Well, um, I don't really know where to start. I got a few good stories to tell I reckon, so I'll just type as I think.... bear with me.
Well, probably the most consistently exhausting thing that has happened for the last two months is that I got some stuff stolen. As have many of us. But, my situation turned out really well. I got my ipod, a camera, and a blackberry stolen along with some money at my house. Immediately after this discovery, my community sprang into action and conducted an extensive investigation and arrested two suspects. All of my fellow teachers devoted their time and energy to getting to the bottom of it, so the end result was that I went to court about the whole ordeal. The judge was great and gave an astounding monologue to the entire courtroom about the peace corps and their mission in this country and how we should be encouraged to do the job that we came to do. So, the end result is that the suspects have to pay the monetary equivalent of the property and now everyone is watchin my house like hawks and I feel super safe. I was really impressed with how my community stepped up to set a precedence for this situation and how seriously everything was taken. I said it once and I'll say it again.... I got the best village here!
Next on the agenda is my brother's visit. So, Destin came with his friend Stevo (PCV in The Gambia). I picked them up when they got off of the ferry and we high tailed it back to the village because my AWESOME village had big plans for these guys. Even though they were running on small sleep, they were troopers and attended all the special events. It started with a football match that they set up, complete with a sound system to welcome the guys. Most of the village turned out for this. It also doubled as an advertisement for the village jam that was organized for their arrival. So, naturally, we had to make the rounds and introduce to lots of people and my fellow teachers came to the house and presented us with a goat that they all contributed to buy for our "big strangers". So, the first day of their arrival was pretty event filled and exhausting, but my village was super excited to receive them and I believe that they felt honored by the welcome they received. Other notable events during their visit are as follows:
-Destin mentioned his promise made to little Sadie that he would touch a live monkey while he was in Africa, so less than 2 hours after mentioning it, my friend Alhaji shows up with a little baby monkey on a baby monkey leash. His name was Dixon and I'm still not real sure where he ran off and found a monkey. That's how stuff works here. Simply stunning.
-On the way home from the dance the first night, we crossed paths with a cobra. Someone warned us they had seen a giant snake and after we located it in the dark, we realized that someone had already killed it, but we watched it finish dying just to make sure. Welcome to Africa!
- We spent the whole week going and teaching at school. Destin and Stevo did most of the teaching and got to experience exactly what the education system is like here. It is very much different than America. Stevo had had some experience with this, but i'm glad Destin got to see exactly how challenging it can be.
-Every day they guys made the 2 min. walk down to the river to go for a dip. One of the many perks of having the BEST village ever.
-We all got to learn how to kill/slaughter a goat, africa style. And a chicken, but i think we knew that for the most part. We ate the goat meat for the whole week!
So, after the boys visiting, we headed to Freetown for a few days. We enjoyed a day on the beach and walking around the city for a bit before we headed to the Gambia. My other (African) cell got stolen in Freetown. UGH. So we headed out to the Gambia and stayed in the capital for a day until Destin flew out to head back to America. From my understanding, this was quite an eventful, typically Africa, journey. he he he. I'll leave that story to him. So Stevo and I headed back to his village in the Gambia called Jigimar. Right outside of Farafenni. It was a great trip and really nice to see another West African country, but it was also very different than Sierra Leone. It's nuts that they can be so close but so different. There aren't any trees there, there's never any clouds in the sky, and there's tons of sand. It's a lot like the desert. The culture and the way of life seems to be very similar to that of Sierra Leone, but the religion is that 85-90% of the country is Muslim. This meant that clothes were much different and a lot of different times of the day you witnessed prayer time. That happens here, but since the population of Muslims is less, you don't see it quite as often.
So, after my trip to the Gambia, I headed back to the village for a little over a week before I came back into Freetown. Most of our volunteers met up here for the open house peace corps celebration and festivities for SL 50th anniversary of independence celebration. On my way in, it was the worst day of travel ever! That happens sometimes, but it was made better when I got to the last vehicle swap and some guy in an ice cream truck picked me up and gave me a free ride to the last place I had to go. As a result of this, I got to eat free ice cream that is the best that I've had here and I also got to help sell it as we cruised the city streets. It was a hoot.
After the arrival, me and my peeps pretty much spent the next coupla days shopping and beach bumming. While beach bumming on the second day, we saw a Lebanese guy on a jet ski so one of my buds flagged him down and we took turns ridin some waves. It was gnarley!
So, now, I'm ready to head back to the village and enjoy the rest of Mango/Pineapple season and wait for the first rains to come. I just hope tomorrows travels prove to be easier than last Wednesday's and I hope I get to talk to my mommy first! I love you all and miss you all and I'll update you again as soon as I can. I'll also try to see if Destin can get some pictures up. Over and out.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Birthday, staph infections, and freetown.
Well, I've been in Freetown for a long time and not updated the blog, so here ya go. I'm gonna start at New Years Day til now....
On new years day, I went to a wedding in my neighbors village 4 miles off called Semabu. The tradition in this culture is that you have this big party and march in different women and the man accepts or refuses them and then the last lady that comes in is the fiance and he accepts her and asks the family's permission to marry the woman. Well, this one was interesting because the couple had already been living together and had kids together, but the family didn't agree! I just kinda stood there befuddled cuz i wasn't sure what a couple does if the family doesn't agree to let the woman marry. Anyway, after discussion and negotiation, it was worked out, the world was right again, and everyone ate rice and danced the night away. Well, after the wedding, my friend Alhaji and I headed to Njala to dance in the club because there were no festivities in Mano for New Years. It was tons of fun.
The next couple of weeks were pretty standard "wait on kids to decide to come back to school" so there was a lot of cooking, laying in the hammock, drinking of palm wine, and reading of books happening at my house. On the weekend before my birthday, the girls planned and carried out an impromptu weekend at my house. Jessie, Chrissy, and Dia showed up for a fabulous weekend. The girls got there and we sprung into action cooking american food. The menu included fried chicken(that we killed and breaded partly with jalepeno pringles), mashed cassava, cassava french fries, and yams(thanksgivin style with brown sugar). We absolutely threw down on some food. We all sat in the floor and ate from the same plate with our hands..... so, after this, we sat around for awhile and kept time with some Mano folks before heading to Njala to go dance. We found a friend (Bakar) that had a mini van and we got him to take us to Njala to the club. We went, kinda early, and danced the night away before jumping back into the car to head home. Well.... on the way home, we're all asleep on each other's shoulders when the car rolls to a stop in a small village called Pelewahun because there was music bumping for a waking and people dancing everywhere. Our driver stopped to talk to someone he knew, but probably would have changed his mind if he would have known we were gonna wake from a dead sleep, vacate the car, and storm the place with dancing white folks. So, we successfully drive by dance attacked a small african village. YES.
So after this fabulous weekend, my actual birthday was on Tuesday. I woke up and couldn't straighten my left arm that morning and felt like poopie. So, i called the doc lady, and went home and crawled in bed with a fever. My neighbor came over after I woke up with a big ole hunk of deer meat(complete with skin and fur) and I had to ask how to clean in because i had to steam it to cook with it the next day. So, I was close to a breaking point because i didn't feel good and didn't feel like having the army of kids outside my house laughing at me because I didn't know how to clean the deer meat, so I passed out buckets and made them all go fetch water while my neighbor taught me how to do it. So, i got a lesson in cleaning deer and went back to bed for my birthday. The next day, my lymphnode under my arm was swollen and i started antibiotics, but they didn't help, so when i got up on Wednesday and the swelling and redness had spread, I jumped transport to go to Freetown. once there, meds were swapped and i had the best night of sleep of my life in the air conditioned(sick room) and when i woke up the next morning, off to the hospital I went.
The hospital was actually a private clinic where i had a tv, remote control air conditioner, my own bathroom, and the meals consisted of baked chicken, couscous, steamed veggies, etc. It was really nice. I had to have an IV for about 4 days and didn't leave that one room. I read lots of books, magazines, and watched TV. By the end, I was ready to go home! The last night I was there, some small kids came in screamin bloody murder because they were getting IVs and so I gathered up my toys from my American boxes and went on a delivery mission. It definitely saved my sanity as well as theirs i think. We played with yo yos and clackers and had fun at our toy-filled buttless gown party. It was a hoot. While I was there, the country directors came to visit as well as a couple of other peace corps staff members. That was nice of them. I finally made it out and here I am later in February and the Doc has informed me that it's possible that I will always have some sensitivity in that arm. BOOO..... Staph infections are NOT cool. But I did eat some killer sushi while I was in Freetown and spend way too much money on I'm not sure what.
So after my close run in with insanity because i was in Freetown for almost a week and a half with nothing to do but kick it with the security guards and occasionally cook, i was thankful to head back to my village, where I should have known that EVERYONE knew that I was not well. I felt kind of bad that I had just missed a week and a half of school and then had to turn around and go back in a week or so for the Foreign Services Exam. So the buffer week in between was spent at school which did not go very well because the eastern part of the country has started a teacher's strike and it's slowly trickling across the country. So, the teachers at my school are signing the attendance book and sitting down.
On Wed., the 9th, I headed back to Freetown. I woke up on Thurs to take the Foreign Services exam which went ok I guess, but I have a feeling I might be taking it again later.....So, this turned out to be a group trip and about 15-20 people ended up at the hostel. It was pretty chill for the most part and we spent the weekend on the beach(w jessie logerfo) and walking around town and eatin good food. We also had a mexican food cooking night, I made sweet tea for everyone, and we had different meetings on Girls Conference and syllabus stuff. So, it was a chill weekend, but I'm ready to go home. Sorry this was such a factual update and not full of funny stories, but I have put new pictures on FB which was a big accomplishment. ALSO, *VERY IMPORTANT* We have successfully got the magic jack working at the hostel as well as skype and my computer will be stayin here so volunteers to use it whenever they come since it won't hold a charge anyway. I enjoyed getting to skype with family and friends while I was in Freetown. Hope to talk to you guys soon and thanks for all the encouragement!
