"Quick, Robin! To the Bat Mobile"

We have seen many interesting sites here in Liberia, but one of the creepiest things we have seen is the "Bat Tree."

This is a tree in downtown Monrovia that is home to thousands of bats. These are not cute little bats that are the models for cuddly stuffed animals, but the big nasty vampire ones that look like they could suck a person dry in a few minutes (OK, maybe that came from too many late night thriller movies, but these guys are creepy!)

Our first experience with the Bat Tree was a trip to Waterside Market. Julie and I were walking down the sidewalk, and we looked up to watch a large flock of crows swarming overhead. Only they were not crows! Yikes! Hundreds of huge bats flying through the air. Something had apparently spooked them, and they left the tree to fly around downtown Monrovia in the middle of the day and scare innocent, unsuspecting white women out fabric shopping!

A gentleman pointed out the Bat Tree to us, and sure enough, the large dead tree was covered with what looked like large dead leaves...except that these "leaves" would spread their big ugly wings every now and then and fly away. They would soar around the tree and land in a new spot, and return to hanging upside down. I wondered why the bats just leave and fly a little bit and then return to hang out. I wondered if it was kind of like us walking around on an airplane trip, to prevent embolisms and leg swelling. Just a random thought!

We finally got some interesting pictures of the Bat Tree (via son-in-law Robert's very nice camera!) and thought you all might like to see what bats do for fun here (besides scaring white women). The pictures also make a good case for dead tree removal!

Have a good day!

Babs

An Exciting Christmas Gift

(Another blog by Kari, Dave & Babs' daughter...)

During our time in Liberia with Dad and Mom, a rather exciting project took shape. There had been a need for some play equipment on the site for some time, and having Robert around to help Dad meant it was the perfect time to tackle this project!

Dad and Robert disappeared into Monrovia for a couple days to get supplies and to find an expert welder. Apparently, the guy doing the welding was very motivated because he had the agreed-upon equipment welded in about 24 hours. It wasn't long before this very unwieldy load was headed for the site:

After a couple days of setting the equipment up, a playground took shape.

A play set with slide, swings, climbing wall, and sandbox:

A "big kid" swing set:

A "little kid" swingset and merry-go-round:

Monkey bars:

Dad made sure to test all the equipment to make sure it was safe and sound for the kids. At least, he claimed to be working...

Robert and Dad worked very hard on this playground:

The kids were eager to use the playground. For days, the kids asked Mom and Dad when they could go play on the new equipment. The building of the playground created quite a stir on the site! Finally, it was time for playground's grand opening...

Success!

For most of these children, a playground was a new concept. The idea of a slide, swings, a merry-go-round, and a climbing wall---all new. We had to spend a little time helping the kids learn how to use the equipment! Dad spent a lot of time teaching the older girls how to swing. The idea of pumping your legs so you could move yourself was a new concept!

Some of the kids were quite content to let Mom push them on the merry-go-round:

These two enjoyed a new pint-sized picnic table, built just for them:

The new playground also included a soccer field with real goal posts:

The monkey bars were a new thing, too:

The grand opening of the new playground was a lot of fun. Not sure who slept better that night, though...the kids or the adults?

---Kari