Tricks

In the States, Halloween was the one night that obliterated any trace of your day job. Wilma Flintstone over there with the PBR could be a sex worker or a surgeon.

In fact, you might lean towards "sex worker" based on the size of her costume and the way she's throwing herself at Shrek.

In Liberia, Halloween is a little less complicated. The costumed revelers belong to an NGO, a grad school or an embassy. That's it. Mystery solved. The prostitutes still dress like themselves and nobody blurs the line. (This makes it very easy to stalk your prey online later, but we'll address that another day.)

There are no bookstores or cafes in Liberia so, clearly, there is no shop from which to rent a costume. You get creative. I turned a bed skirt, an Ace bandage and baby powder into an homage to Bride of Frankenstein. Someone came as the 80s. There was a giant baby, a German rapper and Gaddafi.

It was almost like being in New York. There was even a girl in the corner giving a lap dance.

Except here, the girl really was a prostitute. And I'm pretty sure the guy was a government official.

Hmm. Nevermind. It was exactly like being in New York.