On new years day, I went to a wedding in my neighbors village 4 miles off called Semabu. The tradition in this culture is that you have this big party and march in different women and the man accepts or refuses them and then the last lady that comes in is the fiance and he accepts her and asks the family's permission to marry the woman. Well, this one was interesting because the couple had already been living together and had kids together, but the family didn't agree! I just kinda stood there befuddled cuz i wasn't sure what a couple does if the family doesn't agree to let the woman marry. Anyway, after discussion and negotiation, it was worked out, the world was right again, and everyone ate rice and danced the night away. Well, after the wedding, my friend Alhaji and I headed to Njala to dance in the club because there were no festivities in Mano for New Years. It was tons of fun.
The next couple of weeks were pretty standard "wait on kids to decide to come back to school" so there was a lot of cooking, laying in the hammock, drinking of palm wine, and reading of books happening at my house. On the weekend before my birthday, the girls planned and carried out an impromptu weekend at my house. Jessie, Chrissy, and Dia showed up for a fabulous weekend. The girls got there and we sprung into action cooking american food. The menu included fried chicken(that we killed and breaded partly with jalepeno pringles), mashed cassava, cassava french fries, and yams(thanksgivin style with brown sugar). We absolutely threw down on some food. We all sat in the floor and ate from the same plate with our hands..... so, after this, we sat around for awhile and kept time with some Mano folks before heading to Njala to go dance. We found a friend (Bakar) that had a mini van and we got him to take us to Njala to the club. We went, kinda early, and danced the night away before jumping back into the car to head home. Well.... on the way home, we're all asleep on each other's shoulders when the car rolls to a stop in a small village called Pelewahun because there was music bumping for a waking and people dancing everywhere. Our driver stopped to talk to someone he knew, but probably would have changed his mind if he would have known we were gonna wake from a dead sleep, vacate the car, and storm the place with dancing white folks. So, we successfully drive by dance attacked a small african village. YES.
So after this fabulous weekend, my actual birthday was on Tuesday. I woke up and couldn't straighten my left arm that morning and felt like poopie. So, i called the doc lady, and went home and crawled in bed with a fever. My neighbor came over after I woke up with a big ole hunk of deer meat(complete with skin and fur) and I had to ask how to clean in because i had to steam it to cook with it the next day. So, I was close to a breaking point because i didn't feel good and didn't feel like having the army of kids outside my house laughing at me because I didn't know how to clean the deer meat, so I passed out buckets and made them all go fetch water while my neighbor taught me how to do it. So, i got a lesson in cleaning deer and went back to bed for my birthday. The next day, my lymphnode under my arm was swollen and i started antibiotics, but they didn't help, so when i got up on Wednesday and the swelling and redness had spread, I jumped transport to go to Freetown. once there, meds were swapped and i had the best night of sleep of my life in the air conditioned(sick room) and when i woke up the next morning, off to the hospital I went.
The hospital was actually a private clinic where i had a tv, remote control air conditioner, my own bathroom, and the meals consisted of baked chicken, couscous, steamed veggies, etc. It was really nice. I had to have an IV for about 4 days and didn't leave that one room. I read lots of books, magazines, and watched TV. By the end, I was ready to go home! The last night I was there, some small kids came in screamin bloody murder because they were getting IVs and so I gathered up my toys from my American boxes and went on a delivery mission. It definitely saved my sanity as well as theirs i think. We played with yo yos and clackers and had fun at our toy-filled buttless gown party. It was a hoot. While I was there, the country directors came to visit as well as a couple of other peace corps staff members. That was nice of them. I finally made it out and here I am later in February and the Doc has informed me that it's possible that I will always have some sensitivity in that arm. BOOO..... Staph infections are NOT cool. But I did eat some killer sushi while I was in Freetown and spend way too much money on I'm not sure what.
So after my close run in with insanity because i was in Freetown for almost a week and a half with nothing to do but kick it with the security guards and occasionally cook, i was thankful to head back to my village, where I should have known that EVERYONE knew that I was not well. I felt kind of bad that I had just missed a week and a half of school and then had to turn around and go back in a week or so for the Foreign Services Exam. So the buffer week in between was spent at school which did not go very well because the eastern part of the country has started a teacher's strike and it's slowly trickling across the country. So, the teachers at my school are signing the attendance book and sitting down.
On Wed., the 9th, I headed back to Freetown. I woke up on Thurs to take the Foreign Services exam which went ok I guess, but I have a feeling I might be taking it again later.....So, this turned out to be a group trip and about 15-20 people ended up at the hostel. It was pretty chill for the most part and we spent the weekend on the beach(w jessie logerfo) and walking around town and eatin good food. We also had a mexican food cooking night, I made sweet tea for everyone, and we had different meetings on Girls Conference and syllabus stuff. So, it was a chill weekend, but I'm ready to go home. Sorry this was such a factual update and not full of funny stories, but I have put new pictures on FB which was a big accomplishment. ALSO, *VERY IMPORTANT* We have successfully got the magic jack working at the hostel as well as skype and my computer will be stayin here so volunteers to use it whenever they come since it won't hold a charge anyway. I enjoyed getting to skype with family and friends while I was in Freetown. Hope to talk to you guys soon and thanks for all the encouragement!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Mi Christmas de pa yu - O
ok. Well, first of all, sorry it has been so long. I'm a little busy living the dream and all. The title of this blog is what people here in africa say in Krio that means 'you have to buy me a christmas present' . The rule is, whoever says it first wins and the other person can't say it back to you. So, because i didn't know this, I had lots of gifts to give. Luckily, this could be anything. Even a lollipop. So, that worked out well.
Since I last updated, quite a bit has happened. One of my fave stories to tell is that I was leaving school one day and a fellow teacher said, "we gotta go right now." i asked what was up and he informed me that a baboon had been caught and was at the police station and we had to go and see it. so, off we went. in a hurry. The whole way there he was investigating in local language and we learned that the baboon was already dead. Evidently it had been "running behind people" in a neighboring village so they had to kill it. Understandable. So, we get there and there is about a 4 ft. baboon strapped to the wall of the police station. I guess as a warning to all of his terrorist monkey friends to STOP CHASING PEOPLE. The great part is that i can see the police station from my veranda so every time i walked outside, i saw a monkey corpse hanging there with the whole village staring at it like it was an art exhibit before they took it down to "process" the "beef". However, there were tons of people so i didn't get any. it sold pretty quick.
Also, one fun little project i did at my house was that i had a bookshelf made and told the carpenter not to varnish it, so i was trying to decide what to paint on it and decided to just take the paint outside and let the kids have at it. First, i sat down and taught them how to mix different colors like i learned in 6th grade art and they thought it was magic. so, i now have a vibrant bookshelf in my house and they also painted my outdoor kitchen. It was a blast and hopefully pictures are to come.
We went to in-service-training in Makeni and spent a couple of weeks and it was fun, but we were all happy to get back, i think. Those of us that were going back. however, highlights of makeni are that they have excellent used clothes and Dane Cox bought some fabulous floral spandex that he wears without shame, i got attacked by a blister beetle (google it), we went to the pool one day and jessie, chrissy, dane and i developed a fabulous synchronized swimming routine. I think those are the most important points of the makeni trip.
So, i spent the christmas in my village to learn about traditions that happen. Unfortunately, our paramount cheif cancelled all the events. but i won't tell you the reason here. you have to call me to find out. But, i did kill a chicken for christmas. Women aren't really supposed to do that in this culture, but there wasn't a man around so my friend in the village looked at me and said, " you know how to kill this thing?" So, i had to handle it. I also assisted in the killing of about a 4-5 ft. snake that slithered it's way into some lady's house. That was entertaining to see about 5-6 African kids with huge sticks on a mission to find the thing.
The day after christmas I headed over to my friend Brandon Brown's house in Bauya and spent a coupla nights. Me, him, and Alli Sinning rode our bikes a few miles to a neighboring village, Senehun, for a jungle party. It was amazing and we danced a lot. i also crashed my bike on the way there. I tend to fall down a lot here. on bike or on foot.
So, now, we are in Bo. Me, Marty (snake killer) Dertz, Brandon, and Dane. doing internet stuff and hanging out to enjoy a little holiday time before we go back to teaching school and learning some language. One of the best things about this country is not ever having an agenda. if you want to hop on your bike and ride 14 miles, there's no reason you can't. If you want to spend the day travelling or cooking, no problem. It's still really hot here though, even though the harmattan has come and the Sierra Leoneans think it's freezing. We're just comfortable.
The kids at school are still struggling with our english, but it's getting better. some of the cultural differences are proving to be more of a challenge. I can now successfully draw my own water, lift it, put it, and carry it on my head. This is a lot harder than it sounds but kids here can do it at about age 6. it's nuts! but it's kinda fun and a darn good workout, so i like doing it. i also like cooking using wood instead of coal or gas. Life here is just natural. It's so intriguing. i hope you all get to see it.
I can pretty much communicate in Krio now, but i am still struggling in Mende. it's hard! I know i promised this blog update would be better, but i gotta go live the dream and it's hard to tell all of the stories to those of you who can't see it! you are welcome to come visit and for those of you planning to come, GET OVER HERE.IT'S AWESOME. I would also like to thank Brandon Brown's mom for the fabulous christmas present i received that was wrapped and labeled for me. It was incredible. Thanks so much. and as always. thanks to all my family and friends who i miss and love for calling me on christmas to "reduce my trauma". I sure do miss you guys...
Since I last updated, quite a bit has happened. One of my fave stories to tell is that I was leaving school one day and a fellow teacher said, "we gotta go right now." i asked what was up and he informed me that a baboon had been caught and was at the police station and we had to go and see it. so, off we went. in a hurry. The whole way there he was investigating in local language and we learned that the baboon was already dead. Evidently it had been "running behind people" in a neighboring village so they had to kill it. Understandable. So, we get there and there is about a 4 ft. baboon strapped to the wall of the police station. I guess as a warning to all of his terrorist monkey friends to STOP CHASING PEOPLE. The great part is that i can see the police station from my veranda so every time i walked outside, i saw a monkey corpse hanging there with the whole village staring at it like it was an art exhibit before they took it down to "process" the "beef". However, there were tons of people so i didn't get any. it sold pretty quick.
