to dollars.

Freetown - Not that cheap. Imported goods (cereal, sweets) are expensive but local items (fish, mangoes, nuts, breads) are cheap. Drinks are cheap too.

Food
Woking - Same as home only not fresh for nearly as long as it is mostly imported. Expensive. Favs – Prêt yogurt bowls, anything from M&S, Hobnobs

Freetown - Rice with everything! Loads of fish and lobster. Fresh fruit but no veggies. Bottled water. Chapmans! (SLE drink)

Shelter
Woking -

Kelvin’s flat = free
B&B = 40GBP/night
ADP flat = ? (probably around 1000GBP/month)

Freetown -

Sketchy flat – $40/night for both
Family Kingdom - $3000US for 6 weeks for both of us. (one room)

How I travelled
Woking - Foot, Southwest Trains to London and the tube
Freetown - Rides from friends, Plan staff and the White Dragon (Nana’s car)

How I communicated
Woking - UK mobile (vodaphone), Skype and calling card
Freetown - SLE mobile (on loan from Nana – CellTell), Skype

What I did for exercise
Woking - Stretch cords, Peak Fitness gym, local pool, morning runs along the canal
Freetown - Run along the beach, Hashing, Yoga, balance ball and stretch cords.

What I did for fun
Woking - Hang out with Laura, had visitors in (Martha!), watched TV, worked out, went to the pub, shopping, coffee, theatre, went into London
Freetown - Hung out with friends, beach, runs, dinners, bars, read, ate, chilled on porch of our hotel room

Side-Trips
Woking - Newquay and the south/west region, London many times
Freetown - Banana Islands, River #2, Chimp sanctuary, Charlotte Falls, Private Beach

First Impressions
Woking - Simple and cute. Friendly and small. Just like home only more expensive.
Freetown - Busy and beautiful, more ‘developed’ than I thought. People are well put together.

If I came again what would I bring
Woking - Toiletries (so expensive), a proper day bag, more $$, dutyfree
Freetown - Better clothes for going out. Some jewelry, fake wedding ring, more $$, better workout videos