Also, one fun little project i did at my house was that i had a bookshelf made and told the carpenter not to varnish it, so i was trying to decide what to paint on it and decided to just take the paint outside and let the kids have at it. First, i sat down and taught them how to mix different colors like i learned in 6th grade art and they thought it was magic. so, i now have a vibrant bookshelf in my house and they also painted my outdoor kitchen. It was a blast and hopefully pictures are to come.
We went to in-service-training in Makeni and spent a couple of weeks and it was fun, but we were all happy to get back, i think. Those of us that were going back. however, highlights of makeni are that they have excellent used clothes and Dane Cox bought some fabulous floral spandex that he wears without shame, i got attacked by a blister beetle (google it), we went to the pool one day and jessie, chrissy, dane and i developed a fabulous synchronized swimming routine. I think those are the most important points of the makeni trip.
So, i spent the christmas in my village to learn about traditions that happen. Unfortunately, our paramount cheif cancelled all the events. but i won't tell you the reason here. you have to call me to find out. But, i did kill a chicken for christmas. Women aren't really supposed to do that in this culture, but there wasn't a man around so my friend in the village looked at me and said, " you know how to kill this thing?" So, i had to handle it. I also assisted in the killing of about a 4-5 ft. snake that slithered it's way into some lady's house. That was entertaining to see about 5-6 African kids with huge sticks on a mission to find the thing.
The day after christmas I headed over to my friend Brandon Brown's house in Bauya and spent a coupla nights. Me, him, and Alli Sinning rode our bikes a few miles to a neighboring village, Senehun, for a jungle party. It was amazing and we danced a lot. i also crashed my bike on the way there. I tend to fall down a lot here. on bike or on foot.
So, now, we are in Bo. Me, Marty (snake killer) Dertz, Brandon, and Dane. doing internet stuff and hanging out to enjoy a little holiday time before we go back to teaching school and learning some language. One of the best things about this country is not ever having an agenda. if you want to hop on your bike and ride 14 miles, there's no reason you can't. If you want to spend the day travelling or cooking, no problem. It's still really hot here though, even though the harmattan has come and the Sierra Leoneans think it's freezing. We're just comfortable.
The kids at school are still struggling with our english, but it's getting better. some of the cultural differences are proving to be more of a challenge. I can now successfully draw my own water, lift it, put it, and carry it on my head. This is a lot harder than it sounds but kids here can do it at about age 6. it's nuts! but it's kinda fun and a darn good workout, so i like doing it. i also like cooking using wood instead of coal or gas. Life here is just natural. It's so intriguing. i hope you all get to see it.
I can pretty much communicate in Krio now, but i am still struggling in Mende. it's hard! I know i promised this blog update would be better, but i gotta go live the dream and it's hard to tell all of the stories to those of you who can't see it! you are welcome to come visit and for those of you planning to come, GET OVER HERE.IT'S AWESOME. I would also like to thank Brandon Brown's mom for the fabulous christmas present i received that was wrapped and labeled for me. It was incredible. Thanks so much. and as always. thanks to all my family and friends who i miss and love for calling me on christmas to "reduce my trauma". I sure do miss you guys...
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Short, sweet update.
Well this cant be too long cuz it's hard to type on an iPod touch. I'll try to hit the important points. I finally made it into my house and it's amazing. I have a breathtaking view of Africa from my veranda. It also looks over the river. My favorite thing to do after walking around speaking the language is to lay on my hammock and enjoy this view. Last week, I attended a elder society tribal dance. We danced the entire night because all of the paramount chiefs for the whole district came to my town. Approx 3 seconds after I showed up, I was promptly dragged to the middle of the dance in front of the town and in the middle of the village to dance. After this initial humiliation subsided, and I realized the dance was actually open to everyone, we danced around a bonfire all night in the worlds longest conga line. Men and women had their own lines and the men would sing in Mende and the women would respond in song. The elders led the lines re enacting tribal battles with swords and shields. So rad.
The next day some kids showed up at my house beating drums in my yard. They had dressed some kid up as rhe tribal devil and had their own little tribal dance in my front yard. It was hysterical
My neighbors killed a cobra on my front steps.
Someone gave Jessie logerfo a cow head in a bag w no skin on it.
Dia and Chrissy, in the spirit of Halloween, didn't have costumes so they walked all the way across kenema like robots. I love our group.
I have organized the teachers palm wine drinking committee. We drink wine and talk about important issues and cultural differences while they help me with the language. It's a very formal organization and I am the secretary. I even record all the proper minutes. It's really funny an surprisingly, very effective and productive.
I can also successfully cook my own African meals over open fire. I lit a fire and heated water the other mornin for coffee and bathing in 5 minutes flat. I did a passionate fist pump in my kitchen as this is a huge accomplishment.
I still get tons of gifts of fruit. A man gave me 30 oranges the other day. I looked at him an said," how am I supposed to eat all these oranges?"
Then, he looked at me like I was dumb and said, " one at a time." silly me. What was I thinkin?
I love teaching these kids. They want to learn an once we handle the language barrier, well be in business. I have the best job in the world. Even when I'm just hangin out not doing much of anything, I'm learning a ton and doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. How's that for a job description? Can't beat it.
Jessie, Andre, and I just spent the whole day in a swimming pool in makeni doing back flips, cannonballs, and having diaper float races before changing into the gear we bought today to head out on the town. I even fell asleep on a float in the pool sunbathing and woke up to and entire wedding party staring at the white lady asleep in the pool. that's wherebi'm currently typing this. And Jessie has the cuter house ever. It's like the keebler elf house with a cute little thatched roof.
Sorry for the format and unorganized nature of this update, but I couldn't leave it blank when I haven't been online in so long. Miss everyone, hope all is well, and the next one will be better. I promise....
The next day some kids showed up at my house beating drums in my yard. They had dressed some kid up as rhe tribal devil and had their own little tribal dance in my front yard. It was hysterical
My neighbors killed a cobra on my front steps.
Someone gave Jessie logerfo a cow head in a bag w no skin on it.
Dia and Chrissy, in the spirit of Halloween, didn't have costumes so they walked all the way across kenema like robots. I love our group.
I have organized the teachers palm wine drinking committee. We drink wine and talk about important issues and cultural differences while they help me with the language. It's a very formal organization and I am the secretary. I even record all the proper minutes. It's really funny an surprisingly, very effective and productive.
I can also successfully cook my own African meals over open fire. I lit a fire and heated water the other mornin for coffee and bathing in 5 minutes flat. I did a passionate fist pump in my kitchen as this is a huge accomplishment.
I still get tons of gifts of fruit. A man gave me 30 oranges the other day. I looked at him an said," how am I supposed to eat all these oranges?"
Then, he looked at me like I was dumb and said, " one at a time." silly me. What was I thinkin?
I love teaching these kids. They want to learn an once we handle the language barrier, well be in business. I have the best job in the world. Even when I'm just hangin out not doing much of anything, I'm learning a ton and doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. How's that for a job description? Can't beat it.
Jessie, Andre, and I just spent the whole day in a swimming pool in makeni doing back flips, cannonballs, and having diaper float races before changing into the gear we bought today to head out on the town. I even fell asleep on a float in the pool sunbathing and woke up to and entire wedding party staring at the white lady asleep in the pool. that's wherebi'm currently typing this. And Jessie has the cuter house ever. It's like the keebler elf house with a cute little thatched roof.
Sorry for the format and unorganized nature of this update, but I couldn't leave it blank when I haven't been online in so long. Miss everyone, hope all is well, and the next one will be better. I promise....
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
It doesn't matter
The title of this blog is what I quickly became known for in the village for saying. However, i usually say it in Krio which sounds like,"ee no matter" Literally translated, "it doesn't matter." So, when they say, "Nepor, it's raining, get out of the rain!" or "the black flies are biting you." or "the rice is cold", they make fun of me for using this as a response and joke that everything is always fine with me. True.
Now i'm in Freetown, I went ahead and posted the huge update from the last month at site. sorry it was so long, but no internet access! So, this one is new and a little more recent. I am now in Freetown for a few days because of my little rat friends. I am now the only PCV that does not have a house and when the rats started to chew through a desk to get to food, I decided to take action. Me and my friend and Ramatu and my principal placed a garbage can by the wall with bait in it so the rats would crawl into it and not be able to crawl out. So, when I woke up in the morning, I captured 5 of my furry friends. Long story short, I got bit by a rat and now I'm in Freetown for precautionary rabies shots. This means that my classes are covered for the week and I am staying with the medical doctor watching satellite TV, posting blog updates, roaming and shopping in Freetown, eating American food, and sleeping in A/C. It's not so bad. haha. So, that is where I currently stand and I will use the rest of this update to tell a few stories from myself and friends:
Bryan Meeker - Gbendambu - So I talked to Bryan shortly after going to village and was told about how a rooster woke him up every morning. He approached his neighbor about it and his neighbor offered to kill it. So, that night, because the rooster was driving Bryan nuts, his neighbor killed it and they feasted on it.
Jessie Logerfo - Panlap - So Jessie and I often call to share funny stories and this one in particular I asked her if I could share because it's definitely a first. She thought she was being peed on one day by a little boy but when she turned around, she realized that there was an infant being breastfed and the mother was holding this child at just the right angle to spray breast milk all over Jessie. bahahaha. In africa, lots of women bare the boobs and it's no big deal. You can be sitting in church or a meeting or on public transport and boobs start flying and babies start sucking. This has become an everyday normal thing for us here and I thought it was funny enough that she was being peed on until she finished the story. Classic Africa.
Alli Sinning and Meghan Welsh - Moyamba - Please see Alli Sinnings link on my blog for her remarkable story of the "Walkabout". I actually heard of this story in my village where my neighbor asked if I had heard that my friends were asked to pay a ridiculous amount for a taxi. Evidently, after the walkabout, her village broadcasted the ridiculousness on the radio where my neighbor heard it. Simply stunning and amazingly inspiring. This is usually how rough/heated/frustrating situations turn out in this country. As an amazing, unforgettable experience.
On my second day in school, after witnessing a student of mine doing homework that I gave on the first day, I realized that the students did not understand a word of my English and that's why they didn't talk to me. So, on the second day, I decided to make things a little more laid back in class. I talked as slow as possible and had an experimental math competition. I seperated girls and boys. There were 11 girls and about 22 boys and I explained the rules. One enthusiastic little boy in the front obviously understood the rules of the competition, so I asked him to stand up and explain to the class in Mende what the rules for this game were. After that, the attitude of class completely changed and I told them I thought the girls could win. All the boys had a fit and laughed hysterically right before the outnumbered girls beat the brakes off of them. It was glorious!
This past Saturday was one of the best yet. I have evidently hit the lottery for small African villages that have the most village dances. This includes setting up a huge stereo set and dancing til 3 or 4 in the morning. So, last Friday, we had a jam for no particular occasion and Dia came to participate. We danced all night and then on Saturday, we sat around and ate/shared American candy and walked around my village to check it out. We crossed the amazingly beautiful railroad bridge and were showered with bananas from strangers. Typical in Africa. So, after Dia left and I dropped her at the junction, I sat around learning some Mende with some locals and accepting more gifts. My final total for the day came out to be 20 bananas, 5 oranges, 2 guavas, and 1 papaya. It was a great day keeping time with wonderful people who are more than willing to answer any questions that I may have about culture or language. I realized that this was my job. I was not supposed to be anywhere on this day doing anything other than walking around a West African village eating fruit and stopping to talk to everyone that talks to me. How cool is that? Why can't I make a career out of this?
One man in particular is our town cheif, Mr. Emmanuel. he's a little old man with white hair and a deep voice and huge glasses from the 80s. His clothing style is super smooth and his English is impeccable. I half expect him to whip out a saxophone and start playing the blues. Anyhow, he sits around and tells me about the good ole days and how he used to work for the steam engine and how the youth and educational system today differ from 50 years ago when he finished school. He is absolutely fascinating and has a room built on his veranda specifically for when strangers come to visit. It's his stranger room and he was the first to explain to me that the Mende tribe loves strangers and most people have this type of room on their veranda.
Now i'm in Freetown, I went ahead and posted the huge update from the last month at site. sorry it was so long, but no internet access! So, this one is new and a little more recent. I am now in Freetown for a few days because of my little rat friends. I am now the only PCV that does not have a house and when the rats started to chew through a desk to get to food, I decided to take action. Me and my friend and Ramatu and my principal placed a garbage can by the wall with bait in it so the rats would crawl into it and not be able to crawl out. So, when I woke up in the morning, I captured 5 of my furry friends. Long story short, I got bit by a rat and now I'm in Freetown for precautionary rabies shots. This means that my classes are covered for the week and I am staying with the medical doctor watching satellite TV, posting blog updates, roaming and shopping in Freetown, eating American food, and sleeping in A/C. It's not so bad. haha. So, that is where I currently stand and I will use the rest of this update to tell a few stories from myself and friends:
Bryan Meeker - Gbendambu - So I talked to Bryan shortly after going to village and was told about how a rooster woke him up every morning. He approached his neighbor about it and his neighbor offered to kill it. So, that night, because the rooster was driving Bryan nuts, his neighbor killed it and they feasted on it.
Jessie Logerfo - Panlap - So Jessie and I often call to share funny stories and this one in particular I asked her if I could share because it's definitely a first. She thought she was being peed on one day by a little boy but when she turned around, she realized that there was an infant being breastfed and the mother was holding this child at just the right angle to spray breast milk all over Jessie. bahahaha. In africa, lots of women bare the boobs and it's no big deal. You can be sitting in church or a meeting or on public transport and boobs start flying and babies start sucking. This has become an everyday normal thing for us here and I thought it was funny enough that she was being peed on until she finished the story. Classic Africa.
Alli Sinning and Meghan Welsh - Moyamba - Please see Alli Sinnings link on my blog for her remarkable story of the "Walkabout". I actually heard of this story in my village where my neighbor asked if I had heard that my friends were asked to pay a ridiculous amount for a taxi. Evidently, after the walkabout, her village broadcasted the ridiculousness on the radio where my neighbor heard it. Simply stunning and amazingly inspiring. This is usually how rough/heated/frustrating situations turn out in this country. As an amazing, unforgettable experience.
On my second day in school, after witnessing a student of mine doing homework that I gave on the first day, I realized that the students did not understand a word of my English and that's why they didn't talk to me. So, on the second day, I decided to make things a little more laid back in class. I talked as slow as possible and had an experimental math competition. I seperated girls and boys. There were 11 girls and about 22 boys and I explained the rules. One enthusiastic little boy in the front obviously understood the rules of the competition, so I asked him to stand up and explain to the class in Mende what the rules for this game were. After that, the attitude of class completely changed and I told them I thought the girls could win. All the boys had a fit and laughed hysterically right before the outnumbered girls beat the brakes off of them. It was glorious!
This past Saturday was one of the best yet. I have evidently hit the lottery for small African villages that have the most village dances. This includes setting up a huge stereo set and dancing til 3 or 4 in the morning. So, last Friday, we had a jam for no particular occasion and Dia came to participate. We danced all night and then on Saturday, we sat around and ate/shared American candy and walked around my village to check it out. We crossed the amazingly beautiful railroad bridge and were showered with bananas from strangers. Typical in Africa. So, after Dia left and I dropped her at the junction, I sat around learning some Mende with some locals and accepting more gifts. My final total for the day came out to be 20 bananas, 5 oranges, 2 guavas, and 1 papaya. It was a great day keeping time with wonderful people who are more than willing to answer any questions that I may have about culture or language. I realized that this was my job. I was not supposed to be anywhere on this day doing anything other than walking around a West African village eating fruit and stopping to talk to everyone that talks to me. How cool is that? Why can't I make a career out of this?
One man in particular is our town cheif, Mr. Emmanuel. he's a little old man with white hair and a deep voice and huge glasses from the 80s. His clothing style is super smooth and his English is impeccable. I half expect him to whip out a saxophone and start playing the blues. Anyhow, he sits around and tells me about the good ole days and how he used to work for the steam engine and how the youth and educational system today differ from 50 years ago when he finished school. He is absolutely fascinating and has a room built on his veranda specifically for when strangers come to visit. It's his stranger room and he was the first to explain to me that the Mende tribe loves strangers and most people have this type of room on their veranda.
Everybody should come visit me.
well, we've been at site a little while with lots of time For learning Mende and socializing and reading. I've taken a nap just about everyday and read 3 books in the past week. A good one I'm glad I got the time to read was given to me by my sister in law. It's called Half the Sky and it's about the empowerment of women world-wide. If you get a chance, read it. Also, it is packed full of organizations that help women with healthcare, education, or starting businesses so perhaps a donation to a good one where you know exactly where the money is going would make for a great Christmas or birthday gift for those of us overseas. Even if you don't have the time to read it, the appendix in the back lists the orgs, so run in the store, pick it up, and jot a few down. All the websites and purposes are listed. I was surprised at how much it taught me that I've never taken time to think about or consider.
Ok. so here are a few of the highlights from site so far.......
1. I am staying in the same room I was in for site visit and I have discovered that the creature, varmint, rather, that crawled across my head during that visit could have only been a giant rat. There is a hole in the ceiling above my bed and on night 2, after being awoken by the sound of their scurrying, I used my ninja skills to catch them in the spotlight of my headlamp. I saw 2, but I know there are more. I can hear them. The braver of the two, at the time, crawled out of the hole and scurried down the wall next to my bed, either to show off or prove to me that my light meant nothing to him. For those of you that can't picture this properly, here I am, under a mosquito net with huge rats crawling out of the ceiling and running down the wall about 3 ft from my head. At one point i guess a little rat paw got hung up in my mosquito net because I woke up again later (yes, somehow I fell back asleep) to something tugging on my net. None other than one of my furry little friends, I'm sure. So, what did I do? Well, I considered whining about it to the people whose house I'm in and getting someone to cover the hole, but then I wised up. I realized that I'm the one that waited through a year and a half application process for this and TIA. Thus, the war on the rats began. So, armed with my roll of duct tape and some mad, but somewhat rusty, gymnastics skills, I mounted my headboard like a balance beam and went to work covering this hole in the ceiling. At least this would slow them down a little. So, the first experiment went ok. I don't think they made it all the way through the duct tape, but they definitely put a hurtin on it. They chewed a small hole which I promptly patched up the next day. What I learned from the first night was that rats are very smart and it only took them the first night to understand their obstacle, hold a rat meeting, and discover a way around it. So, their plan, I'm guessing, was to send in the smaller of the rats through another smaller hole in the room while the stronger rats with more stamina chewed a rat-sized hole in the duct tape all night. They accomplished this about half way through the night and continued their nightly runs up and down the walls. So, on day three, I embraced it, decided that the rats were smarter than me, and admitted defeat. Although I don't really call it defeat because I hate to lose. It was more like a compromise, really, only the rats didn't have to meet me half way. Sounds a lot like defeat, huh? So, that night, I slept with my head at the foot of the bed so that at least they wouldn't be right next to my head. Turns out, my little rat guys aren't so bad. I've grown accustomed now and even as I sit typing this, there's a little guy running around my room somewhere darting behind my bags and mattresses and all I can do is look over occasionally with an affectionate gaze as I hear him trying to remain unseen. Turns out, we can coexist and it's not so bad. As long as i hide the food.
2. The other somewhat comical story I have occurred today (Thursday). We( my supervisor and I), left for the Junior Secondary School that I will be teaching at to conduct interviews this morning for the students who will be moving from primary to secondary school. After being stranded by the rain for a little while, neither of us having carried umbrellas, the rain let up and we were on our way. Not wanting to seem reclusive, I wallked with my fellow teachers to someone's house after we left where they were all going to drink palm wine. So, here I go, the only female in a group of males. Everything's cool and we sit in an outdoor kitchen hut and drink a little palm wine and I get the hint that I should head on back and let the men talk amongst themselves comfortably without feeling the need to entertain a stranger. So, I start back to the house when I see James, a guy that is often hanging around the chief's compound where I am staying and doing work and such. Mainly, shepherding goats. So, I ask him if he is heading back and he says yes, mind you, there is somewhat of a language barrier between us. Imagine that. So, off we go and I'm trying to gain my bearings in my new village and figure out where I am and how to find my way back when whoa! I slip on a rock. James instinctively reaches out and grabs my arm because all Africans are protective of us. So, i gain my footing and look over at James to report that I'm ok. Which was true until I took my next step. That's when I ate it. Since in Africa, I have been known to fall a few times, so I wasn't really even embarrassed about this and I rebounded quickly, but the more we walked, the more I became embarrassed because James was freaking out. He walked the rest of the way home with his hand on my arm and once home, even though he was supposed to head back to do something for one of the older men, he sat with me for about 10 minutes to make sure I was ok. Too bad I don't know enough of the language to explain that I'm not an avatar like his peeps and this happens frequently. At least it made for a good story, though, and only a few more places to pour peroxide on tonight.
3. The little kids decided in their own language the other night that they would have a dance competition to see who gets to marry me first. So I'm sitting on a bench with a nice view of town, watching the sunset with 3 little kids dancing as hard as they could while I clapped and the other people around sang popular African songs. Then, one little boy showed up and they explained to him what was going on and he stuck his chin up in the air and said, "I'm not dancing unless I can dance with Nepor." So, what choice did I have, I got up and danced. They thought this was funny but I'm not sure if they thought it was funnier to watch a white girl dance or watch him with all of his courage. Either way, these are my best memories thus far. Just hanging out in Africa without a care in the world and nowhere to be and nothing to be doing except learning the language by dance offs or playing volleyball or football in the rain.
Fast forward a few weeks. It is now Sep. 2. I've been at site about 3 weeks and these are the highlights. I still don't have a house. At the end of the first week of adjusting to the boredom, Dia and I decided to become accustomed to the surrounding villages and walk to meet each other in Njala. So, I set out on a 6 mile walk at the same time that she left Taiama to walk the same distance. I didn't make it a mile down the road before i recruited a couple of kids that walked with me the whole way. It was pretty cool. They were able to tell me the name of every village that we passed through and translate the language when people spoke Mende that I didn't understand. So, we get to Njala and walk a mile into town and go to the bank and sit and have a beer and catch up on the village life before setting out on our 7 mile walk back to Dia's house. So, this makes for a total of a 14 mile walk on one of the few days lately that the sun decided to shine in the rainy season. It was great exercise and overwhelming at times to remember that we were just walking down a dirt road in the middle of West Africa and not just everyone gets to do this. So, we made it, finally, and went to socialize around Dia's town. The next day, we went to the market to buy some things to test the PC cookbook and some other PCV's showed up. This was a Friday and we spent the day and a lot of the night sending children to buy things that we need, retrieve PCVs at the junction and show them the way to the house, and do any other chores we needed done. We even had to draw a picture of ketchup so they would know exactly what we needed when they ran to town for us. So, in the end, we ended up with 11 folks at Dia's with a spread of cucumbers w/lime and pepper, bean burgers, kassava hashbrowns, kassava fries, fried okra, and hummus. It was wonderful and we sat around telling stories and using lots and lots of sarcasm since we don't get to regularly exercise that in the village.
Also, in my village, I have inflated the volleyball and got some pretty wicked games going. I bought the ball so that it could double as a football since the kids spend hours a day playing this with any type of ball that they can find. So, I've made it clear that the ball belongs to me and must be brought back to me and that I make the rules when I play. This latter of this arrangement was strategic on my part and i first saw the benefits on the first day that there was actually an organized game at the local school field. We head out to the "field" which is just an open areas where we set up goals using giant rocks and there's an impressive following of kids following. When we got to the school, we found a class in session for summer school. The teacher promptly left to introduce himself to me. I explained that we did not want to disturb his class and he said that class was finished and the students, mostly girls, wanted to come play. So, i invited everyone. Well we get to the field and get ready to pick teams. I was immediately made a captain which was awkward because I still can't remember all the kids names to pick em. Then, the boys told the girls to go sit down. I was like, um, they can play and the boys just laughed and said, "they might get hurt." so i fired back with "I might get hurt" and they were like "Nah, you won't get hurt" and then they tried me from another angle saying," well, they don't know how to kick the ball." So I glanced over at the group of girls and said," any of you girls know how to kick the ball?" A couple of the girls hid behind others and shook their head, but there was one or two that smiled and said yep. So, the boys were absolutely disgruntled but understood that the ball was mine and if I was gonna play then they were gonna play. It was glorious. Of course, the girls that played never actually got the ball passed to them, but the point is that they made it into the game. That was a huge baby step. Oh, and let me not fail to mention that I was the goalie when one of my teammates was talking to me and I got scored on. I'm not so sure that was a great argument for my "Girls can play too campaign". whoopsie. However, we are all about some volleyball and I think that I have several people interested in it. A couple of the girls really enjoy playing and I decided to coach them a little so that when we all play, the boys can't possibly have anything to complain about if the girls are better than them. Not that I don't intend to coach the boys, too, it's just that girls are a little more chill and little boys just want to hit the ball as hard as they can. I'm hoping that if I teach the girls to control the ball then they boys will figure out from watching that you aren't supposed to hit it hard. A couple of the boys have already figured this out and are really good.
So, other than these few stories, here are a few observations....
- I love African food. I have become accustomed to rice and really enjoy the many different sauces there are to try and learn to cook. Native African rice is so much better than white rice and I don't mind the oil, pepper, or fish.
- Things here that are handmade are a lot cheaper than, say, plastic tubs and manufactured items whereas in America, items made by hand are far more expensive.I bought a handmade traditional hammock. It was 7,000 Le which is the equivalent of about $1.75. Just Sayin.
- Here, what are considered to be imperfections elsewhere are perfect. Nobody is self conscious of their body. Whether tall, fat, short, skinny, limping, deformed, blind, amputated, stuttering, speech impediment, etc. Nobody mentions it and hardly notices. It's a beautiful thing and really refreshing. People are just people and there is no stereotype or expectations.
- Nobody is embarrassed to sing, dance, or clap in any occasion. Whether alone, around tons of people, great voice, not so great voice. It just doesn't matter. This makes everything more fun.
-Everybody in this culture does everything together. If one person has a generator and plays a movie, the whole town crams in the room to watch. When you walk down the street, at least 5 people eating on the porch will say,"Come, let's eat." There's no are you hungry? or would you like some rice? just come over here and eat with me. Regardless of how much food there is for however many people. Everyone is always invited.
-Guests here are known as "strangers" so I always get a kick out of it when I hear people in the town say, "Don't worry about it" or "Of course kids will fetch water for you! You're our stranger!".
Fast forward yet again since I don't have access to the internet. It is now September 15. The best recent story I have is how I went for a walk yesterday to charge my phone. My first actual walk alone in the month since I've been here, and this man that I have never seen or talked to called me over. He was fixing a bicycle so I went over to talk and he said," When would you like to ride my bike?" I politely declined and said that the peace corp was giving me a bicycle and I would probably have it by december. He politely informed me then that I needed to exercise because I was putting on weight. sheesh. I thought that was a good thing here. So how can I be putting on weight when the scale says I'm down 17 lbs? Anyway, I laughed it off, but the next morning, I went to school and was helping my principal with the timetable. I sat down beside him and BAM, the chair broke. Seriously? Maybe this guy was foreal. Anyway, I felt like a big ole loser and evidently I need to lay off the rice.
Also, I must say the first month has been a rough one. With meeting a million new people and trying to figure out what to do in the community. I am one of the 2 out of 37 PCVs that still doesn't have a house so I am really disoriented, but the past couple of days I have been pretty encouraged that I actually know quite a bit of Mende and there is some sort of structure to this language. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Other than that, I read a book called A life inspired: Tales of a Peace Corp volunteer. It was a book they sent us in the mail and, I must admit, I only read it because it's the only book I had left, but, it did, in fact, inspire me. It's full of amazing stories of all the exact things that I'm experiencing here, but do not take the time to stop and appreciate. So now, I feel like I have a different outlook on things. I always enjoyed, but now I stop to appreciate picking the seeds out of rice, learning to weave a basket, the pure hospitality of the people, and the times when I sit and talk to 86 yr. old granny and listen while she tells the stories of the 40s and 50s and how the Leone used to be worth more than the dollar. America is very fast paced and while Africa is slower, it's so beautiful because people take the time to appreciate each other and tell stories about memories and generally just enjoy being around each other. The only thing on their agenda for the day may be going to visit a friend across town or to go buy a cup of rice at the market and sit and talk to everyone, but the point is, they take the time to talk. instead of running around worrying about making a meeting on time or whether they are late to get somewhere. It's very humbling.
Ok. so here are a few of the highlights from site so far.......
1. I am staying in the same room I was in for site visit and I have discovered that the creature, varmint, rather, that crawled across my head during that visit could have only been a giant rat. There is a hole in the ceiling above my bed and on night 2, after being awoken by the sound of their scurrying, I used my ninja skills to catch them in the spotlight of my headlamp. I saw 2, but I know there are more. I can hear them. The braver of the two, at the time, crawled out of the hole and scurried down the wall next to my bed, either to show off or prove to me that my light meant nothing to him. For those of you that can't picture this properly, here I am, under a mosquito net with huge rats crawling out of the ceiling and running down the wall about 3 ft from my head. At one point i guess a little rat paw got hung up in my mosquito net because I woke up again later (yes, somehow I fell back asleep) to something tugging on my net. None other than one of my furry little friends, I'm sure. So, what did I do? Well, I considered whining about it to the people whose house I'm in and getting someone to cover the hole, but then I wised up. I realized that I'm the one that waited through a year and a half application process for this and TIA. Thus, the war on the rats began. So, armed with my roll of duct tape and some mad, but somewhat rusty, gymnastics skills, I mounted my headboard like a balance beam and went to work covering this hole in the ceiling. At least this would slow them down a little. So, the first experiment went ok. I don't think they made it all the way through the duct tape, but they definitely put a hurtin on it. They chewed a small hole which I promptly patched up the next day. What I learned from the first night was that rats are very smart and it only took them the first night to understand their obstacle, hold a rat meeting, and discover a way around it. So, their plan, I'm guessing, was to send in the smaller of the rats through another smaller hole in the room while the stronger rats with more stamina chewed a rat-sized hole in the duct tape all night. They accomplished this about half way through the night and continued their nightly runs up and down the walls. So, on day three, I embraced it, decided that the rats were smarter than me, and admitted defeat. Although I don't really call it defeat because I hate to lose. It was more like a compromise, really, only the rats didn't have to meet me half way. Sounds a lot like defeat, huh? So, that night, I slept with my head at the foot of the bed so that at least they wouldn't be right next to my head. Turns out, my little rat guys aren't so bad. I've grown accustomed now and even as I sit typing this, there's a little guy running around my room somewhere darting behind my bags and mattresses and all I can do is look over occasionally with an affectionate gaze as I hear him trying to remain unseen. Turns out, we can coexist and it's not so bad. As long as i hide the food.
2. The other somewhat comical story I have occurred today (Thursday). We( my supervisor and I), left for the Junior Secondary School that I will be teaching at to conduct interviews this morning for the students who will be moving from primary to secondary school. After being stranded by the rain for a little while, neither of us having carried umbrellas, the rain let up and we were on our way. Not wanting to seem reclusive, I wallked with my fellow teachers to someone's house after we left where they were all going to drink palm wine. So, here I go, the only female in a group of males. Everything's cool and we sit in an outdoor kitchen hut and drink a little palm wine and I get the hint that I should head on back and let the men talk amongst themselves comfortably without feeling the need to entertain a stranger. So, I start back to the house when I see James, a guy that is often hanging around the chief's compound where I am staying and doing work and such. Mainly, shepherding goats. So, I ask him if he is heading back and he says yes, mind you, there is somewhat of a language barrier between us. Imagine that. So, off we go and I'm trying to gain my bearings in my new village and figure out where I am and how to find my way back when whoa! I slip on a rock. James instinctively reaches out and grabs my arm because all Africans are protective of us. So, i gain my footing and look over at James to report that I'm ok. Which was true until I took my next step. That's when I ate it. Since in Africa, I have been known to fall a few times, so I wasn't really even embarrassed about this and I rebounded quickly, but the more we walked, the more I became embarrassed because James was freaking out. He walked the rest of the way home with his hand on my arm and once home, even though he was supposed to head back to do something for one of the older men, he sat with me for about 10 minutes to make sure I was ok. Too bad I don't know enough of the language to explain that I'm not an avatar like his peeps and this happens frequently. At least it made for a good story, though, and only a few more places to pour peroxide on tonight.
3. The little kids decided in their own language the other night that they would have a dance competition to see who gets to marry me first. So I'm sitting on a bench with a nice view of town, watching the sunset with 3 little kids dancing as hard as they could while I clapped and the other people around sang popular African songs. Then, one little boy showed up and they explained to him what was going on and he stuck his chin up in the air and said, "I'm not dancing unless I can dance with Nepor." So, what choice did I have, I got up and danced. They thought this was funny but I'm not sure if they thought it was funnier to watch a white girl dance or watch him with all of his courage. Either way, these are my best memories thus far. Just hanging out in Africa without a care in the world and nowhere to be and nothing to be doing except learning the language by dance offs or playing volleyball or football in the rain.
Fast forward a few weeks. It is now Sep. 2. I've been at site about 3 weeks and these are the highlights. I still don't have a house. At the end of the first week of adjusting to the boredom, Dia and I decided to become accustomed to the surrounding villages and walk to meet each other in Njala. So, I set out on a 6 mile walk at the same time that she left Taiama to walk the same distance. I didn't make it a mile down the road before i recruited a couple of kids that walked with me the whole way. It was pretty cool. They were able to tell me the name of every village that we passed through and translate the language when people spoke Mende that I didn't understand. So, we get to Njala and walk a mile into town and go to the bank and sit and have a beer and catch up on the village life before setting out on our 7 mile walk back to Dia's house. So, this makes for a total of a 14 mile walk on one of the few days lately that the sun decided to shine in the rainy season. It was great exercise and overwhelming at times to remember that we were just walking down a dirt road in the middle of West Africa and not just everyone gets to do this. So, we made it, finally, and went to socialize around Dia's town. The next day, we went to the market to buy some things to test the PC cookbook and some other PCV's showed up. This was a Friday and we spent the day and a lot of the night sending children to buy things that we need, retrieve PCVs at the junction and show them the way to the house, and do any other chores we needed done. We even had to draw a picture of ketchup so they would know exactly what we needed when they ran to town for us. So, in the end, we ended up with 11 folks at Dia's with a spread of cucumbers w/lime and pepper, bean burgers, kassava hashbrowns, kassava fries, fried okra, and hummus. It was wonderful and we sat around telling stories and using lots and lots of sarcasm since we don't get to regularly exercise that in the village.
Also, in my village, I have inflated the volleyball and got some pretty wicked games going. I bought the ball so that it could double as a football since the kids spend hours a day playing this with any type of ball that they can find. So, I've made it clear that the ball belongs to me and must be brought back to me and that I make the rules when I play. This latter of this arrangement was strategic on my part and i first saw the benefits on the first day that there was actually an organized game at the local school field. We head out to the "field" which is just an open areas where we set up goals using giant rocks and there's an impressive following of kids following. When we got to the school, we found a class in session for summer school. The teacher promptly left to introduce himself to me. I explained that we did not want to disturb his class and he said that class was finished and the students, mostly girls, wanted to come play. So, i invited everyone. Well we get to the field and get ready to pick teams. I was immediately made a captain which was awkward because I still can't remember all the kids names to pick em. Then, the boys told the girls to go sit down. I was like, um, they can play and the boys just laughed and said, "they might get hurt." so i fired back with "I might get hurt" and they were like "Nah, you won't get hurt" and then they tried me from another angle saying," well, they don't know how to kick the ball." So I glanced over at the group of girls and said," any of you girls know how to kick the ball?" A couple of the girls hid behind others and shook their head, but there was one or two that smiled and said yep. So, the boys were absolutely disgruntled but understood that the ball was mine and if I was gonna play then they were gonna play. It was glorious. Of course, the girls that played never actually got the ball passed to them, but the point is that they made it into the game. That was a huge baby step. Oh, and let me not fail to mention that I was the goalie when one of my teammates was talking to me and I got scored on. I'm not so sure that was a great argument for my "Girls can play too campaign". whoopsie. However, we are all about some volleyball and I think that I have several people interested in it. A couple of the girls really enjoy playing and I decided to coach them a little so that when we all play, the boys can't possibly have anything to complain about if the girls are better than them. Not that I don't intend to coach the boys, too, it's just that girls are a little more chill and little boys just want to hit the ball as hard as they can. I'm hoping that if I teach the girls to control the ball then they boys will figure out from watching that you aren't supposed to hit it hard. A couple of the boys have already figured this out and are really good.
So, other than these few stories, here are a few observations....
- I love African food. I have become accustomed to rice and really enjoy the many different sauces there are to try and learn to cook. Native African rice is so much better than white rice and I don't mind the oil, pepper, or fish.
- Things here that are handmade are a lot cheaper than, say, plastic tubs and manufactured items whereas in America, items made by hand are far more expensive.I bought a handmade traditional hammock. It was 7,000 Le which is the equivalent of about $1.75. Just Sayin.
- Here, what are considered to be imperfections elsewhere are perfect. Nobody is self conscious of their body. Whether tall, fat, short, skinny, limping, deformed, blind, amputated, stuttering, speech impediment, etc. Nobody mentions it and hardly notices. It's a beautiful thing and really refreshing. People are just people and there is no stereotype or expectations.
- Nobody is embarrassed to sing, dance, or clap in any occasion. Whether alone, around tons of people, great voice, not so great voice. It just doesn't matter. This makes everything more fun.
-Everybody in this culture does everything together. If one person has a generator and plays a movie, the whole town crams in the room to watch. When you walk down the street, at least 5 people eating on the porch will say,"Come, let's eat." There's no are you hungry? or would you like some rice? just come over here and eat with me. Regardless of how much food there is for however many people. Everyone is always invited.
-Guests here are known as "strangers" so I always get a kick out of it when I hear people in the town say, "Don't worry about it" or "Of course kids will fetch water for you! You're our stranger!".
Fast forward yet again since I don't have access to the internet. It is now September 15. The best recent story I have is how I went for a walk yesterday to charge my phone. My first actual walk alone in the month since I've been here, and this man that I have never seen or talked to called me over. He was fixing a bicycle so I went over to talk and he said," When would you like to ride my bike?" I politely declined and said that the peace corp was giving me a bicycle and I would probably have it by december. He politely informed me then that I needed to exercise because I was putting on weight. sheesh. I thought that was a good thing here. So how can I be putting on weight when the scale says I'm down 17 lbs? Anyway, I laughed it off, but the next morning, I went to school and was helping my principal with the timetable. I sat down beside him and BAM, the chair broke. Seriously? Maybe this guy was foreal. Anyway, I felt like a big ole loser and evidently I need to lay off the rice.
Also, I must say the first month has been a rough one. With meeting a million new people and trying to figure out what to do in the community. I am one of the 2 out of 37 PCVs that still doesn't have a house so I am really disoriented, but the past couple of days I have been pretty encouraged that I actually know quite a bit of Mende and there is some sort of structure to this language. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Other than that, I read a book called A life inspired: Tales of a Peace Corp volunteer. It was a book they sent us in the mail and, I must admit, I only read it because it's the only book I had left, but, it did, in fact, inspire me. It's full of amazing stories of all the exact things that I'm experiencing here, but do not take the time to stop and appreciate. So now, I feel like I have a different outlook on things. I always enjoyed, but now I stop to appreciate picking the seeds out of rice, learning to weave a basket, the pure hospitality of the people, and the times when I sit and talk to 86 yr. old granny and listen while she tells the stories of the 40s and 50s and how the Leone used to be worth more than the dollar. America is very fast paced and while Africa is slower, it's so beautiful because people take the time to appreciate each other and tell stories about memories and generally just enjoy being around each other. The only thing on their agenda for the day may be going to visit a friend across town or to go buy a cup of rice at the market and sit and talk to everyone, but the point is, they take the time to talk. instead of running around worrying about making a meeting on time or whether they are late to get somewhere. It's very humbling.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Official Volunteers. Whew.
So, we just swore in officially and took an oath to the United States and tomorrow we set out to the villages. Here's a few of the things that we have been up to since site visit.....
We came back and hit the language classes pretty hard. We all came back pretty excited to dive into language classes because we were so frustrated with everyone speaking to us and not understanding. However, this only lasted one day of a 3 hr. lesson before we were ready to pull our hair out. Mende is such a hard language because it is tonal. We had no idea how easy we had it when we were in Krio classes. That language looks/sounds like a cakewalk now that we have started tribal languages, but it's still difficult to understand when people here speak it really really fast. Often, we will find ourselves switching b/w Krio and English when we are around each other and not noticing (or on the phone w/people from home. sorry guys). So, last week we had a group talent show.... The participants included a tribal magic show by our cross cultural facilitators, an African man, Lansanna, sang Bob Marley's One Love. One of the best was a big african staff member that stood up and told us a heart warming story about how this song got him through rough times when he was away from his family and missing his wife. He then proceeded to sing and dance to Dolly Parton's Do I Ever Cross your mind? It was phenomenal. After that, Brandon and Kat sang a Frank Sinatra song, I sang a Mandingo Farewell song with Cisse, Brandon, and Kat, and then came Annaleise....... our program manager. She wrote her own words to the song Don't Stop Believing that included all of the norms of our training (i.e. how much we like meat sandwiches sold on the street, how we love European food day in training but the Africans hate it, how it is impossible to agree on an efficient way to break into groups during training, and other particulars to our group) It was hilarious. After this, we had "PST Update" w/Chrissy, Brandon, and Scott - Saturday Night Live style. It even included the section called Really? Dia dressed up and acted like one of our country directors, Gale, and Jessie impersonated our Peace Corp Med officer and explained that anything you do in Africa CAN and WILL cause diarrhea, and Chrissy was Mike Fitz. , our regional Security officer. Marty reported from the field on current events and the entire skit was very impressive. Last, but not least, the infamous Marty was up. Nobody was sure what was coming up, but as a general standard, Marty never disappoints the crowd. He carried a chalk box to a table without saying a word, sat down, proceeded to pour out about 50 peppers and then down them. Even the Sierra Leoneans were shocked and not sure what to say. About half way through, things got kind of quiet and he had a lot of peppers to go, so i yelled, "you can do it, Marty!" Just like the little girl in Matilda yelled for Bruce Bogtrotter to finish the chocolate cake. This kickstarted the Marty chant which shortly changed to a Dertz chant and this just fanned the fire of his determination. It was an excellent talent to end the show , abruptly followed by concerned looks to see if Marty was going to die or sweat to death from all that heat. So the 1st annual talent show was definitely a successful one. Without a doubt.
Next big event was our trip to Freetown. Last Thursday, we all piled in vehicles early in the morning and we drove for about 4 hours to Freetown in the PC vehicles. The objectives of this trip were to learn to navigate the city and also see our PC office. So, we got to town and learned where the Shell Station park was so that we would know how to get a taxi when we come to and from town. So we ate some street food for lunch and then spent a long time driving through the crowded streets to get to the stadium hostel where we would stay. We were only there long enough to get our rooms before we were hurried back out to stick to our imaginary schedule and head to the PC office. So, we had a meeting on the World Map Project. Anybody who doesn't know what thiS iS should google it. It's a neat community activity. We had the meeting in what is planned to be our PC guest house and it was very nice. Up on a hill in Freetown with 2 bathrooms. Even tubs! WOO HOO! and a kitchen and bunker rooms. It is planned to have a computer station so we can stay and build our own library and resource center. Very cool. So, we left our guest house and walked across the street to PC staff housing and it was like a dream. Pretty much nicer than any house I have been in in my life. Tile floors, stainless steel appliances, a balcony overlooking the whole city and the ocean and many more luxuries that we haven't seen in awhile. Joel and Gale were gracious enough to cook spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and brownies for us and the beer flowed freely. It was so nice to sit around and relax and take a break for a few hours. When we were done here, we helped clean up before heading back to the hostel where we stayed up a bit longer before heading to the rooms since we had to get up early.
So Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast, and sat through a short session run by Tom, our business admin guy, on our bank accounts, what we will be paid, how this amount was figured out, and what it is intended for. After this, we were set loose in pairs to find our way back to Bo by using public transportation. This was quite an adventure. We have already been told on more than one occasion that some of our best and worst memories will be on public transport. So this is how yesterday went down.......
We walked out of the hostel gate not very sure how to get a cab. Hannah and I saw Dane and Bryan walking in front of us so we caught up to them and all jumped in a taxi together to head to Shell Station. This was easier than expected. So, we pull into Shell station and were immediately pounced on by vendors selling things to travelers and taxi drivers that wanted us to ride in their vehicles. They explained that there were 6 seats in a 4-runner type vehicle. Well, we decided this would be fine since there were 4 of us and we could just ride with 2 other strangers. Well, what this actually meant was that there were 5 seats in the car, including the driver. So me, Hannah, and Dane climbed in the back seat and really got a shocker when they told us to scoot over so that Bryan could get in to. yep. for a 4-5 hr. ride. Silly Americans. So we rode. Taking turns sitting on top of each other every time our legs would fall asleep and constantly switching positions. We started the ride by offending our driver and passengers. oopsie. We didn't mean to, but when Americans get around each other, we tend to speak very fast english and laugh a lot. They even asked us if we were laughing at them. We explained repeatedly that we were not, but not sure if the point got across. We stopped at a gas station right outside of Freetown to get gas and were told before the trip started that the driver wanted us all to pray. Here, in Africa, you pray before you do anything. Meetings, test taking, journeys, etc. So, we prayed. After that we hit the road. The first breakdown occurred while we were still in Freetown. a crowd materialized alongside the street to push our car off of the street. The issue was that the gear shifter popped out of place and we couldn't get the car back in place. It is so amazing that every man in this country is a mechanic. We only had to wait a few minutes for the fix. pretty simple, but the woman in the middle front seat, straddling the shifter had to ride the rest of the way with no console under her... sitting directly on the frame of the car. Until we pulled over again and found a denim jacket for her to sit on. So, off we went, pulling over here and there to stretch briefly or pee on the side of the road. We usually just stayed wedged in the backseat because that was easier than trying to get out and wedge back in. The second breakdown was when we stopped to get more gas right outside of Bo. The vehicle would not crank and we were sitting at the bottom a hill with the gas pump behind us. So, again, a crowd materialized from thin air to push the vehicle and much to the surprise of the Africans, we all jumped out to help. Pretty sure Hannah and I were the only women helping, but w/o our weight and our added help, we pushed the vehicle too far and had to push it back a little so that our driver could roll down the hill to roll-start it. After this, it was smooth sailing back to Bo for another short distance crammed in the back seat like hot dogs.
On Saturday, I had the privilege of attending an engagement party. This included dressing up in in an Africana costume (dress and hair tie) and heading out through town where i was paraded around by my family before finally making it to this party. This is how things happen in Africa. Scheduled party time: 1 pm. Postponed until: 4 pm. Actual Start time: 5:30 pm. This is usually how Africa operates. Once the event finally started, the whole thing was in Mende. So I only understood a little, but had the tradition explained to me. They started by giving me money and explaining that i had to accept because this was their way of welcoming me and showing that they considered me one of them. This is very flattering and I politely said my thank-you in the local language and of course this was a riot. So here I am, in all Africana, with about 40 people crammed into a 15 square foot room. The tradition included bringing different women in with veils over their head. Since the man to be engaged should recognize his future wife, if the woman was not his wife, the men would give the women money for transport home. It was kind of a skit. So, finally, the last woman to come in was the woman to be engaged and the veil is removed and the man accepts this woman. This is also the point where the family turns their daughter over to the man and she officially joins another family, so it was very emotional for her. Much like Americans tend to cry during their weddings.
Other than the excursion at the end of last week, this week has been a blur. Trying to buy things for our houses(buckets, food,mattresses, radios, lamps, etc.) and wrapping up loose ends, we are all a bit on edge and not exactly sure how to go and live alone in a village where we don't know anyone. After Freetown, we were so excited to be back in Bo, on familiar ground. Since we've been in Bo for 2 months, we know the roads and a lot of the people. However, at village, this whole familiarization process starts over, only without daily interactions w/other Americans. Holy crap.
Also, mail could not have come at a more perfect time. Not only is everyone emotionally on edge, but to get items and letters from america, though many of us teared up and immediately ripped open candy to share it with our pals, it was nice to sit and read about what's going on there and get some things that we majorly need and appreciate. I got the packages yesterday and my african fam was ecstatic. the kids bounced bouncey balls all over the place while sharing Spree candy and skittles, busted open the glowsticks. Colored in their coloring books way longer than they should have stayed up, and mama and papa read stuff just to get to wear their reading glasses. Papa told me again this morning that he wanted to thank mom on the phone and that the children were very happy. It was quite the sight.
*Special update from Martin Dertz: If anyone wishes to comment on the blog, please be sure to do so on the correct entry. Thank you and have a nice day.
I reckon that's all I have for now. Too bad I can't include every single detail. There's so much to tell...... Not sure when i'll be back on, but i'll do what i can and send pictures home soon. Over and out.
We came back and hit the language classes pretty hard. We all came back pretty excited to dive into language classes because we were so frustrated with everyone speaking to us and not understanding. However, this only lasted one day of a 3 hr. lesson before we were ready to pull our hair out. Mende is such a hard language because it is tonal. We had no idea how easy we had it when we were in Krio classes. That language looks/sounds like a cakewalk now that we have started tribal languages, but it's still difficult to understand when people here speak it really really fast. Often, we will find ourselves switching b/w Krio and English when we are around each other and not noticing (or on the phone w/people from home. sorry guys). So, last week we had a group talent show.... The participants included a tribal magic show by our cross cultural facilitators, an African man, Lansanna, sang Bob Marley's One Love. One of the best was a big african staff member that stood up and told us a heart warming story about how this song got him through rough times when he was away from his family and missing his wife. He then proceeded to sing and dance to Dolly Parton's Do I Ever Cross your mind? It was phenomenal. After that, Brandon and Kat sang a Frank Sinatra song, I sang a Mandingo Farewell song with Cisse, Brandon, and Kat, and then came Annaleise....... our program manager. She wrote her own words to the song Don't Stop Believing that included all of the norms of our training (i.e. how much we like meat sandwiches sold on the street, how we love European food day in training but the Africans hate it, how it is impossible to agree on an efficient way to break into groups during training, and other particulars to our group) It was hilarious. After this, we had "PST Update" w/Chrissy, Brandon, and Scott - Saturday Night Live style. It even included the section called Really? Dia dressed up and acted like one of our country directors, Gale, and Jessie impersonated our Peace Corp Med officer and explained that anything you do in Africa CAN and WILL cause diarrhea, and Chrissy was Mike Fitz. , our regional Security officer. Marty reported from the field on current events and the entire skit was very impressive. Last, but not least, the infamous Marty was up. Nobody was sure what was coming up, but as a general standard, Marty never disappoints the crowd. He carried a chalk box to a table without saying a word, sat down, proceeded to pour out about 50 peppers and then down them. Even the Sierra Leoneans were shocked and not sure what to say. About half way through, things got kind of quiet and he had a lot of peppers to go, so i yelled, "you can do it, Marty!" Just like the little girl in Matilda yelled for Bruce Bogtrotter to finish the chocolate cake. This kickstarted the Marty chant which shortly changed to a Dertz chant and this just fanned the fire of his determination. It was an excellent talent to end the show , abruptly followed by concerned looks to see if Marty was going to die or sweat to death from all that heat. So the 1st annual talent show was definitely a successful one. Without a doubt.
Next big event was our trip to Freetown. Last Thursday, we all piled in vehicles early in the morning and we drove for about 4 hours to Freetown in the PC vehicles. The objectives of this trip were to learn to navigate the city and also see our PC office. So, we got to town and learned where the Shell Station park was so that we would know how to get a taxi when we come to and from town. So we ate some street food for lunch and then spent a long time driving through the crowded streets to get to the stadium hostel where we would stay. We were only there long enough to get our rooms before we were hurried back out to stick to our imaginary schedule and head to the PC office. So, we had a meeting on the World Map Project. Anybody who doesn't know what thiS iS should google it. It's a neat community activity. We had the meeting in what is planned to be our PC guest house and it was very nice. Up on a hill in Freetown with 2 bathrooms. Even tubs! WOO HOO! and a kitchen and bunker rooms. It is planned to have a computer station so we can stay and build our own library and resource center. Very cool. So, we left our guest house and walked across the street to PC staff housing and it was like a dream. Pretty much nicer than any house I have been in in my life. Tile floors, stainless steel appliances, a balcony overlooking the whole city and the ocean and many more luxuries that we haven't seen in awhile. Joel and Gale were gracious enough to cook spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and brownies for us and the beer flowed freely. It was so nice to sit around and relax and take a break for a few hours. When we were done here, we helped clean up before heading back to the hostel where we stayed up a bit longer before heading to the rooms since we had to get up early.
So Saturday we woke up, ate breakfast, and sat through a short session run by Tom, our business admin guy, on our bank accounts, what we will be paid, how this amount was figured out, and what it is intended for. After this, we were set loose in pairs to find our way back to Bo by using public transportation. This was quite an adventure. We have already been told on more than one occasion that some of our best and worst memories will be on public transport. So this is how yesterday went down.......
We walked out of the hostel gate not very sure how to get a cab. Hannah and I saw Dane and Bryan walking in front of us so we caught up to them and all jumped in a taxi together to head to Shell Station. This was easier than expected. So, we pull into Shell station and were immediately pounced on by vendors selling things to travelers and taxi drivers that wanted us to ride in their vehicles. They explained that there were 6 seats in a 4-runner type vehicle. Well, we decided this would be fine since there were 4 of us and we could just ride with 2 other strangers. Well, what this actually meant was that there were 5 seats in the car, including the driver. So me, Hannah, and Dane climbed in the back seat and really got a shocker when they told us to scoot over so that Bryan could get in to. yep. for a 4-5 hr. ride. Silly Americans. So we rode. Taking turns sitting on top of each other every time our legs would fall asleep and constantly switching positions. We started the ride by offending our driver and passengers. oopsie. We didn't mean to, but when Americans get around each other, we tend to speak very fast english and laugh a lot. They even asked us if we were laughing at them. We explained repeatedly that we were not, but not sure if the point got across. We stopped at a gas station right outside of Freetown to get gas and were told before the trip started that the driver wanted us all to pray. Here, in Africa, you pray before you do anything. Meetings, test taking, journeys, etc. So, we prayed. After that we hit the road. The first breakdown occurred while we were still in Freetown. a crowd materialized alongside the street to push our car off of the street. The issue was that the gear shifter popped out of place and we couldn't get the car back in place. It is so amazing that every man in this country is a mechanic. We only had to wait a few minutes for the fix. pretty simple, but the woman in the middle front seat, straddling the shifter had to ride the rest of the way with no console under her... sitting directly on the frame of the car. Until we pulled over again and found a denim jacket for her to sit on. So, off we went, pulling over here and there to stretch briefly or pee on the side of the road. We usually just stayed wedged in the backseat because that was easier than trying to get out and wedge back in. The second breakdown was when we stopped to get more gas right outside of Bo. The vehicle would not crank and we were sitting at the bottom a hill with the gas pump behind us. So, again, a crowd materialized from thin air to push the vehicle and much to the surprise of the Africans, we all jumped out to help. Pretty sure Hannah and I were the only women helping, but w/o our weight and our added help, we pushed the vehicle too far and had to push it back a little so that our driver could roll down the hill to roll-start it. After this, it was smooth sailing back to Bo for another short distance crammed in the back seat like hot dogs.
On Saturday, I had the privilege of attending an engagement party. This included dressing up in in an Africana costume (dress and hair tie) and heading out through town where i was paraded around by my family before finally making it to this party. This is how things happen in Africa. Scheduled party time: 1 pm. Postponed until: 4 pm. Actual Start time: 5:30 pm. This is usually how Africa operates. Once the event finally started, the whole thing was in Mende. So I only understood a little, but had the tradition explained to me. They started by giving me money and explaining that i had to accept because this was their way of welcoming me and showing that they considered me one of them. This is very flattering and I politely said my thank-you in the local language and of course this was a riot. So here I am, in all Africana, with about 40 people crammed into a 15 square foot room. The tradition included bringing different women in with veils over their head. Since the man to be engaged should recognize his future wife, if the woman was not his wife, the men would give the women money for transport home. It was kind of a skit. So, finally, the last woman to come in was the woman to be engaged and the veil is removed and the man accepts this woman. This is also the point where the family turns their daughter over to the man and she officially joins another family, so it was very emotional for her. Much like Americans tend to cry during their weddings.
Other than the excursion at the end of last week, this week has been a blur. Trying to buy things for our houses(buckets, food,mattresses, radios, lamps, etc.) and wrapping up loose ends, we are all a bit on edge and not exactly sure how to go and live alone in a village where we don't know anyone. After Freetown, we were so excited to be back in Bo, on familiar ground. Since we've been in Bo for 2 months, we know the roads and a lot of the people. However, at village, this whole familiarization process starts over, only without daily interactions w/other Americans. Holy crap.
Also, mail could not have come at a more perfect time. Not only is everyone emotionally on edge, but to get items and letters from america, though many of us teared up and immediately ripped open candy to share it with our pals, it was nice to sit and read about what's going on there and get some things that we majorly need and appreciate. I got the packages yesterday and my african fam was ecstatic. the kids bounced bouncey balls all over the place while sharing Spree candy and skittles, busted open the glowsticks. Colored in their coloring books way longer than they should have stayed up, and mama and papa read stuff just to get to wear their reading glasses. Papa told me again this morning that he wanted to thank mom on the phone and that the children were very happy. It was quite the sight.
*Special update from Martin Dertz: If anyone wishes to comment on the blog, please be sure to do so on the correct entry. Thank you and have a nice day.
I reckon that's all I have for now. Too bad I can't include every single detail. There's so much to tell...... Not sure when i'll be back on, but i'll do what i can and send pictures home soon. Over and out.
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